AMY TIDD, GUEST COLUMNIST FOR FLORIDA TODAY

This month the Florida Legislature cut $512 million from the 2007-08 budget to balance the tax revenue shortfall. Despite their pledge last year to hold education harmless, the first item on the cutting block was our public schools system, with our public schools losing about $55 per student according to the Orlando Sentinel. Our universities have had their financial aid programs cut and many students will have to drop out. With our economy faltering, education is the key to a better workforce and more business revenue. When America invested in education after World War II with programs like the GI Bill, our educated workforce brought a new prosperity to America.

Why are we short on tax revenue? One of the reasons is that in 2006, the Republican-controlled Legislature voted to repeal the intangibles tax, a tax on the wealthiest citizens that brought in $600 million a year. They quoted people like Randall Holcombe from the James Madison Institute who said, "The intangible tax raises a relatively small amount of revenue." And, "If the tax was completely eliminated, state governmental expenditures would still increase because the revenues lost would be more than replaced by the normal growth in the state's other revenue sources."

Today these ideas have proven to be false. The amount this small tax on the wealthy brought in would more than cover the budget shortfalls for this year, and the state's other revenue sources have fallen, not risen. The only thing that has risen has been the "for sale" signs and the home foreclosures due to the rise in home insurance and taxes.

Because of these Republican ideas that have been proven to be false, our state is now at a crossroads where some new ideas are necessary for Florida to prosper. We need to stop cutting the taxes of the rich by robbing our youth of their future. We need a change of course from the Republican-led recession that is facing our state. Broadening the tax base with ideas like Former Florida Senate President John McKay has proposed is a good start. He is chair of the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, which is meeting to look at tax reform items to be placed on the November 2008 ballot.

One of his ideas to reform taxes is to eliminate the school tax portion of our homeowners' bill by repealing the sales tax exemptions that lobbyists for the business community have gotten over the years. This would be a great step in the right direction.

Florida should look out for the welfare of our citizens instead of giving sales tax exemptions for such luxuries as ostrich feed and sport complexes skyboxes. We need to lift the burden of our taxes from the average homeowner and spread out the responsibility so that we can invest in our future.

Let us all work together to set a course for a new, prosperous future for all Floridians.