TALLAHASSEE - About a half-million investors no longer will have to pay state taxes on stock, bond and mutual fund holdings in 2004 and drivers older than 80 will have to pass vision tests when they renew their licenses starting today.
About 514,000 Floridians who pay the "intangibles tax" on their securities holdings will be dropped from the rolls starting today because of a change lawmakers made in 2001. The break was supposed to start in 2002 but was postponed because of the slumping economy.
The law increases the amount exempt from the tax. The first $20,000 in securities holdings had been exempt from the tax. Now, the minimum will be $250,000, removing 142,000 individuals from the rolls. The exemption for couples also will increase from $40,000 to $500,000, resulting in an additional 372,000 people being freed from the tax.
The law also creates an exemption of $250,000 for businesses that have stock and bond holdings.
"This is the biggest single change in the intangibles tax, in terms of the number of the people affected, that has been enacted since the tax was created (in 1931)," said Dave Bruns, spokesman for the Department of Revenue.
Also starting today, more than 500,000 Floridians must pass vision tests to renew their driver's licenses. Drivers who renew in person already get vision tests. But most renew by mail, which they can do every six years up to three times.
Drivers older than 80 still will be able to renew by mail or online but will have to have forms signed by their eye doctors saying they've passed the vision test.
"With their glasses or lenses on, their vision should be 20/70 ... when the eye chart is looked at from both eyes," said Bob Sanchez, Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles spokesman. "If they're blind in one eye, then with their glasses or lenses on, it will need to be 20/40 in the other good eye."
Passing such a measure in Florida became much easier last year when the senior citizens lobby AARP supported it, as long as the measure included a study of how to make the roads safer for the elderly, which it does. That study is due to be finished early this year.
The intangibles tax has been targeted by Gov. Jeb Bush and Republican lawmakers for years. They say that it unfairly punishes people who had the foresight to put away money and that it amounts to double taxation for people who moved from out of state, because they paid income tax on it in their home states when they earned it.
"Seniors and savers can look forward to keeping more of their money in 2004," Bush said recently.
But Democrats and advocates for the poor and elderly say the money could be better spent.
"I'm not sure the wisest thing would be to continue to allow those who are the most wealthy in the state of Florida to continue to receive a tax break," said House Democratic Leader Doug Wiles of St. Augustine.
"We could begin the first phase of having enough teachers in our public schools. If we didn't want to do that, we could improve the salary of teachers."
Karen Woodall, a longtime lobbyist for social services, said the money the state will forgo by not collecting the tax could dramatically reduce the number of children in need of health insurance.
"We've got 70,000 kids on a waiting list," she said.
The new law will cost the state an estimated $112-million next year. The intangibles tax is $1 for every $1,000 in stock, bond and mutual fund holdings outside of retirement accounts.
Other laws taking effect today will:
Allow only people with 10 percent or more ownership in construction firms to be considered officers. The law is aimed at reducing fraud in workers compensation insurance. A number of firms are thought to be avoiding payment into the system by listing workers as corporate officers, who are exempt. The law also stiffens penalties for violators.
Require directors of licensed day care facilities to have certification that they have completed at least 165 hours of training in such areas as child care and business management.
