State of Florida Archives: on Tax Reform

Adam Putnam: Opposes a "kayak tax" on non-motorized boats

Adam Putnam: Amend constitution to make tax hikes harder

Andrew Gillum: Economy should works for all, not just those at the top

A: Support--Andrew believes creating an economy that works for all Floridians, instead of just those at the top, should be an imperative. Creating an economy that works for all Floridians, instead of just those at the top, should be an imperative. Florida has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the country with the top 1% receiving over 30 times more than the bottom 99%. This inequality hurts our economic growth and stifles opportunities for Floridians to join the middle class and achieve the American Dream. Nearly half of Florida households struggle to make ends meet.

Andrew Gillum: Trump tax cuts put billions into richest coffers

DeSantis: Yes. "The reforms will better enable American companies to compete with foreign businesses & will help stem the tide of companies & jobs going overseas."

Gillum: No. Puts "billions of dollars in the coffers of our richest corporations, money that would otherwise protect Social Security & Medicare, & pay for roads & bridges."

Betty Castor: Tax cuts must reward people who work hard for a living

CASTOR: Tax cuts must reward people who work hard for a living, not just the wealthy. Tax policy must also reward businesses that create jobs in America, not those that send jobs overseas. I support tax relief for middle-class families like the child tax credit, an end to the marriage penalty and the 10% tax bracket for lower-income Americans. I support tax incentives for businesses that create jobs here at home and would impose tax penalties on companies that ship jobs overseas.

MARTINEZ: Decreasing taxes permanently will permit Americans to save more of the dollars they earn and allow them to decide how to spend their money. As Orange Co. chairman, I was able to cut property taxes by millions of dollars while managing government efficiently and increasing services like after-school care and health clinics. The most important step Congress can take to continue strong economic growth is to make Bush’s tax cuts permanent.

Brian Mast: Lower the tax burden & stimulate the economy

Brian Moore: Higher taxes on the wealthy

A: Strongly support. In fact, my platform calls for a cap on maximum earnings for individuals per year to $25 million; and a cap on corporate profits per year to $1 billion.˙ Plus, my platform includes a 5% tax on all earnings over $500,000 per year.˙ Plus a variety of taxes on security, ?? And ?? Taxes will be used to provide new monies to deliver the improved and comprehensive social security, social and health services called for in my above answers to other questions.

Carlos Curbelo: Lower marginal tax rates for all Americans & corporations

Charlie Crist: Extend the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers

Charlie Crist: Reduce the tax brackets to let private enterprise flourish

RUBIO: That program would have eliminated property taxes for all sorts of people. And it was supported by Jeb Bush.

Charlie Crist: 2006: Pledged no taxes; 2009: $2.2B in fees on 16M people

CRIST: No, I don't think I did, and I'll tell you why. The only part of it that was a tax--and it's loosely defined as a tax--was on cigarettes. And I would argue that that's a user fee. If you don't use them, you don't pay it.

Q: But you also signed into law higher fees on drivers' licenses and on motor vehicle registration, motor vehicle tags. You said these aren't broad-based taxes. Governor, 16 million people are drivers in Florida. That's a pretty broad-based tax, isn't it?

Source: Fox News Sunday 2010 Florida primary Senate debate Mar 28, 2010

Charlie Crist: Best to extend all tax cuts; but compromise and push later

Meek defended Obama's economic strategy. "There were surpluses," he said. "There are no longer surpluses. So we're digging a deeper hole. And what Rubio and also Crist are representing, let's continue to dig, and trickle-down economics will work for the middle class in creating jobs."

Crist, running as an independent, straddled the positions of his rivals, supporting a compromise on the tax cuts. "I want all the tax cuts extended, but sometimes you've got to give relief to the people and they deserve it now," Crist said. "If there's a way to go ahead and do that in the short term and then after January to push for the other tax cuts, that's what I think the real solution is."

