Yesterday in Eustis, Governor Rick Scott unveiled his FY 2011-12 budget that featured the largest spending cuts in Florida’s history- $4.6 billion dollars, accompanied by a shedding of 8,700 employees from the state’s payroll. The particulars of his $65.9 billion dollar budget will take some time to digest, but the Governor is certainly keeping his campaign promise to scale back the scope of Florida’s State Government to its “core functions” and significantly cut its spending in the midst of our jobless “recovery”.
“(We need to) set an example for the nation that you can in fact shrink government.” – Governor Rick Scott
Aside from the usual criticism from Democrats that Scott’s proposed budget will be spelling the ruin of public education or further jeopardizing public safety, the budget could meet resistance in both houses of the Legislature. State Senate President Mike Haridopolos and House Speaker Dean Cannon haven’t gone on the record with clear indications that they will support the Governor’s budget as proposed.
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Scott has modified his initial pledge to cut property taxes by $1.4 billion in his first year, now proposing to cut $1.4 billion in property taxes over two years, with all his proposed tax cuts over two years totaling over $4 billion. Scott kept his pledge to cut the corporate income tax, from 5.5 to 3.0 percent in 2011-12, and then a reduction of .5% every year after until it is eliminated. This is a boon for companies and consumers alike, as corporate taxes are simply factored into the cost of business that is passed on to consumers in the goods and services that they purchase.