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Be careful what you wish for. Children used to learn the dangers of unintended consequences from fairy tales. This November’s Florida ballot may carry a fairy tale that could teach voters the consequences of careless wishes.
Specifically, voters could soon have the opportunity to cut property taxes by 25 percent. Given the overwhelming success of the last property tax cut put before voters, it seems to have a good chance of passage. After all, who doesn’t favor reducing taxation?
However, and there always is a “however,” the proposed amendment isn’t a reduction in taxation. That would require a proposal that stated, “Do you favor reducing state spending by 25 percent?” Amendment Five is an opportunity to reduce one kind of taxation and consequently guarantee more of some other kind. Passing the amendment eliminates local property taxes for public education and directs the Florida Legislature to institute at least a penny increase in the state sales tax and otherwise replace the lost revenue.
This ingenious plan comes courtesy of the state’s Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, an appointed body that clearly concluded turmoil and a cheap political stunt was superior to the difficult business of reforming taxation. True reform might have required discussion of a state income tax or a “flat tax” sales tax without any exemptions. We’re not endorsing either of those alternatives, but this isn’t even an alternative. This amendment amounts to “let somebody else clean up the mess” legislation.
Florida has a history of such political tinkering with its tax laws, making changes that are politically expedient although unconstitutional. Remember when new residents had to pay a higher fee for registering automobiles or were not granted the same homestead exemption as longtime residents? Both were left to the courts to be reversed, but not until years later.
This amendment is equally vulnerable to legal challenge and may not even make it to the ballot. There is widespread and diverse opposition to this “tax swap” plan, from business groups to teachers’ unions and more. The proposed swap doesn’t even begin to cover the tax revenue that would be lost and places support of education on the vagaries of the most volatile tax the state collects and the good intentions of the Florida Legislature. Certainly during an economic downturn, the message should be clear. Sales tax revenue depends on consumer spending. Less spending equals less revenue. Just as per gallon gasoline tax revenues have plunged with cuts in driving, sales tax revenue will decline as consumers spend less.
Education is given lip service as one of the state’s greatest priorities, but actions such as this suggest that is a sham. Local high schools have been labeled “drop-out factories” and the state is near the bottom of every national measure of educational achievement. Gov. Charlie Crist would better serve the state by calling a special session to again address property tax reform rather than endorsing and campaigning for this sham of a “tax swap.”
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