St. Petersburg, Florida - A shopping trip next year may cost Florida consumers 3 percent more in sales taxes.
"Not be happy about that," says Charlotte Beaty, a self-confessed shopaholic.
House Bill 1181 would add a three percent education surtax to the sales tax for schools. The surtax would replace the 30 to 40 percent property tax property owners now pay to fund schools.
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"As long as schools get the money and homeowners get a break, it's a fantastic idea," says property owner Derrek Osborne.
Cory Leitch is a renter, but says he wouldn't mind helping schools. He says, "I'm OK with it. I went to school. I know how it feels not to have everything we should have."
James Smith is a property owner and a parent. Smith says, "Since you will have to pay it anyway, if it goes to education, I don't mind paying it."
Unlike property taxes that fluctuate with the economy, the bill sponsored by Florida Representative Fred Costello (R) would remain revenue neutral and guarantee school districts that three percent.
Rep. Costello explains his bill during an interview on WNDB's Morning Drive Show: "Education would be held harmless -- no increase or decrease to education, just a different source."
Pinellas County Commissioner and former Pinellas School Board Member Nancy Bostock says it's an idea worth considering.
Bostock says, "Anything predictable for the school district so they can plan their budget, so they can see out a couple of years into the future and know that baseline of revenue is there, would be helpful to them."
The three percent education surtax would apply to all consumers, including tourists who pay 25 percent of Florida's sales tax.
Florida's Retail Federation opposes the bill. Rick McAllister with the Florida Retail Federation says, "There's no question at some level people will buy what they have to, but on those things that they don't have to buy, when you add another 3 cents, let's say to make now the sales tax 10 or 11 percent, it's going to have an effect on spending."
The Florida School Boards Association also opposes the education surtax bill. Wayne Blanton with the Florida School Boards Association says, "One of the concerns about increasing the sales tax and reducing ad valorem taxes is it really falls heavy on the poor. So those people who have to spend a considerable amount of their income on consumables really carry a disproportionate burden with that shift."
The tax increase would also apply to all Internet sales and to bottle water up to a gallon in size.
Isabel Mascarenas