Hillsborough: Hey, let's tax that other guy instead

I don't mind paying a fair amount of taxes on my house, because it pays for the schools, the parks, and the police and fire departments.

But, of course, I am an idiot and a sucker for thinking that way. The proper thing is to despise taxes altogether.

One can't even say, "I believe local taxes have grown too fast and we need to yank hard on the reins."

That is not enough. Instead, as our state House advocates, we ought to get rid of taxes on our houses altogether.

There is a catch. Getting rid of all the taxes on homes means that even my Republican friends who run the state House would have to raise taxes somewhere else.

So here is their idea: Everybody should pay more sales tax at the cash register, up to 2.5 cents more on the dollar. Depending on your county, that could mean a tax of up to 9.5 cents on the dollar.

Make no mistake: The idea is to transfer much of the tax burden from the class of homeowners to the class of consumers in general.

Also make no mistake: This is probably a sweet deal if you are a homeowner. For the past week, I've been hearing from Floridians who have done the math and figure they will come out way ahead.

So if that is your sole consideration - will I, personally, save the most money? - then by all means, you should support the House's plan.

I suppose a whiny person might point out that there are hidden costs in this plan, costs that can't be calculated yet. What is the cost per household for a future police officer not hired, a school not built, a park not bought?

So, too, is the argument that relying on a sales tax is not the smartest idea. Sales tax can be notoriously volatile, especially when the economy turns down, which it does from time to time. But who cares?

Neither is it any use to argue that the sales tax is unfair. The less money you make in Florida, the bigger a percentage of your income that goes to sales taxes. This is, I suppose, the fault of those dumb poor people. They spend their money on shoes and soap for their kids, and not for the things that Florida doesn't tax - accountants, lawyers, lawn services, that sort of thing.

So I am left with one final argument: The goal, when our Legislature went to Tallahassee two months ago, was just to fix Florida's local property taxes, not to upheave the state's whole danged tax philosophy on the fly.

There were two problems to address: Local taxes had grown too fast, because of high property values, and taxes had gotten too skewed, because of the effects of the Save Our Homes cap.

The state Senate, in reply, has come up with a plan: Roll back local taxes. Cap how fast they can go up in the future. Give some help to people trapped by the Save Our Homes mess.

Agree? Disagree? Don't like my haircut? All week long readers have been debating taxes and other issues at my online blog, TroxBlog. Go to www.tampabay.com, click on the "Blogs" link, and look for TroxBlog there.

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Comments on this article

by John	05/02/07 01:17 AM
Mary, give me a break. Our local government was running pretty well with around half the budget only a few years ago. This is pure and simple local government spending like drunken sailors. Well the party's over. It's time to pay the piper.

by Mary	04/30/07 04:38 PM
Good grief, I doubt that one of you know what it takes to run the Government. Like it or not, Civil Servants are entitled to be PAID a decent salary. They are "civil", not "indentured" servants. And Fred, your neighbor pays those taxes. "

by Sam	04/30/07 12:34 PM
Iò019m not quite sure why there is a perception that renters donò019t pay property taxes. They do; itò019s built into their rent. Higher property tax does equal an increase in rent.

by Rene	04/30/07 10:35 AM
Kathy: Renters bear a proportion of the tax burden by paying rent - do you think my landlord doesn't apply my rent toward anything other than the mortgage? Our building was sold last year to new owners - property taxes went up and so did my rent.

by Michael	04/30/07 09:45 AM
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/042207/opl_9369842.shtml Sheriff's aid gets 25% pay raise. Go ahead and tell me we aren't paying too much in property taxes.

by Terri	04/30/07 09:40 AM
I pay $890 a month for a substandard apartment on the North side. I doubt that my rent will go down if they do away with property tax, as it increases by $40 a year. Having to pay additional sales tax without reaping any benefit really irks me!

by Bob	04/30/07 03:03 AM
One thing that seems to be overlooked everytime people discuss this topic is that it has been the rapid rise in property values that have skewd the "save our homes". Had the values not taken off like a rocket would there have been such a hue and cry?

by John	04/29/07 11:50 PM
Florida has one of the highest property taxes in the country. Why should property owners bare all the responsibilities of local services? We have to ask, is this a fair system? Going to an all-sales tax model may be best. Most everyonewould help pay

by Dave	04/29/07 09:17 PM
Hey who wants to educate our children or have libraries or help the poor with housing or food or health care. The guy with the $20 million house doesn't care, so neither does the House. We do, but we don't seem to count.

by DrewFinn	04/29/07 09:15 PM
No matter what is done, we will all pay through the nose one way or another. I don't mind paying taxes. What annoys me is what they do with the money after they get it - WASTE - WASTE - WASTE !!!!

by Dave	04/29/07 09:10 PM
I haven't seen mention of how the person with that million dollar house, or even that 30 million dollar house, will suddenly save gazillions of bucks while the guy making $10 an hour will go barefoot and have to drive to Georgia to buy a used car.

by Kathy	04/29/07 04:15 PM
The sales tax (as opposed to property tax) would mean that renters would bear a proportion of the tax burden that they do not currently bear. I'm personally tired of paying for people who don't contribute, but who use the services I pay for.

by Al	04/29/07 04:10 PM
How about Florida's "Dirty little secret"... Visitors and snowbirds are welcome here. Why? Because they are the "prey". Gov reps are mainly "stay put homesteaders". The Mayor of Clearwater for example pays $.40 for the same services I pay $1.00 for.

by Steve	04/29/07 12:36 PM
The solution is to eliminate property and sales taxes and institute a flat 5% income tax for everyone above the poverty income line. Fair and equitable.

by Dan	04/29/07 09:53 AM
HOWARD TROXLER, WAKE UP THE WAIST IN ST.PETE GOVERNMENT IS GOING UNCHECKED. YOU WANT ANOTHER COP THAN FIRE SOME OF THOSE OVERPAID STAFFERS WHO DO NOTHING TO EARN THEIR PAY. THAT MONEY COULD FUND MANY COPS FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. MILLIONS ARE WAISTED.

by Pete	04/29/07 09:53 AM
Why does Florida want to be the first state to eliminate personal property tax? I found no other state that does this. Most states tax income, spending and property in some balance. Taxes must be levied. The question is, who should pay them?

by Fred	04/29/07 09:51 AM
My neighbor rents his house from a relative and never pays the rent. He doesn't have a job but he sits at home and smokes pot all day. Did I mention he has 2 kids and a wife who doesn't work. They collect welfare. Why do I have to pay his taxes?

by Art	04/29/07 08:55 AM
Your article is more fear mongering. The house plan is the only plan to give both realistic tax relief, and equal taxation on similarly appraised properties that are capped. Your view that there would be a loss of service or protection is not valid

by Gary	04/29/07 08:12 AM
Although it would cost me personally, the Save Our Homes amendment needs to be rescinded for simple fairness. And local taxes should be left to local governments. If we think taxes are too high, we can elect different local officials.

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Hey, let's tax that other guy instead