Florida raising sales tax?

[fatcat]

i heard rummer from warmer part of the state. Florida is about to raise sales tax by a penny. Anybody know if it is true?

[Charles Hunter]

Raising the sales tax will probably be one of the options the Legislature will look at to balance the budget.  Eliminating some of the exemptions (aka "loopholes") will also likely be on the menu.  Given the phobia the Republican controlled Legislature has about raising taxes, I would wager they will slash all kinds of spending (education, health care, transportation) and impose mandatory furloughs for state workers.  Earlier, they were talking about a two week furlough.  That would be 10 work days, or a 4% pay cut.
California and Michigan (to name two) have already done that - they scattered the furlough days (forced day off without pay) through the year.  Then, if all that doesn't balance the budget, and only then, will they look at raising taxes. 

I've heard the cigarette tax will be the first to be raised, as much as a buck a pack increase.

[fatcat]

well, i do not smoke so i can not speak for smokers. Too bad there is not enough support to legalize prostitution. I bet there is plenty of sin tax to be collect there. Instead I have to deal with prostitutes walking on 8th st.

[Cliffs_Daughter]

My own 2 cents contribution (or is it 1 cent??)  would be to have the state enforce sales tax collection with any online sales. HUGE chunk of revenue they're ignoring here. Technically, anyone who buys something online (forget the exact verbage) is supposed to report it and pay later if it's not assessed at the point of sale.

How many folks can you name who actually do this?

[fatcat]

collecting sales (or use) tax from on line and catalog sales can be difficult to implement. This is why many state talked about it but did not implement it. When I use to live in MA, some times state delegates would wait on 95 for people who purchase big items like huge furniture. But they certainly missed the Jewry shoppers.

Most internet shops today are required to collect sales tax if they has "traditional" shops in the state. of course, the state can hit the catalog/internet shops with shipping destination requirement, i.e. the sales tax needs to be collected as long as the shipping destination is in the state. But this is going to need co-operating of all states and some states may not be interested in cooperating.

[jbm32206]

I would not be surprised if they raise the sales tax, and as much as I don't want to see that happen, they're going to need to have revenue from somewhere. Since we don't have a state tax, then sales is about the one place they'll start looking. The tax on cigarettes is ridiculous....they keep raising that, but push to have people quit...who will they go after when that revenue starts to dwindle?

[fatcat]

The tax on cigarettes is ridiculous....they keep raising that, but push to have people quit...who will they go after when that revenue starts to dwindle?

This is why i say let's legalize weed. Increase tax revenue and cut expense (or send police to do something else) in the same time. I think I will run for office as an independent "party cat" on the platform of legalize vice.

[gatorback]

I thought the way to go forward was to cut taxes.  Jack up the smoke tax a $1.00.  Cut medical cost when few people smoke.

[BridgeTroll]

Coming soon to a county near you...

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,24659589-5005369,00.html

HOUSEHOLDERS would be charged for each flush under a radical new toilet tax designed to help beat the drought.

The scheme would replace the current system, which sees sewage charges based on a home's value - not its waste water output.

CSIRO Policy and Economic Research Unit member Jim McColl and Adelaide University Water Management Professor Mike Young plan to promote the move to state and federal politicians and experts across the country.

"It would encourage people to reduce their sewage output by taking shorter showers,recycling washing machine water or connecting rainwater tanks to internal plumbingto reduce their charges,''Professor Young said.

"Some people may go as far as not flushing their toilet as often because the less sewage you produce, the less sewage rate you pay.''

Professor Young said sewer pricing needed to be addressed as part of the response to the water crisis.

"People have been frightened to talk about sewage because it is yucky stuff, but it is critically important to address it, as part of the whole water cycle,'' he said.

"We are looking at reforming the way sewage is priced and this plan will drive interest in the different ways water is used throughout Australia.''

The reform would see the abolition of the property-based charge with one based on a pay-as-you-go rate and a small fixed annual fee to cover the cost of meter readings and pipeline maintenance, Professor Young said.

The pay-as-you-go rate would provide financial savings for those who reduce their waste water output.

Professor Young and Mr McColl will promote the plan nationally through their Droplet, a newsletter whose 6000 subscribers include state and federal politicians, water policy specialists and economists around the country.

Professor Young said a sewage pricing plan, like the one proposed, was already used in the US.

"In places like the City of Bellaire, Texas (a virtual suburb of Houston), they do it and the system seems to work,'' he said.

"As nearly all of (the homes in) mainland Australia's cities and towns already have water meters, introduction of a volumetric charge, such as that used in the City of Bellaire, would not be difficult to implement.''

Mr McColl said the plan had to be viewed in the context of "the crucial issues surrounding water resources'' in Australia.

"We should be prepared for the (drought) situation we are going through now to occur again, as well as the potential impact of climate change, so we have to act now for the future,'' he said.

[Charles Hunter]

As I understand it, Australia has been in severe drought conditions for several years now, with very strict water use limits.  Here, we pay for water coming in, and the sewer rate is based on incoming use.  Thus, we pay sewer rates on irrigation water.  Whether that is a 'good' or 'bad' thing is a topic for further discussion.

[gatorback]

You can get a 2nd. meter installed by the JEA for iggigation that doesn't have the sewer % tacked on.  Did you see that California is starting water rations? 

[urbanlibertarian]

Raise taxes during a recession?  And raise sin taxes which disproportionally hit the poor hardest?  What are they thinking?

[gatorback]

That very tax helps pay the medical expenses on those hardest hit by smoking. Smokers.