RAY OF SUNSHINE IN FLORIDA:
Intangible tax on the ropes
Florida lawmakers are in the process of making 2007 a happy new
year for Florida investors holding out-of-state bonds.
A bill to repeal the Intangible Tax, paid by approximately 300,000
wealthy residents, easily passed the state House of Representatives
last week, while similar legislation is moving through the state
Senate.
Legislators have been chipping away at the Intangible Tax. In January
2006 they reduced the rate from $1.00 to $.50 per thousand of market
value. The current bill (HB 209), sponsored by Rep. Fred Brummer
(R-Apopka), passed by a 100-20 vote.
If the Senate approves the bill, the tax will be completely repealed,
which Gov. Jeb Bush has supported since taking office in 1999. The
governor has expressed his disenchantment with the tax on numerous
occasions, calling it a "penalty for people who are taking
responsibility for their own retirement by saving and investing
over a lifetime. It is a bad tax and it is bad government."
3/28/06
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