Florida commission votes to put tax-swap amendment on November ballot

By Bill Cotterell • news-press.com Tallahassee bureau political editor • April 24, 2008

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• Editor's note: The news-press.com Tallahassee bureau is providing updates of today's session of the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission which can put tax issues on the November ballot.

TALLAHASSEE — With one vote to spare, a powerful state commission today decided to put a hotly controversial tax-swap constitutional amendment on the November ballot, asking Florida voters if they want to slash school taxes in return for an increase in the state sales tax and some unknown other levies.

The vote, after a prolonged debate by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, was 18-7. It takes 17 votes to put anything before the voters, and the commission is working through an eight-item agenda of proposals it has considered over the past 13 months in statewide public hearings.

The big package by former Senate President John McKay of Bradenton would abolish the "required local effort" of county property taxes for schools – about a quarter of the typical property tax bill, though that varies widely by county. The Legislature would have a range of options for making up the $9 billion revenue loss, including a sales tax increase of up to 1 cent, repeal of existing exemptions and cuts in other state spending.

Opponents warned that the Legislature would probably have to bring back the services tax -- a 1987 debacle that still resonates in Capitol halls -- in order to absorb such a hit. But McKay and other supporters said the public wants property tax relief.

Earlier today, the tax commission withdrew a proposal that might have led to Florida joining other states in seeking to apply the sales tax to internet transactions and mail-order sales. Commissioner Randy Miller, who sponsored the amendment, said he has been assured by state legislative leaders that the "remote sales" issue will be taken up in future legislative sessions.