personal and corporate income taxes, the payroll tax for Social Security, and the estate and gift tax. These would be replaced by something called the FairTax, a 23 percent national retail sales tax on virtually everything you buy, including many things that are not presently taxed by state sales taxes. ...more

October 1, 2007

The state's brain trust of economists meets regularly to assess Floridians' spending habits and estimate how much revenue is coming in to state coffers. The news in early August was bleak: The $72 billion spending plan approved for the fiscal year that began July 1 would come up about $1.1 billion short, largely due to the slowdown in the once-red-hot housing market. Other collections have also been lighter than expected, from the sales taxes on purchases related to homes to corporate income taxes. State lawmakers return to the capital this week in a special session to slice and dice. A balanced budget is a constitutional requirement in Florida. It's not an easy process. Lawmakers already pushed back the session when House and Senate leaders decided they were too far apart to waste time in Tallahassee at a cost to taxpayers of about $40,000 a day. The session is scheduled from Wednesday through Oct. 12. The House, Senate and Gov. Charlie Crist are staking out their positions. Here is a look at what may be in store in major areas of spending. ...more

September 30, 2007