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taxes

Rick Scott, Legislature set for an old-fashioned ‘T’ word throwdown

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If there was any uncertainty what the main event will be in the 2017 Florida Legislature, that has been answered. It’s the throw down over the “T” word. In one corner, Gov. Rick Scott is seeking an $815 million increase in public school funding. To help pay for that, the governor wants to use the ongoing spike in property values that is expected to bring in an additional $558 million. In the other corner, House Speaker Richard Corcoran said no…

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Rick Scott wants state to cut $8M in fees

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Gov. Rick Scott wants to cut millions of dollars of fees that impact Florida’s veterans, seniors and businesses. The Naples Republican announced Monday he plans to cut an $8 million in annual fees during the upcoming legislative session. The announcement comes on the eve of the annual Associated Press legislative planning session, where Scott will officially announce his fiscal 2017-18 budget. The cuts, according to the Governor’s Office, include: free vehicle title transfers for surviving spouses; free replacement and renewal…

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Rick Scott wants it both ways: cut taxes, fund services. Can it be done?

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Last April, in a news release by his office after signing HB-7099, Gov. Rick Scott bragged, “Over the past two years, Florida has cut more than $1 billion in taxes.” What a happy day that must have been for the governor. He has never met a tax he wouldn’t cut or gut, and that bill was a continuation of the theme. It included the permanent elimination of the sales tax on manufacturing machinery and a three-day sales tax holiday for…

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Rick Scott to Yale University: Come to Florida

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Yale University should move to Florida. At least, that’s what Gov. Rick Scott thinks should happen. In a news release Tuesday, Scott called on the Ivy League university to consider moving its operations to the Sunshine State. The proposition comes as Connecticut lawmakers are proposing a 7 percent tax on the net investment profits of Yale’s endowment. “With news that the Connecticut Legislature wants to unfairly tax one of the nation’s most renowned universities to deal with the state’s budget…

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Highlights from Florida’s new $82.3 billion budget

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The Florida Legislature is expected on Friday to approve a more than $82.3 billion budget for 2016-17 that is roughly 5 percent larger than this year’s budget. Here are a few key items you should know about: – EDUCATION: The new budget increases day-to-day public school spending by $458 million, which translates into a 1 percent increase. The per pupil spending amount would be $7,178.49, which is less than Gov. Rick Scott recommended. Legislators also agreed to spend more than…

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Florida TaxWatch talks taxes and Thanksgiving

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As last-minute shoppers scarf up pre-cooked turkey breasts, pumpkin pies and canned veggies for Thanksgiving, it’s not always clear what they’ll pay tax on and what they won’t. No surprise, then that Florida TaxWatch has a quick guide to clue in those hapless supermarket-goers. Dominic M. Calabro, president and CEO of TaxWatch, says his group is “helping taxpayers understand their tax obligations and get a better sense of where their hard earned-money is going this Thanksgiving.” While Florida does not collect…

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Republican field pushes tax cuts bound to drive up debt

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Republicans came into this presidential campaign with painful memories of how, in the last one, Democrats blasted Mitt Romney’s tax plan as a giveaway to the rich. Yet Donald Trump‘s tax plan adds to the number of major GOP presidential candidates who propose to cut all taxes — but especially those for the wealthy — as deeply, or deeper, than Romney proposed. The lesson Republicans seem to have drawn is to simply stop worrying about balancing the budget. The plans…

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