Rick Scott Rallies for Tax Cuts
February 3rd, 2016 by Mike Vasilinda
Governor Rick Scott continued his push for a billion dollar tax cut that benefits mostly businesses today, And as Mike Vasilinda tells us the Governor is getting some pushback from lawmakers over who should reap the benefits.
To pitch his tax cuts, Governor Rick Scott took to tossing bean bags in the Capitol rotunda.
“Oh, it’s tied up right now”
He was joined by the leaders of the state’s two biggest business lobby groups.
“It’s unfair that our businesses are in the only state where they pay a tax on commercials leases” said Scott as part of his pitch.
But nowhere in sight were average people who would benefit from the cuts.
When you look at the breakdown, almost all of the money goes to businesses, with only ten or eleven percent going to businesses.
Scott says in the end creating jobs will benefit everyone.
“You’ve seen as we’ve cut taxes, our revenues have grown. Home prices have gone up. People have jobs. We have over a million jobs.”
Four floors up in the state Capitol lawmakers put the initial budget to a vote, but only after criticism that increases in education…more than four hundred million this year are coming from higher property taxes known as the required local effort or RLE. Senate President Andy Gardiner says everything is on the table.
“I think the RLE is certainly in play. I thinks it’s an open discussion. It is a broad based tax cut” gardiner told reporters,
The the Senates powerful chairman of Education Appropriations, Don gaetz (R-Niceville) says 254 million ought to cut from the required local effort.
“That has a positive impact , I guess, on at least eleven million Floridians who pay property taxes” says Gaetz.
As for the bean bag pitching, Scott did about as well as the elements of his tax cut pitch is doing. He came close a bunch of times but hitting the mark just once.
And if you are wondering what tossing bean bags has to do with tax cuts, the game is made in Florida and the Governor is seeking a permeant cut for equipment used in manufacturing.
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