St. Pete Times Ed Board: "Aim For Tax Fairness"

In yesterday's St. Petersburg Times, the editorial board takes aim at pretty much every major property tax reform proposal out there-- and finds them all wanting.

Doubling the $25,000 homestead exemption, as Governor Bill Crist has suggested? Inequitable.
Expanding the "Save Our Homes" property tax cap? Also inequitable.
Capping local revenue growth? Hurts local governments.

The Times' diagnosis on each of these points is absolutely right. And they correctly point the finger at state government, not local governments, as the main culprit in Florida's unfair tax system. The editorial's headline, "Aim For Tax Fairness," gives one hope that the Times ed board might come up with some real suggestions for reforming the state's tax system. And they do mention one state revenue-raising option-- expanding the sales tax base to include more services.

But there's so much more to talk about. The single most obvious option for making Florida's tax system more sustainable and less unfair-- enacting a personal income tax-- is mentioned nowhere here. Nor is there a word spoken about eliminating the variety of loopholes in Florida's corporate income tax.

These options may not be politically realistic right now-- but the whole point of the Times editorial is that the "realistic" options being thrown around by Florida lawmakers right now are simply inadequate to the task at hand. It's the job of folks like the Times editorial board to discuss what's best for the state-- not just what's immediately feasible.