Senate President Pro Tem Anitere Flores is proposing a tax cut on Floridians’ cable and cell phone bills. But to pay for it, the Miami Republican’s plan would eliminate a tax break for the insurance industry.
Since the late 1980s, insurance companies in Florida have been able to deduct 15 percent of employee’s salaries from their annual corporate tax bill. The incentive is meant to encourage an industry that hasn’t always blossomed in the sunshine state. But Flores says times have changed.
“My ultimate goal is to say what can we do to help everyday Floridians every day in their pocket book,” Flores says. “And that’s why the CST is something that came across as very viable—you know you get a cell phone bill every single month.”
Flores’ proposal would use the savings from eliminating the insurance subsidy to fund a two percent reduction in the communications services tax, or CST. In recent years, Republicans have focused on the tax—levied on services like cable and cell phones—as a way to make broad based cuts.
