For Florida's tax panel, a surprising vote

Despite strong opposition from business and agriculture interests, members of the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission on Thursday passed a proposal to give voters the option of reducing property taxes by shifting the burden to taxing some services and eliminating some exemptions.

The 7-3 vote, at a meeting of the commission's Government Procedures and Services Committee, was a victory for former Senate President John McKay, who has been on nearly a decade-long crusade to overhaul Florida's tax system. McKay's allies now include Darryl Rouson, a St. Petersburg lawyer and the co-sponsor who was among those in favor. "I like the idea of transferring the tax burden," Rouson said.

The proposal would reduce property tax bills by at least 25 percent by eliminating property taxes collected statewide imposed by the Legislature to support public schools, about $8-billion a year. Replacing that would be an equal amount of taxes on services or the closing of exemptions, which McKay calls "special interest tax breaks" that benefit only a politically-connected few.

Testifying in opposition were lobbyists for Realtors, accountants, architects, farmers and other groups who said the tax shift would unfairly penalize businesses and reduce Florida's ability to compete with other states and foreign countries. 

The three members who voted no were Orlando lawyer Jacinta Mathis, Clearwater real estate agent Nancy Riley and Brian Yablonski, a St. Joe Company executive. The tax proposal's next stop is the potentially hostile Finance & Taxation Committee.

Comments

[Ima Fedup]

OK so we tax bottled water and ostrich feed. Sounds like a pretty fair deal to me. The funding for education needs a broader base anyway. A lot of taxes don't make sense, like senior citizens having to pay the school protion of the tax when they have no kids in the schools system. A lot of exemptions don't make sense either like ostrich feed and bottled water.

[Will]

Not to mention that sports tickets, skyboxes, and hired services are exempt. So if you buy fertilizer to fertilize your own lawn, you pay sales tax, BUT if you hire a company to fertilize your own lawn, you dont pay sales tax... Pretty stupid.

[Ima Pretty Ignorant]

Every time I see Realtors or St. Joe opposing something, I'm confident that they have my best interests at heart.

[Ima Fedup]

Hey other Ima you must be up in the panhandle too.

[Omega83]

Seniors SHOULD pay for education...it's educated, younger people who will be working as their doctors and care givers.

Young people pay for Seniors...we get taxed on Medicare for benefits we wont see for decades.

The selfishness of the oldies needs to stop. It's very unbecoming.

[Ima Fedup]

A lot of your so-called "Oldies" can't afford it. Some counties (like the one I'm in) do not offer the additional $25K Senior Exemption. I agree that it is unbecoming- it is unbecoming when a government is selfish enough to withold certain exemptions that are allowed by statute. The State should just go ahead and institute this exemption state-wide instead of leaving it the descretion of the counties. Ima Fedup and I'm not a senior.

12:45, if you buy fertilizer to fertilize your yard, you pay tax. If you pay someone to fertilize your yard, you pay the tax, too, because the guy you paid to do it paid tax on the fertilizer he bought for your yard, and he passed that on to you when he billed you, so you get to pay it. If this thing passes, you get to pay the tax twice . . . once when he buys the fertilizer and then again when you pay your bill and are taxed again on the service. Lucky you.

It's very easy to say, once you've finished your public education, “I shouldn’t have to pay for public education now”… I suspect those who paid for yours after they were finished… said the same thing.

There’s in “I” in “We or US”… but there are two of them in “I’ve got mine, screw you”.

[Ima Fedup]

1:59 - Thanks and call me when you are old enough to understand. You see, I paid for yours and what does it get me, nothing but disrepect,and a poorly attempted insult. Not a good return on my investment is it?

2:24,

Someone paid for yours and what did it get them? A severely bitter, self-absorbed, apathetic and ill-informed diaper wearer… ZERO return on the investment.

btw... who do you think pays for your meds?

[Ima Fedup]

Hey 2:52 and 2:55 - No meds and no diapers, just someone with a point of view that certainly seems to "push your buttons". Keep those diplomas of yours nice and shiny.

Darryl Rouson is showing the stuff of a leader on the commission if is half as good as this in the legislature it will be like having Peter Wallace in the delegation again, Rouson should be a slam dunk against Earnest who has never led in his life nice guy but we need a leader like Rouson

[john jay]

LET THE PEOPLE VOTE ON THIS!!

all you mental giants. This takes the schools off your taxes but lets your local government put it back on. Darryl wants the poor to pay more taxes and fool the property owners to think the taxes for schools will not be on your property tax bill!

Seems only three on the commission get it.

The three members who voted no were Orlando lawyer Jacinta Mathis, Clearwater real estate agent Nancy Riley and Brian Yablonski, a St. Joe Company executive.

Shame on you.

Its about time the State took full financial responsibility for the State education system.

Finally the TBRC shows some guts and realizes it's time to think outside the box!

If we add some service tax, WE NEED TO PASS LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PROHIBIT LOCAL OFFICIALS FROM TACKING MORE BACK ON PROPERTY TAXES LIKE PINELLAS IS TRYING TO DO IN THIS ELECTION.

I would rather see a cap like Prop 13 in Calif.

1.35% property tax cap would also be needed, so no matter what, local government cnnot raise taxes back.

i agree rouson is a leader, the thing i don't like about earnest williams is that he has a wife and a gay relationship on the side, i don't think we need that type of hypocricosy in the legislature

[Let the Catholic Nuns run education]

they seem to educate kids and do it without tremedous and waste spending by do-gooder bureaucrats. less administrative costs and do-gooderisms and focus on basic education with emphasis on western civilization and the rational society.

There are 8 attorneys on the tax commmission. Did the panel recommendation include attorney fees being taxed?

6:17,

i watched today's commission meeting on tv. was that rouson's campaign adviser looking for support at the meeting??

Rouson left the meeting before the vote.