The Party's Over, by Charlie Crist: on Tax Reform


Charlie Crist: 2007: lowered property taxes by $33B over 5 years

I introduced a plan to lower the soaring property taxes that Florida homeowners had to pay. This was a heavy lift. It required an amendment to the Florida state constitution. As home values had risen over the years, taxes had shot way up. Now that prices were slipping, the taxes never seemed to fall. I wanted to double the state's $25,000 homestead exemption, roll back city and county tax collections to 2003-04 levels, and make the state's Save Our Homes tax cap more flexible. My approach would save taxpayers $33.5 billion over 5 years, the analysts said.

"We won't let you down," I told a group of public school teachers.

Source: The Party's Over, by Charlie Crist, p. 87 Feb 4, 2014

Marco Rubio: 2007: Replace all property taxes by adding 2.5% to sales tax

Everyone liked the sound of lower property taxes. But the details could get awfully convoluted. Marco Rubio had a plan of his own. He wanted to eliminate all property taxes--all property taxes!--on primary residences, then add another 2.5% to the state's 6% sales tax. To me, that just seemed like a way to shift the tax burden onto poor people, who tend not to own homes and have to spend every nickel they make.

Marco's plan didn't get anywhere. But with patience and persistence, mine slowly did.

Source: The Party's Over, by Charlie Crist, p. 88 Feb 4, 2014

  • The above quotations are from The Party's Over:
    How the Extreme Right Hijacked the GOP and I Became a Democrat
    by Charlie Crist.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Charlie Crist on Tax Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Tax Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Feb 20, 2019