Associated Industries of Florida has launched a campaign to save a $220 million tax break for insurance companies, releasing a new 30-second spot recently, reports Tolu Olorunnipa of the Miami Herald.
The influential business group is protesting the proposal of Florida’s Senate Budget Chairman, Joe Negron, who surprised many last month with a plan to eliminate the tax break in order to lower car registration fees for consumers.
The tax break was created in 1987 to help recruit insurance companies to Florida. Negron questioned whether it had outlived its usefulness and said the lost revenue could be used to lower the cost of car registrations (the Legislature hiked those fees in 2009).
The insurance industry—which normally gets along with the business-friendly Legislature–protested the proposal, calling it a “tax hike.” It passed through the Senate Appropriations committee anyway.
Now, the business lobby is making its appeal directly to consumers in a campaign-style TV ad.
Watch it here.
