Call to Action Feb 21, 2008 | Florida Institute of CPAs

CALL TO ACTION

MEMORANDUM

TO: FICPA Members

FROM: Kathryn B. Anderson, CAE, CEO-Executive Director

DATE: February 21, 2008

RE: Call to Action – Opposition to Services Tax

Thanks to everyone who responded to our Feb. 5, 2008 call to action. After a heated debate, CP0002 was temporarily postponed until Feb. 25, 2008 without a vote.

Your help is needed once again in letting the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission’s (TBRC) Finance and Tax Committee (F&TC) know that a sales tax on services (specifically CP0002) is not the answer to the state’s fiscal problems and possibly could impact the state negatively.

REQUEST FOR ACTION

The F&TC is holding a vote on CP0002 on Feb. 25, 2008, and we need you to voice your concerns to the members of the F&TC and ask them to vote NO on CP0002. Please use the following talking points to personalize your message to the commissioners in opposition to this bad proposal.

CP0002: Sponsored by John McKay and co-sponsored by Darryl Rouson and Les Miller, this proposed constitutional amendment directs the Legislature to replace the required local effort (RLE), about $8 billion, by repealing sales tax exemptions and exclusions. If it passes the F&TC, its next stop is the full Commission.

As drafted, CP0002 would create a services tax. After removing business-to-business sales tax exemptions, there is not enough potential revenue raised from repealing sales tax exemptions to meet the $8 billion needed to replace the RLE. Excluded services would have to become taxable.
CP0002 is being touted as “property tax relief” but is not revenue neutral. Non-homestead citizens would be paying new taxes.
As drafted, CP0002 does not prevent local governments from raising the millage rate in the future. This means Floridians would be paying more in sales tax in hopes of not paying property tax, but would have no guarantee that they wouldn’t be paying more in property tax again down the road.
CP0002 creates too much uncertainty as citizens would not know what exemptions would be repealed. Businesses currently in the state or making decisions on whether or not to come to Florida would be subject to financial uncertainty.

Please comment on the fact that a services tax would have a negative impact on your business. You also should indicate that you do not oppose a review of sales tax exemptions if it is NOT mandatory, does NOT include a sunset of exemptions and is NOT in the Florida Constitution.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please contact the members below with your “VOTE NO” message at the e-mail address provided before noon on Friday, Feb. 22, 2008 . Note: We do not have the personal e-mail addresses for some of the commissioners. Therefore, you can go to the link provided and click on the mail symbol at the end of their bio and complete your e-mail in the space provided. If you would prefer to fax or call the Commission to voice your opposition, you can fax the TBRC at (850) 921-0492 or call the TBRC at (850) 921-8905.

Commissioner	Employer	City	E-mail
Story, Susan	Gulf Power	Pensacola	Susan.story@floridatbrc.org
Barnett, Barney	Publix Supermarkets	Lakeland	Barney.barnett@floridatbrc.org
Barnett, Martha	Holland & Knight Law Firm	Tallahassee	Martha.barnett@floridatbrc.org
Johnson, Julia	Netcommunications	Windermere	Julia.johnson@floridatbrc.org
Kyle, Bruce	Judge	Ft. Myers	Bruce.kyle@floridatbrc.org
Levesque, Pat	Foundation for Florida's Future	Tallahassee	Patricia.levesque@floridatbrc.org
McKay, John	John M. McKay, Inc.	Bradenton	John.mckay@floridatbrc.org
Miller, Randy	Florida Retail Federation	Tallahassee	Randy.miller@floridatbrc.org
Scott, Jim	Tripp Scott Law Firm	Ft. Lauderdale	jim.scott@floridatbrc.org
Wilkinson, Ken	Lee County Property Appraiser	Ft. Myers	Ken.wilkinson@floridatbrc.org
Yablonski, Brian	St. Joe Company	Tallahassee	Brian.yablonski@floridatbrc.org

FOLLOW UP

We need to keep track of which commissioners have been contacted, so please e-mail us at govaffairs@ficpa.org and let us know who you have contacted and how. We appreciate your help in defeating this bad proposal.

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