Florida Today: Haridopolos leads charge against ‘bait and switch’ tax amendment

Monday, June 23, 2008

BY BILL COTTERELL
FLORIDA TODAY CAPITAL BUREAU

TALLAHASSEE—One of the Legislature’s top money managers enlisted several business, education, health care and civic organizations Monday to fight the “tax swap” amendment on Florida’s ballot next fall.

State Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, called for a series of 10 public debates on Amendment 5. The proposal, put on the ballot by the Tax and Budget Reform Commission, would wipe out the required county property tax levy for schools and make future legislative sessions come up with replacement revenues to support education.

“We consider this a simple bait-and-switch ... and under the guise of property tax relief we think in a lot of ways this is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Haridopolos said. “This plan would make politicians, two and a half to three years from now, figure out what to do. We’ve got enough problems in Florida, the last thing we need are self-made problems and we consider this to be nothing more than a Robin Hood in reverse.”

Haridopolos is in line to be Senate president in the 2010-12 term, when the amendment would give lawmakers the option of raising the sales tax 1 percent, repealing some exemptions, imposing new taxes on services or cutting state spending. He said at a news conference that it would require some combination of multibillion-dollar tax increases and drastic cuts in state spending—inevitably affecting education and health services for the poor and elderly.

“It’s a $9 billion or $10 billion gamble for the people of Florida,” said Wayne Blanton, director of the Florida School Boards Association. “It’s blue smoke and mirrors, it’s a tax switch.”

Allen Douglas, legislative director for the National Federation of Independent Business, said business owners are already grappling with rising fuel costs, food prices and consumer hesitancy. He said the NFIB’s recent “optimism index” survey hit a 28-year low among his 12,000 small-employer members.

“This just creates more uncertainty for the small-business owner,” he said. “The property-tax cuts would be at least three years away and, on the other side, we don’t know what’s going to be taxed or at what level it’s going to be taxed to make up that revenue.”

McKay could not be reached for comment. But John Sebree, vice president for public policy at the Florida Association of Realtors, said supporters of Amendment 5 will form their own political coalition to campaign for its passage in the next few days.

The FAR has the tougher challenge, needing 60 percent public approval to pass a constitutional amendment. But Sebree said passage of Amendment 1, a property-tax initiative voted on Jan. 29, was encouraging.

“We will put together our own political committee,” said Sebree. “It’s obviously going to be an uphill battle to educate the public, especially when people are doing their best to confuse the public but I think, at the end of the day, they’ll vote themselves another property tax relief.”

Besides the NFIB and school boards, members of Haridopolos “Protect Florida’s Future” coalition include the AARP, Florida Hospital Association, Education Association, Association of School Administrators, Association of District School Superintendents, Association of Community Colleges Council of Presidents, Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, Florida Institute of CPAs, Americans for Tax Reform, Florida Farm Bureau and the Florida Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.