Despite a 10 percent cut to their state spending plan for next year, House lawmakers said Monday that a historic run of budget shortfalls might not be over. 'We are in uncharted waters,' said House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami. 'I don't think we've ever been in this place - certainly not in modern history in Florida.'"
Remind me. Which political party has been sailing Florida's ship of state for the last decade?
"The Florida House leadership presented a budget plan of $65.1 billion [Monday] and proposed an emergency stop-gap measure to head off any further shortfalls in state revenue collections. House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, and budget chief Rep. Ray Sansom said the budget fiscal 2008-09 that will be considered by Sansom's House Policy and Budget Council is almost 10 percent below the final 2007-08 budget. That budget was about $70.3 billion after some reductions forced by state revenues not keeping up with projections."
And how is this for raw political courage?:
"state lawmakers are proposing giving Gov. Charlie Crist and a handful of legislators the power to spend up to $1.7-billion in reserves to avoid a deficit."
State Lawmakers, which are overwhelmingly GOP, have to cut services, such as education and health care for the poor, and can't think of anything to do about it. REALLY??
The Florida Tax Handbook lists 246 exemptions to the sales tax, including skyboxes, tickets to the ballet, and the sales of satellites and space vehicles.
The International Game Fish Association World Center skips $1.2 million in sales taxes. The Professional Golf Hall of Fame avoids $2.4 million.
On Thursday, Senate Democrats called to eliminate a sales tax break on chartered deep-sea fishing boats, which they say could raise $65-million. Of course, if you are a regular joe, there's a tax on cane poles and fishing rods!
If you look throught the handbook, you will notice a skew towards goods and services for the wealthier set. GO figure.
Remove all 246 exemptions and the state could bring in $12.3 billion in revenue .
Those who would be affected the least pay the least but make the most. Do you really think someone who can afford to charter a boat would be broke paying a sales fee--which is the backbone of our whole stupid tax structure here?
Hello SeminoleDem, call me OspreyDem Ha Ha.
ReplyDeleteI'll bite. Didn't we used to have an intangibles tax on securities and stuff like that that rich folks had a lot of? Maybe we could reinstate that tax.
Or maybe we could stop cutting the property tax millage rate. The Jax mayor (small m cause he's so short) makes a big deal every year that he's cut taxes this way. Then we could reasses large properties, they always seem to be significantly undervalued compared to us residential property owners. Special attention should be directed to all the gas station/ mini markets, especially the Gate stations.
I do what I can but in this part of the state it's like peeing in the wind.
Thanks for the opportunity to vent,
Josiah Bartlett
vent anytime friend!
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