Latest news with #taxcut
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Budget deal Take Two: Florida House, Senate agree on 'framework' amid raucous session
Nearly a month after leaving the Capitol without passing a budget, House and Senate leaders said Friday night they had reached an agreement that will clear the way for lawmakers to begin hammering out details of a spending plan Tuesday. House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, issued memos that indicated they expect to pass a budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year on June 16. The memos came after weeks of behind-the-scenes talks aimed at trying to kick-start the conference negotiating process. The memos said the agreement includes a $900 million tax cut through eliminating a tax on commercial leases, a longtime priority of business lobbyists. It also includes what the memos described as $350 million in 'permanent sales tax exemptions targeted towards Florida families,' $250 million in debt reduction and $750 million in annual payments into a state rainy-day fund. 'In total, the framework set forth in these allocations provides for a fiscally responsible, balanced budget that reduces state spending, lowers per capita spending, and reduces the growth of state bureaucracy,' Albritton wrote in his memo to senators. 'The budget authorizes early payoff of state debt, accounts for significant, broad-based tax relief, and builds on historic state reserves for emergencies.' Conference committees will start meeting Tuesday to negotiate details of the different parts of the budget, such as education, health care and criminal justice. Unresolved issues will go Thursday to House Budget Chairman Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, and Senate Appropriations Chairman Ed Hooper, R-Trinity, for further negotiations. The fiscal year will start July 1, which, if a budget passes June 16, will give Gov. Ron DeSantis two weeks to use his line-item veto authority. The House and Senate were unable to reach agreement on a budget before the scheduled May 2 end of the annual legislative session because of differences about tax cuts and spending levels. Lawmakers extended the session, but House and Senate leaders remained at odds as they worked behind the scenes. The House in April approved a plan that called for cutting the state sales-tax rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent, which would have totaled roughly $5 billion. But the Senate did not go along and pitched a plan that included providing a sales-tax exemption on clothes and shoes valued at $75 or less, sales-tax 'holidays' and trimming the commercial-lease tax. DeSantis, meanwhile, called for cutting property taxes and criticized the House's plan for reducing the sales-tax rate. Perez and Albritton indicated on May 2 that they had reached a 'framework' that would include $2.8 billion in tax cuts, including reducing the sales-tax rate. But that later blew up, with Perez publicly accusing Albritton of backing out of the deal. But Albritton said senators had raised concerns that a cut in the sales-tax rate would not be 'meaningful, felt, or seen by families and seniors when compared with other available options.' The memos released Friday night did not provide details of the $350 million in sales-tax exemptions that are included in the latest agreement. They also did not mention property-tax cuts. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida House, Senate agree on budget 'framework' after bitter divide
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Florida lawmakers reach budget agreement, set to finalize $900 million tax cut plan
Nearly a month after leaving the Capitol without passing a budget, House and Senate leaders said Friday night they had reached an agreement that will clear the way for lawmakers to begin hammering out details of a spending plan Tuesday. House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, issued memos that indicated they expect to pass a budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year on June 16. The memos came after weeks of behind-the-scenes talks aimed at trying to kick-start the conference negotiating process. Key financial priorities The memos said the agreement includes a $900 million tax cut through eliminating a tax on commercial leases, a longtime priority of business lobbyists. It also includes what the memos described as $350 million in "permanent sales tax exemptions targeted towards Florida families," $250 million in debt reduction and $750 million in annual payments into a state rainy-day fund. "In total, the framework set forth in these allocations provides for a fiscally responsible, balanced budget that reduces state spending, lowers per capita spending, and reduces the growth of state bureaucracy," Albritton wrote in his memo to senators. "The budget authorizes early payoff of state debt, accounts for significant, broad-based tax relief, and builds on historic state reserves for emergencies." Conference committees will start meeting Tuesday to negotiate details of the different parts of the budget, such as education, health care and criminal justice. Unresolved issues will go Thursday to House Budget