House heads for new tax showdown

House heads for new tax showdown
By MICHAEL C. BENDER
Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
TALLAHASSEE — House Republicans today plan to push through heavy property tax cuts and strict government revenue caps, setting up another showdown with Senate leaders who have shown little interest in repeating the bitter tax debates of last year.
But hesitation from Senate leaders hasn't slowed House Republicans, who on Tuesday fended off several Democratic amendments from their proposals. But they have also done little to open lines of communications between the chambers on the issue.
On Tuesday, House lawmakers gave tentative approval to several property tax changes, including one constitutional amendment (HJR 7125) that would limit government revenues from growing each year by much more than inflation.
House Republicans said they have not pushed negotiations with Senate leaders, who have said they prefer to let Amendment 1 take root.
Democratic leaders said House Republicans unwillingness to accept amendments to the tax bills on Tuesday showed they weren't "serious" about tax cuts.
"You have a fatal attraction to sound bites that is killing real property relief," House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber told Republicans on the House floor. "If you want to vote for a sound bite or bumper sticker, go ahead. If you want to do something serious, come back and let us know."
House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, acknowledged that the bills were meant, at least in part, to maintain credibility among voters.
"If we don't pass something, how can we continue to say that we believe in property tax reform?" Rubio said.
He said he hoped that Senate leaders would at least consider a bill (HB 7123) that would require local governments to post budgets online.
Rubio said he wouldn't force the Senate's hand to act on the property tax bills by holding other Senate bills to "trade" for the property tax changes.
But others hoped Rubio would deliver the amendment to the ballot.
"Everything is negotiable," said David McKalip, a St. Petersburg neurosurgeon and head of Cut Taxes Now, the citizens campaign group lobbying for the measure.
The group, which Rubio supports, spent $10,000 last week to air ads on at least four radio channels last week in Senate President Ken Pruitt's district, which includes Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties. Rubio said he thought the ads were "a bad idea."
Also last week, Rubio's top lieutenant, Republican Leader Adam Hasner of Delray Beach, participated in the group's telephone/Internet conference.
On Tuesday, the group visited the Capitol to lobby lawmakers to support a constitutional amendment (HJR 949) that would limit taxes to 1.35 percent of a property's value. It would cut statewide property taxes by $6.2 billion.
"We're trying to convince leadership from the grass roots," McKalip said. "They're having a $5 billion shortfall, because of the drag on the economy because of property taxes. They should want this."

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