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House Ways and Means Committee

Communications technologies, consumer choices, could end-run taxation

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Taxes that Florida and many local governments collect on phone, cable and other communication services are in steady decline for the same reasons as land-line telephones: people are finding different, better, and cheaper ways to consumer communications. An explosion in popularity of Internet video services such as Netflix and Hulu, combined with other technology and consumer choice advances, and the consequential falling telecommunication prices, are antiquating Florida’s communication services tax structure. And so the Florida House Ways and Means Committee, briefed on the…

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Jim Boyd calls Rick Scott’s $618 million in tax cuts ‘a little bit ambitious’

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Gov. Rick Scott may be overreaching with his plan to cut state taxes by $618.4 million, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee said Tuesday. “I would consider it a little bit ambitious, in light of our current financial situation,” chairman Jim Boyd told reporters after Scott’s aides briefed his committee. “We certainly share the goal of trying to cut as much as we can in taxes and keep the money in the taxpayers’ pockets,” the Bradenton Republican said. “Six hundred million…

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U.S. House to approve Vern Buchanan measure protecting seniors

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

The U.S. House is expected Tuesday to pass Congressman Vern Buchanan‘s legislation to preserve Medicare Advantage plans for thousands of older people in Sarasota and Manatee counties. “Medicare Advantage plans have a proven track record of improving health, reducing costs and offering much-needed personal choice to seniors,” Buchanan said in a statement. “I am committed to strengthening and preserving this vitally important program.” Buchanan’s bipartisan proposal seeks to prevent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from terminating popular, low-cost Medicare…

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Personnel note: Vern Buchanan hires Gretchen Andersen as new press secretary

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Sarasota Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan said Wednesday that Gretchen Andersen will be the new press secretary for his Washington, D.C., office. Andersen previously was press secretary for U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Murphy also wrote a sweeping mental health reform bill co-sponsored by Buchanan. Before her stint in Murphy’s office, Andersen was press secretary for New York City-based Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, as well as an intern for NBC…

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Congress’ dysfunction not limited to Homeland Security fight

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Congress’ dysfunction isn’t limited to the struggle to keep a Cabinet department running without interruption. Lawmakers couldn’t finish their work last year and it’s showing now. The leftover business could prove even more divisive than the dispute over rolling back President Barack Obama‘s immigration policies on a bill providing money for the Department of Homeland Security. Stretches of brinkmanship are certain to consume much of the legislative calendar in 2015. One critical issue is whether to increase the nation’s borrowing…

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