Chairman Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, and Senate Appropriations Chairman Ed Hooper, R-Trinity, for further negotiations. The fiscal year will start July 1, which, if a budget passes June 16, will give Gov. Ron DeSantis two weeks to use his line-item veto authority. Past disagreements and new framework The House and Senate were unable to reach agreement on a budget before the scheduled May 2 end of the annual legislative session because of differences about tax cuts and spending levels. Lawmakers extended the session, but House and Senate leaders remained at odds as they worked behind the scenes. The House in April approved a plan that called for cutting the state sales-tax rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent, which would have totaled roughly $5 billion. But the Senate did not go along and pitched a plan that included providing a sales-tax exemption on clothes and shoes valued at $75 or less, sales-tax "holidays" and trimming the commercial-lease tax. DeSantis, meanwhile, called for cutting property taxes and criticized the House's plan for reducing the sales-tax rate. Perez and Albritton indicated on May 2 that they had reached a "framework" that would include $2.8 billion in tax cuts, including reducing the sales-tax rate. But that later blew up, with Perez publicly accusing Albritton of backing out of the deal. But Albritton said senators had raised concerns that a cut in the sales-tax rate would not be "meaningful, felt, or seen by families and seniors when compared with other available options." The memos released Friday night did not provide details of the $350 million in sales-tax exemptions that are included in the latest agreement. They also did not mention property-tax cuts.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Tariff Ruling Threatens a $2 Trillion Fiscal Hole in Trump Plan
The court ruling that blocked much of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs threatens to blow what some economists estimate as a $2 trillion hole into the US fiscal outlook over the coming decade, should the judgment stay in place. The ruling could also present a new obstacle for Republicans who are relying on the revenue to help offset the cost of a roughly $4 trillion tax cut moving through Congress.
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Poilievre's absence from House is a 'set-back' for Conservatives: Lantsman
Conservative Party deputy leader Melissa Lantsman talks about Pierre Poilievre's absence from the House of Commons and her party's plan to support the government's promised middle-class tax cut.
National Post
4 days ago
- Business
- National Post
John Ivison: The first Carney spending numbers are out, and they're as bad Trudeau's
Politics is not a zero-sum game where one person's win is automatically another's loss. An economy is not a conserved system, so, in theory, it is possible that a government could reduce taxes, increase spending and balance budgets (if, for example, revenues rise). Article content Article content But it is a theory that is as rare in real life as white peacocks. Article content The Carney government is in the process of legislating a $5-billion-a-year middle-class tax cut, while planning to increase spending on things like the military and housing, and at the same time promising to balance the operating budget in three years. Article content Article content Yet, the Main Estimates, the government's spending plan that was released on Tuesday at the same time as the throne speech, shows no signs of the restraint that will be needed if the government is to meet that last target. Article content Article content This is the first evidence of concrete spending plans since the election and it seems the bureaucracy did not get the memo about the need for fiscal rigour. Article content The prime minister was critical of his predecessor's fondness for distributing cash, saying the Trudeau government spent too much and invested too little. Mark Carney said his government will limit operating-expense increases to two per cent a year, down from nine per cent a year under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, while preserving transfers to provinces and individuals. Article content The Main Estimates suggest that message of restraint fell on deaf ears in Ottawa: total budgeted spending is scheduled to rise 7.75 per cent to $486.9 billion this fiscal year across 130 federal organizations (compared to last year's Main Estimates). The government will ask Parliament to vote on $222.9 billion of spending measures, a 14 per cent increase on last year's estimates. Article content Article content The most egregious spending appears to be on consultants. The estimates reveal that budgetary expenditure by 'standard object' — in this case, 'professional and special services' — are set to hit $26 billion this year, if departments are granted the approvals they are seeking (the estimates are an 'up to' amount; departments could spend less). Article content Article content It should also be pointed out that the Main Estimates are not the whole picture. There will be additional 'supplementary estimates' over the course of the year that will likely increase spending further in response to events.
