By Mike Clark | The Florida Times-Union
“First, do no harm.”
That classic motto of medical ethics could apply to the Florida Legislature.
But when it comes to providing housing to the working people of Florida, the Legislature consistently provides harm every year.
Florida is nearly unique in the nation in having a program that targets affordable housing.
It has a quality collaboration of government, the private sector and nonprofits.
It produces jobs in the difficult housing sector.
It has a record of success — no scandals.
It has a fantastic source of funds — documentary stamps paid when houses are sold.
So as the value of houses increase in Florida, so does pressure on working people to afford them. Brilliantly, the revenue to support affordable housing increases as housing values increase.
It’s a classically successful program called the Sadowski Fund.
This is a shining star — efficient, with low overhead and needed by Floridians.
Sadly, in recent years the Legislature has raided the Sadowski Fund for the general fund.
The loss of this revenue is not just a budget item, it has serious impacts on the people.
Last year, Duval County would have received $11.5 million with full funding; instead just $1.4 million was received.
What does this mean? It means jobs and improved quality of life for citizens, many of whom can’t afford decent housing. Full funding for Duval County would produce 500 homes, helping 1,247 people and creating 1,058 jobs.
The funds are apportioned fairly by population. For instance, Nassau County would have received $1.4 million; instead it received just $350,000.
Occasionally the diversions of the Sadowski funds are valid as in providing support for Hurricane Michael victims.
But usually the raids are unjustified.
To his credit, Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed fully funding the program. He has sense, at least.
If the Florida Legislature wants to increase jobs, provide housing for working people with one of the most efficient programs in the state, then provide full funding for the Sadowski Fund.
Visit Florida
Another program that has been on the chopping block is Visit Florida. Some in the Legislature believe that Florida can just sell itself.
But Florida is a huge and diverse state and there are places in Northeast Florida, for instance, that aren’t as well known as Disney World or South Beach.
Florida TaxWatch, the independent watchdog group, has supported funding for Visit Florida. In fact, every dollar invested in Visit Florida produces a $2.15 return on investment.
If the funds were being wasted, TaxWatch would say so.
In fact, the impact of tourism on the Florida economy is huge. For instance, every 81 tourists produces one job for a Floridian.
Revenue produced by tourists saves every Florida household $1,500 in state and local taxes.
And in 2017 out-of-state visitors added $86 billion to Florida’s economy. That represents a bigger economic impact than the gross domestic product of 12 states.
Service charges represent the largest source of revenue in Florida (33.6 percent) compared to property taxes (31.6 percent).
Tourism supports 1.4 million Florida jobs and produces $8 billion in state and local tax revenue. And there is more competition for the tourist dollar worldwide than ever.
It is that kind of attitude that allowed Georgia to become a moviemaking hub while Florida stood by without meaningful subsidies.
Online sales taxes
The Florida Chamber of Commerce is hardly a tax-and-spend advocate but the chamber is a big supporter of collecting sales taxes from out-of-state online purchases.
It’s a major equity issue since Florida businesses must pay the tax.
In fact, 43 states have laws that allow them to capture sales tax revenue from remote sales.
Florida is one of two states (with Missouri) that does not have such a law.
With the law, Florida could reap $700 million in revenue, the same amount as the governor’s teacher pay proposal.
Article last accessed here on January 20, 2020. A print-ready version is available here.