Last week Florida Governor Rick Scott announced plans to make good on his promise of 500 million dollars in tax relief. His latest initiative will save Florida drivers over $400 million; plans for the other $100 million in savings will be announced in January. Scott aims to undo a 54 percent increase in automobile registration fees signed into law in 2009 by then Governor Charlie Crist.
The 2009 fee hike raised automobile registration fees from approximately $46 to $71, forcing Florida taxpayers to pay an additional $25 on average. Scott recognizes that taking money out of the pockets of Florida’s families is the wrong approach to expanding Florida’s economy.
Photo from Bright House Networks, News 13
Victimized by regret and now running for governor not surprisingly as a democrat, Crist says he’s glad that Governor Scott got on around to rolling back the fees, and that they were never meant to be permanent.
Governor Scott has been busy cleaning up the mess that Crist left behind. In the three years he’s been Florida’s chief executive, Scott has cut taxes over twenty times. Though he inherited a 3.6 billion dollar budget deficit, the Sunshine State now enjoys a 1.2 billion dollar surplus. On inauguration day in 2011, Florida’s unemployment rate was above the national average; today it’s below. Scott’s plan is working, and working well.
As a testament to Florida’s “open for business” tax climate, Hertz announced this year that they would be moving their global headquarters from the northeast to Florida. The $50 million headquarters complex will host at least 700 jobs paying more than $100,000 per year on top of countless additional service industry and information technology jobs in the state.
Despite Governor Scott’s proposed $500 million in tax relief for next year, there will still be a $700 million budget surplus. The legislature would be wise to join Governor Scott in looking at even more ways to provide tax relief to state residents, small businesses, and corporations asking “Who is open for business?”