Were sales of limerock and sand tailings subject to the Miami-Dade Lake Belt mitigation fee?

Plain-English summary

Mining operations in the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area left accumulated lower-grade limerock and sand tailings. A taxpayer bought those tailings from the property owner, processed them further, and resold them.

Florida found that the property owner, together with the mine operator, was mining limerock and sand. The tailings remained products mined from Lake Belt property and were subject to the mitigation fee when sold.

The property owner therefore had to collect and report the fee on all of the products it sold.

What this means for you

Calling mined material a by-product or tailings did not remove it from the fee. The ruling focused on its origin as limerock and sand extracted from covered Lake Belt property and its later sale.

Common questions

Were tailings excluded because they were lower-grade by-products? No.

Who had to collect and report the fee on these sales? The property owner selling the tailings.

Which statute controlled? Section 373.41492(2), Florida Statutes.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. § 373.41492(2) (Miami-Dade County Lake Belt mitigation fee)
• Fla. Stat. § 213.22 (Technical Assistance Advisements)

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 05B7-001

Original ruling text

SUMMARY
Question: Are materials that are severed during mining operations in the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area, that are
considered tailings, subject to the Miami-Dade County Lake belt Mitigation Fee when sold by the owner of the land.
Answer - Based on Facts Below: The tailings that are accumulated form the mine operator's process are products
mined from a property within the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Area. As such, when sold, the tailings
(limerock and sand products) are subject to the mitigation fee. The property owner should be collecting and reporting
the mitigation fee on all products it sells.

September 28, 2005

Re: Technical Assistance Advisement No. 05B7-001
Severance Tax - Miami-Dade Lake Belt Mitigation Fee
Section 373.41492(2), Florida Statutes
XXX (Taxpayer)
Dear :
Your letter requesting a Technical Assistance Advisement has been received by this office. The following scenario
was provided with your request.
Taxpayer is in the business of selling limerock and sand (material). Purchases of material are made from a mining
operator in the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area. The Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Fee is paid to the
mining operator.
In the mining process, limerock and sand are processed into size and product types by the mine operator for sale to
customers of the mine operator. As a by-product of this processing, lesser grades of limerock and sand are separated
and left to accumulate (the tailings), on the property from which it was extracted. The Taxpayer has an arrangement
with the property owner to purchase the tailings. Taxpayer, after further processing the tailings, sells them to its
customers.
Taxpayer understands that the purchases made from the mining operator are subject to the Miami-Dade County Lake
Belt Mitigation Fee. The question here is the application of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Fee to the
tailings purchased from the property owner.
Section 373.41492(2), F.S., provides that beginning October 1, 1999, a mitigation fee is imposed on each ton of
limerock and sand extracted by any person who engages in the business of extracting limerock or sand from within
the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area. The mitigation fee is at the rate set by subsection (5) of this section on each
ton of limerock sold from within the properties where the fee applies in raw, processed, or manufactured form,

including, but not limited to sized aggregate, asphalt, cement, concrete, and other limerock and concrete products.
The section goes on to provide that the limerock or sand miner that sells the product is to collect the fee and forward it
to the Department of Revenue by the 20th day of the month following the calendar month of production.
Based upon the scenario above and the application of the statute cited, it is the opinion of this office that the property
owner in conjunction with the mine operator is mining limerock and sand. The tailings that are accumulated from the
mine operator's process are products mined from a property within the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Area.
As such, when sold, the tailings (limerock and sand products) are subject to the mitigation fee. In the case at hand,
the property owner should be collecting and reporting the mitigation fee on all products it sells.
This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement under s. 213.22, F.S., which is binding on the
Department only under the facts and circumstances described in the request for this advice as specified in s. 213.22,
F.S. Our response is predicated on those facts and the specific situation summarized above. You are advised that
subsequent statutory or administrative rule changes or judicial interpretations of the statutes or rules upon which this
advice is based may subject similar future transactions to a different treatment than expressed in this response.
You are further advised that this response, your request and related backup documents are public records under
Chapter 119, F.S., and are subject to disclosure to the public under the conditions of s. 213.22, F.S. Confidential
information must be deleted before public disclosure. In an effort to protect confidentiality, we request you provide the
undersigned with an edited copy of your request for Technical Assistance Advisement, the backup material and this
response, deleting names, addresses and any other details which might lead to identification of the taxpayer. Your
response should be received by the Department within 15 days of the date of this letter.
Sincerely,
J. V. Parramore, Jr.
Revenue Program Administrator I
Technical Assistance and Dispute Resolution
JVP/mh