Haridopolos begins campaign to defeat ‘tax-swap’ amendment

Monday, June 23, 2008

By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital Bureau Political Editor

Backed by a large coalition of education, business and health-care groups, one of the Florida Legislature’s top money men today began a campaign to defeat a “tax-swap” amendment on the November ballot.

State Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, called Amendment 5 “a bait and switch” that looks good at first glance—requiring repeal of property taxes for school support—but winds up costing taxpayers billions through an increase in the sales tax.

At a news conference in Tallahassee, Haridopolos brought together a large group of lobbyists and association representatives from schools, small business, hospital and medical organizations and agriculture.

Haridopolos challenged former Senate President John McKay, R-Bradenton, to join him in a series of debates on the amendment. McKay, a member of the Tax and Budget Reform Commission, sponsored the proposal.

In addition to a penny-per-dollar sales tax increase, the amendment allows the Legislature to find state-level money for schools by reducing state spending and closing some tax exemptions.

Haridopolos, who is chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee and is in line to be Senate president in the 2010 session, said that if the amendment passes, lawmakers will have to drastically reduce state services while coming up with the largest tax increase in state history to replace revenue lost to the counties from the school property tax.

Efforts to reach McKay for comment were unsuccessful.