Members of the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday attempted to get answers about whether Governor Scott’s proposed half-billion dollar tax cut would benefit the state’s economy. And a top economic analyst says a soon-to-be-released report may offer some clarity.
By the end of the year, Office of Economic & Demographic Research Coordinator Amy Baker has to deliver a report on the governor’s tax cut proposal to House and Senate leaders. She noted in Wednesday’s presentation the state has more economic flexibility that it had in recent years, but Rep. Joseph Gibbons (D - Hallandale Beach) wanted to know if there was even a point in considering reducing revenue by $500 million.
“Has there ever been a correlation – measurable correlation – between a tax cut like that and an increase in revenue the following year or an increase in jobs," Gibbons asked. "Is there some measurable way to measure the value of the investment of a tax cut?”
Baker likened the possibility to some environmental cleanup efforts the state might undertake.
“An example would be brownfields," she says. "You may want to do something with brownfields because it’s cleaning up the economy and that has value to us. That would be outside of the state’s direct return on that investment.”
But Gibbons quickly pointed out brownfields are often remediated so construction can begin on top of them – construction whose economic give-back is quantifiable.