How does Florida do it?
 

How does Florida manage their budget without a State Income Tax when many other states not only have a State Income Tax but their property taxes are about double of most places in Florida and Sales Taxes are close to the same. We are currently "vacationing" in Illinois and the newspaper headline is "Illinois Falls Apart." In my head I can account for part of the difference but can't come close to the reality of the situation. :shrug:

How about less politicians with their hand in the till in Florida vs. Illinois just for starters?????

I have asked this question of several friends who are Florida residents, and they indicate that much of the state income comes from taxes on tourism, and agriculture, in particular, the citrus crop.

There are six other states with no personal income tax:

Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

My guess would be it is directly tied to tourism. Hotel/Motel taxes, rental car taxes, taxes on Disney - Sea World etc. attractions, taxes on rentals. Taxes take many forms and it simply is a matter of how and on what they are assessed. Since Florida benefits from a hearty tourism business, the tourists are taxed rather than the residents. In most states that is not an option.

I'm too lazy to look it up, but I bet it would be interesting to see how much Florida's revenues are from the Occupational Tax, Alcohol Tax(es), Food Tax (for eating out) and other tourism related taxes we do have. If you have to get your money, that seems like a very fair way to do it...and it seems to be working.

If we had the same type of clowns who run Il.and Ca and other states like them we would be just as screwed up as those states.They spend to by votes for their party.You have a Gov. in Il that says the state made a promise to public sector emps. and must live up to to those.I would say what makes a puplic sector emps. any different then someone in private sector?They were also promised and had to take cuts.

Also, we have a ginormous percentage of retirees that have very little impact on the infrastructure ( schools, etc.).

One way Florida " balances" their budget.............reduce, reduce and reduce aid to education, aid to dependent children, advocacy for residents of nursing homes, ets.
On the backs of those who don't have a voice in Tallahassee.

Term Limits

The Florida legislature has term limits.

on the backs of those who cannot afford it
 

lowest medicaid reimbursement of ANY state
low wages
poor education
high sales and tourism tax
oh but they have nice toll roads

There is no state income tax, but be careful if you have to go through probate. The "probate fee" is 40% of the assets of the trust.

Another way is the lack of polcike protection, fire departments, and teachers. Why do you think FL was 48 in education?

When it comes to taxes, I feel we all pay one way or another. What one state giveth, another will taketh.

And look at New Hampshire. No income or general sales tax. Tourism and everything else mentioned helps, however it is all about sound fiscal management. All any government knows how to do is expand. Expansion always costs more money. Where as business knows only how to cut cost. Start applying some sound business financial management to government and costs and taxes will come down. Taxes (in total) are the single largest expense growth we have. And they are about to get significantly worse with the new health care tax. And yes the supreme court did rule it was a tax. Of course if they had called it a tax in the beginning it would have never passed.

New Hampshire has some of the highest property taxes in the country.

New Hampshire does not have an income tax (at least not on W2 earnings) either, nor does it have a sales tax.

I own three properties in NH and the property taxes are actually lower then my VA home and Fl homes value for value. So IMHO they do not have the highest property tax. And even if they did, property type is a choice, income and sales is not so much a choice. And just where does that "highest property tax in the nation" come from? I have never even had that suggested before.

I thought that a "Trust" didn't have to go through probate. Have to check it out!

tourism, and retirees

You are correct.
A Google search will confirm.

We have a governor who stole enough from Medicare to float the state for a very long time!

Correct, a Florida Trust does not have to go through Probate. That's why everyone needs to check with an estate lawyer to make sure their wills, etc. are probate-proof.

Was recently told by my lawyer that probate is 5% - 6% of the value of the assets and can take from 9 months to over a year to go through probate. And yes, no probate for a Trust.

If you want to see what happens when the "give everyone with a sad story a free lunch" bunch is in charge, come an live in Hawaii. Highest taxed state in the US. Worst place to have a business. Everyone gets a hand out except the people working for a living who pay for all that Aloha. And that is on top of all the tax money received from the large tourism industry and the Federal government who spends billions in the state every year on the large military presence.

Just kick them to the curb, right?

Could be. With the exception of one year, I've lived in Crook (also known as Cook) County, Illinois since 1979. The parade of Chicago area politicians on trial or in prison never seems to end...

You have a way of putting words in peoples mouthes. That is not what I said or intended to say. I was implying that when generous free benefits are offered, some people will take advantage at the cost to taxpayers.

Here is the Dept of Revenue report on sources of tax income. It does not include property taxes.

Toursim is substantial, but not the largest. Substantial amounts come from fuel and communications (just look at your cell phone bill)

Red State
 

This thread is getting political so I guess I can say it, the simple answer is it's a Red State. It works well if you can afford it. But it's no place to be if you suddenly fall ill, lose a job or income, or need any basic support. It's great while you're on your feet, but have a back-up plan. It's the pull-up-the-ladder approach from voter purge to opt-out of Obamacare. Personally I think the attitude is self-centered and simply cruel, but I love it here.

We've lived in Florida since 1983 through Democratic and Republican governers and have never had a state income tax. The funding is done through our tourists. At one time there was a public service announcement suggesting all Florida residents are friendly to visitors as they pay our taxes.