Anna Maria citizens demand tax cut
Islanders discuss government
spending, constitutional fix with Rep. Bill Galvano
By NICHOLAS AZZARA
HOLMES BEACH - Almost
100 Anna Maria islanders sacrificed an evening on the beach or an otherwise relaxing night at home Tuesday to attend a forum
that addressed their pocketbooks.
Specifically, the group was on hand to discuss property-tax
reform with perhaps the area's most accessible legislator, state Rep. Bill Galvano. From his Tallahassee office, Galvano,
R-Bradenton, called Holmes Beach City Hall to listen to the crowd and to give them an idea of what kind of reform to expect
later this spring.
"There's a consensus among the governor, the Senate and
the House that we need tax relief and tax reform," Galvano said. He said several proposals are being considered, but
none seem to sufficiently address business owners and nonhomesteaders.
Galvano said
any real tax reform will require a constitutional amendment, meaning voters will have the ultimate say in the direction the
state takes.
Many in the room were members of the Coalition Against Runaway Taxation,
a citizen-based group pushing for reform, especially for business owners being taxed on the highest and best possible use
of their properties.
Galvano fielded a few questions and suggestions from the room, and a popular
topic was the control of government spending. City of Anna Maria Commissioner Dale Woodland's comments drew the applause
of the room.
"I wish this group were called CARS, Citizens Against Runaway Spending.
A concern I have is that there's so little talk about spending reform," Woodland said. "If spending isn't
addressed and kept under control, we'll get hurt in a different way."
Galvano
said he hopes any plan that's adopted will address "revenue constraint."
Late in March, CART President Don Schroder traveled to the capital with members of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce to discuss
property-tax issues with state lawmakers. To present a more unified stance to state leaders, CART merged last month with tax-reform
groups around the state to form the Florida Taxpayers Alliance. That group claims to represent more than 100,000 members.
"People are just really, really upset. If (lawmakers) don't make some changes,
they won't be sitting in Tallahassee too much longer," Schroder
said.
Private-property owners seemed poised for a major victory in February, when
House Speaker Marco Rubio unveiled a tax-reform package that would have rolled back local government budgets to 2000-01 levels,
saving individual property owners billions. The plan would have crippled local governments' ability to provide many services,
however, and has been quietly squashed in recent weeks.
Other, more moderate proposals
have emerged, such as that from Senate Democratic leaders, which would make homestead caps portable, protect homestead assessments
from skyrocketing and limit tax increases on nonhomesteaded property. The plan also would provide businesses with tax relief
by offering a $25,000 exemption for tangible personal property.
David McKalip, a Pinellas County neurosurgeon and a founder of the taxpayers alliance, said
earlier Tuesday that his group was still analyzing the latest proposals, but if they don't cut local spending they haven't
done their job.
"Anything that's simply trying to replace one government
revenue with another and prevent governments from spending less is not serving Florida taxpayers," McKalip said. "We
won't support a plan unless there's tax relief, and the way to do that is to cut government spending."
