Reducing Communications Service Tax Will Benefit A Wide Range Of Floridians, According To Florida TaxWatch
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Since the enactment of the Communications Services Tax (CST) Simplification Act in 2001, Florida TaxWatch has released several reports recommending that the Legislature reduce this burdensome and highly regressive tax on consumers. A new report by Florida’s premier independent government watchdog of forty years addresses Florida’s very high CST rate and the impact it has on the state and the taxpayers.
The Legislature reduced the tax in 2015, but Florida’s rate is still among the highest in the nation. There is currently legislation moving in both chambers (SB 1000 and HB 693) to reduce the rate by one percentage point.
“The CST is applied to cell phones, landlines, cable or satellite television, and multiple streaming services, which means it can hit consumers multiple times,” said Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro. “Policymakers would be hard pressed to find a more justifiable way to provide broad-based state tax relief than a reduction in the CST.”
It must be remembered that the CST is a tax on consumers, not communications services providers. The 1 percent tax reduction proposed in SB 1000 and HB 693 would save consumers and businesses $128 million annually. Reducing the highly regressive CST would benefit a wide range of Floridians, affecting virtually all individuals and businesses.
Read the FULL briefing here.
About Florida TaxWatch
As an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog & taxpayer research institute for forty years, the trusted eyes and ears of Florida taxpayers, Florida TaxWatch, works to improve the productivity and accountability of Florida government. Its research recommends productivity enhancements and explains the statewide impact of fiscal and economic policies and practices on citizens and businesses.
Florida TaxWatch is supported by voluntary, tax-deductible donations and private grants, and does not accept government funding. Donations provide a solid, lasting foundation that has enabled Florida TaxWatch to bring about a more effective, responsive government that is more accountable to, and productive for, the citizens it serves since 1979. For more information, please visit http://www.floridataxwatch.org.