Florida Department of Revenue Issues Status Report on Federal Tax Reform

Since the end of the 2018 Legislative Session, the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) has been busy examining the impact of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) on Florida. Florida, like many other states, uses federal taxable income as a starting point to determine Florida income for the purposes of corporate income tax. Because of the many changes contained within the TCJA, it is estimated that a full adoption, or “piggyback” of these changes, would increase Florida’s tax base by 13 percent.

DOR has hosted two public meetings to hear from businesses and other stakeholders on how components of the TCJA will impact Florida taxes. Additionally, DOR is soliciting public comment by email until December 14, 2018 at CITReview@floridarevenue.com. The department issued its second and final status report before submitting their report to the legislature by February 1, 2019.

DOR has identified 14 topics for further investigation and review, including:

• Global Intangible Low-Tax Income (GILTI);
• Bonus Depreciation;
• Amortization of Research and Experimental Expenditures;
• Net Interest Deduction;
• Changes to the Treatment of Capital Contributions; and
• Like-kind Exchanges.

The Florida Chamber has also offered comment in a written letter to the Department of Revenue, encouraging Florida to decouple from the GILTI and net interest deduction changes in the TCJA.

Stay Informed

How Florida adopts the changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will be a significant discussion during the 2019 Legislative Session. For more information or to provide feedback on how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act impacts your business, please contact Carolyn Johnson at cjohnson@flchamber.com or 850-521-1235.