Filed under: Campaign, Economic Stimulus | Tags: Bass Pro Shop, County Commission, Hillsborough County Florida, Ken Hagan, Politics
St. Pete Times business writer Robert Trigaux writes today about Florida’s strong business tax ranking. He notes that Florida has the best business tax climate of any other state this side of the Mississippi River; number five in the nation.
One of the things that makes Florida so attractive is sales taxes. Additional tax incentives would do little to influence business to locate here. He questions why, if taxes are already so favorable, why are we falling over ourselves to offer yet lower taxes to certain new or expanding businesses? He speculates that it may have more to do with the elections than the reality of attracting business.
Commissioner Ken Hagan has proposed a ballot measure that would exempt county taxes for select companies. Hagan cites Bass Pro Shops which will not locate here unless we vote to give them a free ride on taxes.
What voters have to decide is, do we want to give an out-of-town sporting goods company reduced taxes while we increase the taxes on established local sporting goods companies?
When you reduce taxes for one, you increase it for others to make up the difference.
There is no free ride when it comes to tax incentives.
Let the voters decide.
Filed under: Campaign, Economic Stimulus | Tags: Bass Pro Shop, County Commission, Florida, Hillsborough County Florida, Ken Hagan, Property tax, Retailing
Mr. Ken Hagan put a tax break on the Nov. 2, 2010 ballot at the last-minute and without public input.
The original staff draft of the Ad Valorem Tax Exemption limited businesses eligible for the exemption to those listed on the Florida Enterprise QTI Tax Refund Target Industries List.
This list by the way expressly EXCLUDES retail, hotel and restaurants.
The latest version of the Tax Exemption proposed by candidate Hagan now contains the wiggle words “…the County COULD reserve the prerogative to approve a Property Tax Exemption for a…project OUTSIDE of those parameters…”
Political Candidate Hagan has lately been pointing to his “big deal” with Bass Pro Shop to locate a retail store here, but only if this tax break goes through for them. Note that retail stores like Bass Pro Shop are not eligible on the Florida QTI Tax Refund List and so, not eligible in the County’s first draft of the Tax Exemption.
Can it just be coincidental that retailer Bass Pro “could” then be eligible for a Hillsborough County tax break, where they were not otherwise, if candidate Hagan wasn’t touting Bass Pro as an example of what he will do for the next four years on the County Commission?
These are largely low-wage, part-time, no-benefits jobs we are talking about. The Tax Exemption was supposed to bring high-wage jobs to Hillsborough.
Do we really want four more years of these self-serving political shenanigans from Mr. Hagan, or do we want someone like Jim Hosler who will hold himself and others to a higher standard of ethics?
Let the voters decide.
"Let the voters decide" 