NorthWest Florida Republican

Even after some budgetary cuts, the Florida Legislature is still looking at ways to increase revenue. One of the only ways they can increase revenue is to increase taxes.

Florida’s threadbare state budget, now cut by more than $8-billion since July 2007, has Republican legislators talking about what until now was reviled as heresy: taxes. – Tampabay.com

While this might sound great to the Florida Legislature it isn’t all that great to those who have to pay them. Maybe they still haven’t gotten the idea that the residents in Florida do not want more taxes. That should have been quite evident from the last two failures of Amendments to pass a one cent sales tax increase.

There are a bunch of taxes and loopholes that the Florida Legislature plans on reviewing. Many of them will directly affect the ones who need the relief the most: Small Businesses and Residents.

I know that many people are smokers and there is some reluctance to pass higher taxes on cigarettes, but I don’t see a problem with that idea myself. If anything, tax revenues it generates should be directly used in any health related services that Florida provides.

The biggest idea that they have is the taxation of internet sales. Currently, none of the sales made through the internet in Florida can be taxed. But this could change as there are quite a few businesses behind this idea.

Taxing the internet sales won’t do anything for those businesses who say they are suffering at the hands of those sales. They will continue to lose customers. Especially if current trends continue at marketplaces such as Amazon where shipping is free over a certain value. Makes it very practical to purchase your goods by saving on gas and time.

Yet there continues to be debate on how to increase revenues without hurting business. It doesn’t seem that they care all that much about the residents.

Sure, revenues to the Florida Government have dropped quite a bit in the last two years. But the costs to ordinary residents have gone up considerably since then too. Our focus shouldn’t be on how to increase the revenue so much as it should be on how to decrease our spending. Like good little Republicans should.

“The gravity of the current fiscal situation is clear,” Senate President Jeff Atwater, a North Palm Beach Republican, said on the opening day of the Legislature’s two-week budget cutting session. “We are simply spending money we do not have.”

Atwater ordered the Senate to lead the search for new revenue and include “a review of our tax system.” He has created a select committee to review ways to stimulate the economy as well as examine hundreds of sales tax exemptions — on food, rent, drugs and services — to determine which continue to make economic sense and which should be repealed.

So be prepared for your food to start being taxed. Your rent could go up because it will be double taxed. All of you who are on medication could see an increase in cost as taxes are added to that hundred dollar prescription. And you might have to fire the lawn service after they start charging you taxes as well.

If any thing needs to be done it is to fix the loopholes that allow large corporations to avoid paying taxes at all. They can also look at social services to see if it being provided to residents of the US and stop providing services to those who are here illegally.

I am certain there are other things that can be done that will reduce the budget. They just have to be willing to reduce or eliminate wasteful or no longer needed programs and make sure that those programs in place are being used properly for Residents of Florida.

Make certain you call your Florida State Representative and let them know you are in no means able to handle an increase in any taxes. It is time for Republicans everywhere to start acting like Republicans and reduce government spending and taxes.