In March 2002, the U.S. Congress passed the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002. Among its provisions was a one-time 30 percent bonus depreciation deduction for certain investments, which would reduce the corporate income tax liability of firms taking the deduction. Normally, Florida’s corporate tax law mirrors or “piggybacks” federal tax law. The same general rules apply so that businesses do not have to keep two completely different sets of records to file their state and federal corporate income taxes. Florida does require some adjustments to be made to federal taxable income, but these adjustments are made after most of a company’s tax calculations have already been made. In 2002, both the Florida House and Senate unanimously passed piggyback legislation (SB 2028) for corporate income taxes, and both Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida House hold the opinion that this legislation applies to the bonus depreciation allowance in the federal Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002. The general counsel of the Florida Senate disagrees. The issue should not be decided on the legal details, but rather on what would be the best policy for Florida. The bonus depreciation allowance will help the Florida economy, and the Florida Legislature should approve language that will make it clear that this change in federal law applies to Florida corporate tax law.
