2008 Florida legislative Agenda
Five-Point Plan to Protect Florida Taxpayers

1. Stimulate the economy by lower taxes, less spending, reducing regulations and bringing more transparency to government spending

The Florida Legislature should oppose any attempt to increase taxes. Increasing taxes would make Florida less attractive for new businesses and less affordable for all Floridians. We should not put workers at a disadvantage by raising the cost of doing business in Florida when other states are trying to lure our jobs and businesses. We need tax and regulatory policies that attract businesses to Florida to provide quality jobs and economic growth. The Florida Legislature should look to improve efficiency, accountability and transparency to lower the cost of government and make wise use of Florida Taxpayer’s money.

2. Lower Property Taxes

Property taxes are exceeding the ability of many taxpayers to pay, especially non-homesteaded properties, such as commercial, investment and second homeowners. The tax burden has created economic problems for Florida as evidenced by state budget shortfalls. Businesses are cutting back, eliminating jobs or looking to relocate to another state. The same can be said for snowbirds that are critical to our economy, as they seek out other states for their winter destination. First-time homeowners and senior citizens are finding the property tax burden too much and are having a hard time making ends meet. Property Appraisers using “Highest and Best Use” have created unaffordable tax liabilities for many small businesses. Non-Homesteaded property owners should have the same safe-guard from skyrocketing taxes as Homesteaded owners with a meaningful assessment cap. Governor Crist and many Legislators who campaigned in support of Amendment One acknowledged it did not go far enough to solve the property tax crisis and promised voters they would deliver more.

3. Enact a Tax Revenue Cap

Taxpayer Protection Amendment that puts meaningful revenue caps on state and local governments. A meaningful cap would be tied to the rate of annual population growth plus inflation. Also, requires that any tax increase must be approved by a vote of the people; this approval process brings public scrutiny and gives taxpayers a place at the table. A Taxpayer Protection Amendment would force lawmakers to live under spending restraints in the same manner that families and businesses do by forcing lawmakers to set priorities and cut wasteful spending. One of the fundamental reasons to enact revenue and spending limits is to protect taxpayers from constantly rising demands on their pocketbooks. Government can still grow at a slow and predictable rate and without a revenue cap like TABOR, elected officials have incentives to continually expand government when tax revenues are plentiful, and then are forced to increase taxes or cut services during an economic downturn.

4. Property Insurance-Reduce Risk to Taxpayers

With Citizens Property Insurance becoming the primary insurer of property in Florida, the Florida taxpayer could be on the hook for billions of dollars if a hurricane of any significance hits Florida. Insuring Florida properties with state dollars will lead to huge debts, and all taxpayers will bear responsibility for that debt. Weather scientist has said we are 10 years into a 30 year hurricane cycle. Citizens will suffer a deficit of $3.7 billion and the CAT Fund will suffer a deficit of $22.3 billion if a 1 in 25 year hurricane hits Florida. Property insurance rates should be based on actuarial decisions and not political decisions and Citizens rates are artificially low and would not be able to cover claims from a future storm. Floridians would be hit with huge assessments on their property, auto and other insurance policies, and the state would have to issue bonds to finance what insurance rate hikes wouldn’t cover. Consumers in Florida would be served best by laws that attract new capital into the state; competition serves consumers better than regulation. Fostering a competitive private insurance market will provide citizens with the coverage they need without putting the state at financial risk. The Florida Legislature should continue to enhance the Capital Incentive Program to encourage the growth of private insurance companies instead of the continued growth of Citizens.

5. Taxpayers don’t need higher energy prices

Florida Taxpayers Union opposes “Cap and Trade” proposals to cap carbon emissions. “Cap and Trade” would increase energy costs and do considerably more economic harm than environmental good. “Cap and Trade” proposals would mean more expensive gasoline and electricity. Higher energy prices mean a higher cost of living across the board. Food and perishable items will cost more to ship. With higher utility prices, stores will have to pay more to keep the lights on. Hotels will pay more to air-condition tourists. Raising energy costs introduces a ripple effect throughout the economy that will be felt by all Floridians. With the current recession and high property taxes, the Florida taxpayer doesn’t need any more stress on their bank accounts. The Florida Legislature should embrace a responsible approach to climate change by focusing on private sector technology and innovations to solve energy and environmental problems.