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Florida needs tax cap

By DAVID McKALIP Special to the Times
Published February 15, 2007

Something amazing has happened in Tallahassee. Gov. Charlie Crist has recognized that the government is spending too much money and fueling its excessive spending with exorbitant taxes on Floridians. This is extraordinary, since most politicians these days get re-elected by making sure they are spending as much money as possible on various special projects.

The governor's recognition of these problems is a breath of fresh air for Floridians who are suffering under skyrocketing tax bills, predominately property taxes. The governor offered some tentative first steps to help solve these problems: allowing local governments to double the homestead exemption, capping property tax growth on business owners and allowing the Save Our Homes cap to be transportable.

However, Florida taxpayers need longer-term and stronger solutions for relief. They should be concerned that these proposals will only shift the tax burden to others and excessive spending to state government. In a few years, we will be right back where we started.

St. Petersburg is a classic example of what is wrong with local government spending and mirrors what is going on in governments all over the state. In 1999, St. Petersburg collected about $52-million in tax dollars from its residents. In 2007, it will collect $103.4-million based on the increased property values in the city. Since 2000, it has given away $34-million in subsidies to theaters, piers, ports, the Devil Rays and other programs that are supposed to pay their own way. It pays 75 percent of the cost of health insurance for the families of its 3,000 employees (which is rare for private business). The city worked with the state to help a megacorporation (SRI) receive $30-million in state, county and local taxpayer dollars to build a private building in St. Pete in addition to the $30-million in state research grants the company receives. And the list goes on.

While the local governments have gotten rich, the property owners have only gotten wealthier on paper and are having trouble affording the huge tax bills. Any attempt to call for restraint in tax growth is met with complaints from City Council members that "basic services" will suffer and they can't afford to lose even a penny. Most people would agree that the things listed are not "basic services" that governments should provide.

The governor's proposals will help some of those who are being affected: the elderly homeowner who can't move to a smaller house without higher taxes, the business owner who must pass on high taxes to his customers or go out of business, the renter who faces increasing rents from an overtaxed building owner. However, it won't help an even larger population of people who will still be hurt by high taxes.

If the governor wants voters to decide how to gain tax relief, perhaps he should offer them a choice for a real and permanent solution: a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. TABOR would cap tax and spending growth at all levels of government from the state down to the fire district. Governments should not be able to play a shell game with taxes by providing relief for some that results in higher taxes for others. The cap on all forms of tax growth should be just like Save Our Homes: the lesser of 3 percent or inflation, and include population growth. Government spending must also be capped since - just like average citizens do everyday - that is the only way for the government to save money and spend less.

Under TABOR, to ensure that the government can fund important projects that citizens want, voters would be allowed to vote for increased government spending and taxation when it is needed - for instance, to build a $10-million overpass.

The governor is to be applauded for working on this serious problem. Call him and your representative and senator in Tallahassee and ask them to give the voters a real choice for a permanent fix. For any special election this year, ask them to place - alongside the governor's proposals - a choice for a Taxpayer Bill of Rights on the ballot.

David McKalip is the chairman of Cut Taxes Now Inc., which supports tax relief for Floridians.

[Last modified February 15, 2007, 01:20:13]