[CA to FL]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Just like California. They have an income tax and are bankrupt! Forget taxes, we need to cut more and go after the feds for any unfunded liabilities. They have unlimited money so go for it!!

As a CA resident living in a state with a crazy and burdensome tax system, I decided to chime in after reading all these posts. I am in the process of moving my family from CA to FL largely for tax / financial reasons. CA and the $40B+ deficit will not miss my $200k per year that I currently pay in state taxes as they are headed toward chaos / bankruptcy (unless Obama bails them out).

In CA, taxes are the problem as the income tax is 10% and the sales tax that is 8% will likely be going to 10% very soon. All other taxes are very high included the $2500 per year that I have to pay just to keep my two cars registered. I just built a house and I paid over $100k in taxes and fees (half of this is school fees and I would never send my children to the public schools). As they raise taxes, they lose revenue because productive people and businesses leave; like me. Spending must be cut.

I can solve Florida's financial problems easily. Put government in its only and proper role which is to defend us. Close / sell the schools and roads! We should seriously consider making the police, fire, and courts private. We should each pay a small and the same amount for our protection. Anything else is socialism!

Employees should never be entitled to a job. If they don't like that lack of stability then they should be a business owner or become an investor. We are all given choices in life. BTW, I grew up very poor sleeping in laundry mats and park benches; I was shot, stabbed, etc but I still was able to make decisions for my life. I chose to educate myself, develop skills, and to minimize my reliance on others for my welbeing. Businesses should never be told when they can and can't employ people.

To address the wording of the OP, yes it is definitely time for Florida to revamp its tax structure. This should include:
1. Eliminate all current taxes including sales tax, property tax, gas tax, liquor tax, etc.
2. Have a single amount that every resident has to pay which goes solely to the protection of its residence.

[crystalblue]

Originally Posted by CA to FL

As a CA resident living in a state with a crazy and burdensome tax system, I decided to chime in after reading all these posts. I am in the process of moving my family from CA to FL largely for tax / financial reasons. CA and the $40B+ deficit will not miss my $200k per year that I currently pay in state taxes as they are headed toward chaos / bankruptcy (unless Obama bails them out).

In CA, taxes are the problem as the income tax is 10% and the sales tax that is 8% will likely be going to 10% very soon. All other taxes are very high included the $2500 per year that I have to pay just to keep my two cars registered. I just built a house and I paid over $100k in taxes and fees (half of this is school fees and I would never send my children to the public schools). As they raise taxes, they lose revenue because productive people and businesses leave; like me. Spending must be cut.

I can solve Florida's financial problems easily. Put government in its only and proper role which is to defend us. Close / sell the schools and roads! We should seriously consider making the police, fire, and courts private. We should each pay a small and the same amount for our protection. Anything else is socialism!

Employees should never be entitled to a job. If they don't like that lack of stability then they should be a business owner or become an investor. We are all given choices in life. BTW, I grew up very poor sleeping in laundry mats and park benches; I was shot, stabbed, etc but I still was able to make decisions for my life. I chose to educate myself, develop skills, and to minimize my reliance on others for my welbeing. Businesses should never be told when they can and can't employ people.

To address the wording of the OP, yes it is definitely time for Florida to revamp its tax structure. This should include:
1. Eliminate all current taxes including sales tax, property tax, gas tax, liquor tax, etc.
2. Have a single amount that every resident has to pay which goes solely to the protection of its residence.

yes, but none of that will ever happen.

got anything realistic?

[CA to FL]

I been told much of life that things were not possible or were not realistic; I then went on to prove those comments wrong. I generally look to the ideal and what I consider right and then go for it. At least then, I have no regrets. It also usually allows for me to accomplish much more than if I didn't try these seemingly unrealistic things at all.