Charlie Crist: 2009: temporary $25 average car fee increase

The 2009 fee hike raised automobile registration fees from approximately $46 to $71, forcing Florida taxpayers to pay an additional $25 on average. Scott recognizes that taking money out of the pockets of Florida's families is the wrong approach to expanding Florida's economy.

Crist says he's glad that Governor Scott got on around to rolling back the fees, and that they were never meant to be permanent.

Connie Mack IV: Litmus test: Voting for higher taxes means it's time to go

Duncan Hunter: Would be wrong to pledge never to raise taxes

A: I probably voted for more tax cuts than anybody here; but, I think it would be wrong to say, “Absolutely, I would pledge to Grover Norquist that I would never raise taxes.” Could have a national emergency.

Edward Janowski: Remove loopholes and establish a flat tax

A: No, I don't agree with this. More can be accomplished by removing unfair loopholes, establishing a flat tax, and removing wasteful and unnecessary appropriations from the federal budget.

Jeb Bush: Don't broaden county & city taxing authority

Senate Bill 1020 also reduces government accountability to taxpayers by easing the requirements or conditions under which taxpayers must be notified of increases in special assessment rates. If this bill becomes law, there could be many instances in which taxpayers would not be informed of special assessment rate increases until the change appears on their annual tax bills.

Jeb Bush: Remove Intangibles Tax on stocks, bonds & dividends

When Governor Bush came into office, Florida was one of only a handful of states that utilized some form of an intangibles tax. This tax was levied on stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, and other such investments. "By design, the tax is aimed at the state's wealthier residents" and in the absence of an income tax was initiated to derive at least some revenue from the personal income of wealthy citizens and corporations. While it was the most progressive of the taxes employed by the state, it was described by the governor as "evil and insidious," "counterproductive and unfair." Governor Bush worked to reduce it in every legislative session between 1999 and 2006, when it was finally abolished. Its elimination accounted for nearly 30% of the tax cuts he initiated.

Jeff Greene: Repeal Bush tax cuts, exempting small business

John McCain: We need a simpler, fairer tax code, but not FairTax

A: I do not, and I think we should look very carefully at it. Obviously, we need a simpler, fairer tax code. If Congress can't fix the tax code, give me the job and I'll fix it.

John McCain: FactCheck: Against Bush tax cuts in 2003; for them in 2006

It is true that McCain voted in 2006 to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. But he was against the cuts before he was for them, and his statements in the debate dismiss that fact. McCain voted against both sets of Bush tax cuts, in 2001 and in 2003. And on NBC's "Meet the Press" in 2004, McCain stated that he did not support extending all the cuts, though he did go on to say that he would make the so-called "middle class" tax cuts permanent.

McCain is entitled to change his mind. And in fact, his opinions are not necessarily contradictory; he may believe that the tax cuts he opposed should now be made permanent so that taxpayers know what to expect. But his statements in the debate could lead voters to believe that he has always supported the cuts, and that's simply not true

John McCain: Romney raising fees a quarter-billion dollars is a tax hike

A: I'm sure those people that had to pay it did.

John McCain: Opposed to the Bush tax cuts as spending got out of control

John Rutherford: Keep the government off our backs & out of our wallets

Kendrick Meek: Bush tax cuts killed surpluses; no more trickle-down

Meek defended Obama's economic strategy, including the stimulus of 2009, as "dealing with the cards we were dealt" by the previous administration and the economic crisis that reached its peak in the fall of 2008. He said the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 were designed to be temporary and shouldn't be extended for the most-well-off Americans. "There were surpluses," he said. "There are no longer surpluses. So we're digging a deeper hole. And what Rubio and also Crist are representing, let's continue to dig, and trickle-down economics will work for the middle class in creating jobs."

Marco Rubio: Supermajority vote for any tax increases

Give Citizens Greater Control over Government Taxing and Spending Policies
• Adopt a constitutional amendment prohibiting Florida governments from growing faster than the incomes of their taxpaying citizens
• Require a supermajority vote for any tax increases
• Reduce the tax on phone, cable, cellular, and satellite services
• Amend the Florida Constitution to either place caps on all property taxes or, alternatively, abolish the property tax in whole or in part

Marco Rubio: Extend Bush tax cuts, even for high earners

"You think government creates jobs," Rubio said to Meek, cutting him off.

