Florida Tax on gas may drop for month

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Tax on gas may drop for month

By David Cox Tallahassee Bureauv

Published in The Orlando Sentinel on March 17, 2000

TALLAHASSEE -- Gas prices may drop by 10 cents per gallon for one month during the height of Florida's summer tourist season under a tax break unveiled by House leaders Thursday.

House Speaker John Thrasher, R-Orange Park, outlined the plan to knock 10 cents off the 14.4 cents the state taxes each gallon.

The tax cut would be for one month only and would coincide with a time of year when consumer demand typically drives gas prices up.

The plan also coincides with a big election year.

It picked up immediate support from Gov. Jeb Bush, at least one Senate leader and House Democrats. Only Senate President Toni Jennings, R-Orlando, seemed to have reservations.

She questioned whether its $75 million price tag might be better used for public schools or other state programs.

The average two-car Florida family will save about $12 for the month under the tax break, according to legislative analysts.

"If it's one time, one $5 bill for one motorist and I'm trading off $75 million for more roads, I'm not sure," Jennings said.

She then added: "I'm open to discussion."

In unveiling the plan, Thrasher said he doesn't think the Clinton administration is doing enough to ease the gas crunch so he's proposing the state steps in to help consumers.

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that fuel prices in this state are going out of sight," Thrasher said. "The message clearly is if the federal government is not going to help the people of the state of Florida then we need to."

Gas prices in Central Florida have climbed steadily since mid-January, driven by a dwindling supply and strong demand.

The average price of regular unleaded gas -- the kind most people use in their cars -- reached a record high Tuesday of $1.55 a gallon.

Prices have since leveled off, actually falling a penny Thursday, but analysts warn the worst is yet to come.

Prices could hit $1.80 a gallon by summer, when demand will peak because of family vacations, said Fred Rozell, director of retail pricing at OPIS Energy Group Inc., a Lakewood, N.J., company that tracks fuel prices nationwide.

Florida's gas taxes are primarily used for road building, public transportation and other transportation projects.

Thrasher promised that the tax cut will not rob money from local road projects or take away from other funding priorities such as education.

The cost can be offset by using the surplus of general tax money the Legislature has to spend this year thanks to the strong economy.

The House also won't increase its $550 million to $600 million tax break package to accommodate the gas tax cut.

Tax breaks being considered in the larger plan could be trimmed down to make room for the gas cut, Thrasher said, including the popular one-week sales tax holiday on clothing purchases and a 10-cents-a-drink tax patrons of bars and restaurants pay on alcoholic beverages.

Only five states have lower state gasoline taxes than Florida, according to a January analysis by the Federation of Tax Administrators. Florida would have the lowest state gasoline tax in the nation during the month of the tax cut -- if it passes both houses of the Legislature and is signed into law by Bush.

The federal government imposes a 24-cent tax on each gallon of gas, in addition to taxes collected by the state.

A spokesman for Bush said the Republican governor likes the plan.

"The governor is very interested and is taking a look at this," said Justin Sayfie. "He believes it's appropriate for the state to help reduce taxes for motorists."

Even House Democrats, who often chide Republicans for offering tax breaks mainly to big business, applauded the plan.

"After dedicating $1 billion in tax cuts for wealthy special interests last year, it's encouraging to see the Republicans endorsing a core Democratic value of easing the heavy burden working families carry," said House Democratic leader Les Miller of Tampa.

John Kennedy of the Tallahassee Bureau and Todd Pack contributed to this report.

http://orlandosentinel.com/automagic/news/2000-03-17/NWSGAS17031700.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 17, 2000


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