[tallrick]

The status quo has failed. If more people would push for something radically different the problem would be solved. How did they do it 50 years ago, 100 years ago? Those were times when Florida was in much better shape economically. I too would like to see homestead property tax eliminated and only tax properties that produce income. No personal income tax, period. Sales tax is probably the most accepted and should never be on essentials. However, the roads were promised to the public and came from easements taken from landowners and therefore cannot be sold. The schools are also public but should be restructured into locally controlled competitive centers of education. I like the idea of privately owned courts as long as they can be directly held accountable to uphold the law. The current court system has no accountability whatsoever, it depends on having competent judges which seem to be in short supply. The police would be hard to privatize as they could end up competing to extort the most money from citizens. Most people will gladly pay taxes if they are not excessive and they can see the results of their use. It is a fact that a free market would do a better job than the current beaurocracy.

[crystalblue]

Originally Posted by tallrick

The status quo has failed. If more people would push for something radically different the problem would be solved. How did they do it 50 years ago, 100 years ago? Those were times when Florida was in much better shape economically. I too would like to see homestead property tax eliminated and only tax properties that produce income. No personal income tax, period. Sales tax is probably the most accepted and should never be on essentials. However, the roads were promised to the public and came from easements taken from landowners and therefore cannot be sold. The schools are also public but should be restructured into locally controlled competitive centers of education. I like the idea of privately owned courts as long as they can be directly held accountable to uphold the law. The current court system has no accountability whatsoever, it depends on having competent judges which seem to be in short supply. The police would be hard to privatize as they could end up competing to extort the most money from citizens. Most people will gladly pay taxes if they are not excessive and they can see the results of their use. It is a fact that a free market would do a better job than the current beaurocracy.

The problem with a "free market" for govt services is you will have alot of Enrons, Maddofs, Circuit Citys, etc...

[CA to FL]

Originally Posted by crystalblue

The problem with a "free market" for govt services is you will have alot of Enrons, Maddofs, Circuit Citys, etc...

If you had strict penalties for intentional crimes, there would be very little.

For the extreme person: if you graffiti (intentional crime) then you are executed on television for all to see (strict penalty). How much more graffiti would you have? It's not that difficult to solve problems; most of us are just too gutless to implement it.

For the less extreme person: if someone does something like the leadership at Enron (intentional crime) then they could be put in a work camp that is also televised until they work their debt off (including interest, room, and board) to society. If the person does not get their allotted work done, then they do not eat. How many more Enron execs would we have. It's not that difficult to solve problems; most of us are just too gutless to implement it.

[crystalblue]

Originally Posted by CA to FL

If you had strict penalties for intentional crimes, there would be very little.

For the extreme person: if you graffiti (intentional crime) then you are executed on television for all to see (strict penalty). How much more graffiti would you have? It's not that difficult to solve problems; most of us are just too gutless to implement it.

For the less extreme person: if someone does something like the leadership at Enron (intentional crime) then they could be put in a work camp that is also televised until they work their debt off (including interest, room, and board) to society. If the person does not get their allotted work done, then they do not eat. How many more Enron execs would we have. It's not that difficult to solve problems; most of us are just too gutless to implement it.

Again, those things simply will not happen in this country.

Heck, I dont even think we have chain gangs anymore, so anything more harsh just wouldnt be allowed...

[th3vault]

Income tax is a bad idea.... Florida can't attract enough high paying jobs as it is, throw an income tax on top of that and Florida will not be a very attractive place for top paying jobs...

[bdpop]

At least with a state income tax employers won't have the excuse that anymore to keep the pay low. It will even up the playing field.

[crystalblue]

Originally Posted by th3vault

Income tax is a bad idea.... Florida can't attract enough high paying jobs as it is, throw an income tax on top of that and Florida will not be a very attractive place for top paying jobs...

alot of the states that do have high paying jobs have state income taxes.

Mass
NJ
NY
Cali


I dont think an income tax alone would keep jobs out. Heck, we could devote the income tax solely to education, and maybe get/create some of those jobs!