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In November Floridians will have the chance to trade property taxes for a one cent increase in the sales tax. Early estimates predict the swap would create a budget short fall of more than 4 billion dollars. As Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers would have to try and make up the difference and nothing is off limits.

Hear it here: Tax Trade Doesn’t Add Up

Property taxes dedicated to school funding raise almost 8 billion dollars a year. A penny increase in the sales tax raises less than half that much. If a proposed swap is approved by voters, lawmakers will have to make up the difference. House Speaker Marco Rubio said eliminating sales tax exemptions won’t do it.

“If there’s something that’s ridiculous that’s on there we should look at it and talk about it. I just don’t think we should be obsessed with constantly looking for revenue sources, when in fact we have a structural spending problem in government and many of the sources they out line really wouldn’t generate enough money,” said Rubio.

Rubio says a stimulated economy will make up part of the difference. Because of term limits Marco Rubio won’t be the Speaker of the House when the proposed amendment would go into effect. The next Speaker, Ray Sansom, will inherit any deficit left by the tax swap plan. He declined to talk about the budget, but Representative Susan Bucher had plenty to say and believes sales tax exemptions, like those on bottled eater and dry cleaning would have to go.

“They shouldn’t be off limits. Some of the tax exemptions have been there for years and years and we need to continually go out and measure the public benefit of these tax exemptions,” said Bucher.

School lobbyist Marshall Ogletree said the plan raises major concerns for education workers.

“Teachers are citizens too. Bus drivers are citizens too, they have to buy their groceries as well,” said Ogletree.

Finding the cash is sure to be part of the campaign for and against the amendment. The tax swap plan is just one of several proposals the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission has reviewed. In November, several tax reform amendments could be on the ballot.