"No, I don't," Meek said.

"You do," Rubio said.

"I think tax cuts for small businesses create jobs and incentives for local communities to move forward," Meek said.

Crist added, "What you just witnessed is the problem and the reason I'm running as an independent. These two guys are going at each other because one's the Republican right, one's the Democratic left. What's true is there are good things that both parties can present to the future of our country."

Marco Rubio: 2000: $4 surcharge to cruise tickets to fund Marlins stadium

Marco Rubio: Proposed to replace property taxes with state sales tax

RUBIO: It would have eliminated property taxes for all sorts of people. You said you ran as a Jeb Bush Republican. Jeb Bush supported that plan. And later on, you supported a similar plan.

Q: It would have eliminated the property tax and substituted a state tax?

RUBIO: With a revenue-neutral sales tax.

CRIST: Not revenue-neutral. It would have increased sales tax.

RUBIO: 30% of our sales tax are paid for by non-Floridians. It would have been a massive tax cut for Floridians on their property taxes.

CRIST: To the contrary. It would have been a massive tax increase.

Marco Rubio: Pledged to never raise taxes as state rep

CRIST: No, I don't think I did, [because the increases were all in fees].

RUBIO: I took a pledge when I became a state representative to never raise taxes. I never broke that pledge. And that's why the leader of that organization and basically every fiscally conservative group in the country has supported my candidacy.

CRIST: Actually, the speaker has broken that pledge.

RUBIO: The governor has broken his pledge. He broke it last year.

CRIST: No, that's not true. He voted for tax increases when he was on the West Miami City Commission, and he said on his Web site that he has never voted for a new tax. That's just not the truth, and he ought to be truthful to the people of Florida before he asks for their vote.

RUBIO: That's also inaccurate.

CRIST: [The press] just reported it yesterday.

Marco Rubio: No one should pay higher taxes in recession, not even top 2%

Rubio insisted all the tax cuts should be extended, saying no one in America should pay higher taxes at a time of high unemployment and sluggish economic growth. "It's a bad time to raise taxes on anybody," Rubio said. "The only way to improve the economy is by growing the economy and fiscal constraint, and you have to do both."

Crist said that position showed Rubio's inability to break from rigid ideology. While Crist advocated a compromise, Meek backed the Obama position.

Matt Gaetz: Voted to repeal 4,000 regulations and to cut taxes 50 times

Mel Martinez: Make Bush's tax cuts permanent for strong economic growth

CASTOR: Tax cuts must reward people who work hard for a living, not just the wealthy. Tax policy must also reward businesses that create jobs in America, not those that send jobs overseas. I support tax relief for middle-class families like the child tax credit, an end to the marriage penalty and the 10% tax bracket for lower-income Americans. I support tax incentives for businesses that create jobs here at home and would impose tax penalties on companies that ship jobs overseas.

MARTINEZ: Decreasing taxes permanently will permit Americans to save more of the dollars they earn and allow them to decide how to spend their money. As Orange Co. chairman, I was able to cut property taxes by millions of dollars while managing government efficiently and increasing services like after-school care and health clinics. The most important step Congress can take to continue strong economic growth is to make Bush's tax cuts permanent.

Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: To be revenue-neutral, FairTax raises some taxes

Huckabee's claim that everyone will pay less is a fantasy. The FairTax claims to be revenue neutral. That means that it has to collect the same $2.4 trillion that the current system collects. And remember that the FairTax replaces corporate income and payroll taxes. That means that individuals have to pony up to replace those in addition to replacing the sums collected via personal income and payroll taxes.

So Huckabee is suggesting that the FairTax will generate exactly the same revenue while collecting nothing from corporations and still costing everyone less than they are currently paying. We certainly hope Huckabee has a barrel of magic pixie dust buried somewhere.

Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: FairTax does not bring underground into economy

Huckabee's suggestion that the FairTax will end the underground economy is highly unlikely. It's true that pimps and drug dealers will now be taxed when they spend their earnings. But will they really charge johns and junkies sales tax on their purchases It's a better deal for the person buying the sex or drugs, and a worse deal for the person selling it.

In fact, far from ending the underground economy, there is a real possibility that the FairTax will feed it growth hormones. There would probably be two prices--one you can pay with a check or credit card that includes the FairTax and one you can pay in cash & save 23%. Because there would no longer be any audits of income, tracing such tax evasion would be extremely difficult

Mike Huckabee: FairTax will tax the average American much less

A: They're not paying 15 percent; that's in their visible tax in the terms of the takeout from their checks. When you include the built-in tax, the embedded tax in the products we buy that corporations build in, the average American is paying 33% in his or her taxes. It would be a dramatic difference if the taxpayers got to choose the taxes, which they would do under the FairTax.

Mike Huckabee: FairTax and its prebate untax the poor and the elderly

Mitt Romney: I support the Bush tax cuts

Philip Levine: Level the playing field; rich will pay their fair share

Rick Scott: $500 million in automobile fee & tax relief

The 2009 fee hike raised automobile registration fees from approximately $46 to $71, forcing Florida taxpayers to pay an additional $25 on average. Scott recognizes that taking money out of the pockets of Florida's families is the wrong approach to expanding Florida's economy.

Crist says he's glad that Governor Scott got on around to rolling back the fees, and that they were never meant to be permanent.

Governor Scott has been busy cleaning up the mess that Crist left behind. In the three years he's been Florida's chief executive, Scott has cut taxes over twenty times.

Rick Scott: End sales tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment

Rick Scott: Supermajority for any tax increase

Rick Scott: Saved business more than $2.3 billion in unemployment taxes

Ron DeSantis: Keep Florida a low-tax state; super-majority to raise taxes

Ron DeSantis (R): Yes. "The reforms will better enable American companies to compete with foreign businesses & will help stem the tide of companies & jobs going overseas."

Andrew Gillum (D): No. Puts "billions of dollars in the coffers of our richest corporations, money that would otherwise protect Social Security & Medicare, & pay for roads & bridges."

Q: Increase taxes on corporations and/or high-income individuals to pay for public services?

Ron DeSantis (R): No. Keep Florida a low-tax state "by opposing tax increases & requiring a supermajority vote in the Legislature to raise taxes."

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. Increase Florida's corporate tax rate by 2% to generate $1 billion for education funding.

Ron DeSantis: Must remain a low-tax state with no income tax

Ron DeSantis: Tax cuts help US companies compete with foreign businesses

DeSantis: Yes. "The reforms will better enable American companies to compete with foreign businesses & will help stem the tide of companies & jobs going overseas."

Gillum: No. Puts "billions of dollars in the coffers of our richest corporations, money that would otherwise protect Social Security & Medicare, & pay for roads & bridges."

Ron Paul: I have never voted for a tax increase; and never will

A: I have never voted for a tax increase; never will. But the tax issue is only one-half of it. You can easily pledge not to raise taxes, but you have to cut spending.

Rudy Giuliani: Reduce the capital gains tax, permanently

A: I think this package, for what it does, is okay, and I would support it, but it doesn't go far enough. I think in the face of what's been going on, which obviously is a matter of serious concern, we should be very aggressive. [I support] legislation introduced that would be the largest tax reduction in American history. It would take the Bush tax cuts, make them permanent, reduce the corporate tax, reduce the capital gains tax, reduce taxes on those things that would allow business to see America as more competitive. And you almost don't have a distinction any longer between temporary and permanent in the kind of an economy that we live in.

Tom Tancredo: Promise to oppose any efforts to raise taxes

A: Yes. I have the highest rating from the American Conservative Union of anybody. I also have the highest rating from the Americans for Tax Reform.