Janelle Irwin Taylor
A new poll shows Floridians want a tax cut that would save them money on their cell phone and cable bills. Earlier this year Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced a plan to cut $470 million in taxes on those services.
The cut would save the average Florida family that spends $100 a month on cable and cell service about $43 a year.
A Chamber of Commerce poll released Monday shows 70 percent of those polled support the tax while only 15 percent oppose it. The remaining 12 percent were unsure.
The Florida Chamber Political Institute poll was conducted among 605 likely Florida voters.
“Lowering the cost of living and the cost of doing business through targeted tax reforms is a top priority of the Florida Chamber of Commerce,” said Marian Johnson, senior vice president of the Florida Chamber Political Institute. “Clearly, voters agree with Governor Scott and the Florida Chamber that lowering cell phone and cable TV taxes will put money back into the pockets of Floridians and help make Florida more competitive.”
The poll is released as members of the Florida legislature head back to Tallahassee for the Special Session to hash out a new budget. The House adjourned early amid a budget impasse over healthcare.
The Florida Senate wants to fund a gap in funding for uncompensated care by accepting federal money tied to Medicaid expansion. The Florida House had proposed using state funding.
The $470 million tax cut will be determined in a final budget.
The poll also showed more Floridians think Florida is headed in the right direction. Of those polled, 42 percent said they thought things were going well in Florida while 42 percent said the state is headed in the wrong direction. The Chamber notes there have been 865,000 private-sector jobs created during the past five years and the state’s unemployment rate is down to 5.6 percent.
Another 40 percent of those polled indicated they thought they were financially better off this year than they were last year. That represents an 8 percent jump from last year
The top three issues identified among Florida voters by the Chamber poll are jobs and the economy, heath care and education. Nearly 20 percent of respondents identified jobs and the economy as the top priority. That number is down 10 percent from last year.
Another 17 percent indicated healthcare as a priority with 16 percent saying education is a top priority. Other issues identified as important by voters were balancing the state budget and focusing on crime and immigration.
The poll was conducted May 14-20 using live telephone interviews of those considered likely voters. The sample size used 64 percent land-line users and 35 percent cell phone users. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
