Florida League of Mayors Joins Chorus Opposing Corporate-financed Tax Amendment
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Mayors stand with teachers and public safety professionals against corporate money
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2008
Contact: Sharon Berrian
(850) 222-9684
TALLAHASSEE – The Florida League of Mayors took a stand today in strong opposition to the Amendment 1 tax plan, urging voters to weigh who supports and who opposes the plan to infer who is likely to benefit from it and who is likely to be punished.
The groups supporting the tax amendment who have donated nearly $3 million to finance television advertisements for the proposal include Donald Trump, realtors, major electric companies, used car salesmen, cell phone tower companies, corporate business interest lobbyists as well as some of the state’s largest owners of land and timber.
“Did these special interests give millions and millions to this plan just because it benefits people like me and you? I don’t think so,” said Mayor Steven B. Feren of Sunrise, Florida, who serves as president of the Florida League of Mayors. “When proponents of this tax amendment wanted to go out and get financial support for their cause, where did they start? Did they go to Stan in Port Charlotte? No, they went to Donald Trump in Manhattan.”
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Feren was joined by several other mayors who said they stood squarely in the camp of those opposed to Amendment 1, including Florida’s teachers, firefighters, police and public safety professionals, the League of Women Voters, cities, and counties such as Leon and Seminole, which have all resisted the “Tallahassee trespass against Home Rule and local control.”
Feren said local governments are closest to the people and are this nation’s most trusted governments because citizens don’t need money, influence or lobbyists to get their voices heard, but can walk to City Hall and speak with mayors and city council members face to face.
“You don’t need to collect political contributions just to get an audience with a mayor – we don’t live in a cocoon,” Feren said. “We spend much of our time seeking out citizen input and public participation, and in service to the cities in which we live I am proud to add the Florida League of Mayors to the list of those opposed to the flawed Amendment 1 tax plan.”
Regarding the specifics of the tax plan, Feren said the proposal would take an unfair, inequitable tax system and make it more unfair, burdening young families, small businesses and first-time homebuyers and making it much more likely that Floridians would pay higher taxes than their neighbors, even if they live in a similar home.
Feren also said the fiscal impact of the amendment is unknown, and that according to published reports, the amendment could actually cause tax rates to rise in certain communities.
"Paid Political Advertisement Paid for in-kind by The Florida League of Mayors, Inc.,301 South Bronough Street, Suite 300, Tallahassee, FL 32301."
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