The debate over Amendment 5, the tax tradeoff that would cut an estimated twenty-five percent from property tax bills, i.e. education funding, in exchange for a sales tax increase.
The Florida Association of Realtors® announced the creation of Give Me 5 for Florida's Future campaign and backed it up with $1 million to help pass the amendment that would balance out the property tax cut with at least a one cent sales tax increase, elimination of some of the 246 sales tax exemptions currently found in state law and most likely further cuts to the state budget.
The announcement came just weeks after Florida Senator Mike Haridopolos (R-Melbourne) announced the creation of "Protect Florida's Future" a coalition against the amendment that includes AARP, the Florida Hospital Association, the Florida Education Association, the Florida School Board Association, the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Florida Farm Bureau.
Florida TaxWatch is in opposition to the amendment noting that the while the amendment allows the Florida Legislature to make up the difference in school funding, there is no way to know exactly how much funding will be needed. Thus, a one cent sales tax increase will not be enough of an increase to satisfy the "hold education harmless" provision a few years down the road. Amendment 5 will divide the coalition of low tax advocacy groups. As with most property tax debates, everyone agrees that taxes should be lower while funding for education is held harmless, the problem is how to get there.
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