Business and Job Creation in Florida
House passes Rep. Grady’s legislation to keep boats, businesses and jobs in Florida
In recent years, Florida has watched bordering states and nearby countries siphon away jobs from its $18 billion marine industry. Why? Because of the way our tax code is set up. Not anymore.
Until now, if someone bought a boat from a dealer in our state, they had every reason to leave as quickly as possible. Stay, and pay a significant tax. Leave within a 90-day period, and pay no tax – but take with them all of the jobs associated with every boat (captain, crew, storage, maintenance, insurance, upgrades, electronics, etc.).
Representative Tom Grady (R- Naples) said enough: “We want boats, the jobs and capital they bring, to stay in Florida forever. It is one of the most important industries in our state.”
“It was an easy fix,” says Grady. Today, in a bipartisan vote, the House passed House Bill 711, called the Florida Maritime Full Employment Act, “to keep boats, businesses and jobs here in Florida .”
“Here’s how it worked – people would buy boats from Florida Brokers. But immediately after, they moved the boat to another state or, more often, they would make the sale just offshore and register the boat in foreign country, usually in the Caribbean. Either way, they don’t have to pay any sales taxes, and we lose out. Meaning, when boats leave our state or never get here, jobs are lost. ”
Grady’s bill will now implement a sales tax cap of $18-thousand on the sale of boats. “With that cap, Florida will become a hub for boat buyers. New boat owners will be encouraged to register and stay in Florida, which means the tax dollars stay here and more importantly, even more jobs get created here because at the end of the day, when you make something less expensive, you get more of it – boat sales, jobs and economic expansion.”
That type of expansion is a result of people staying put here in our state. “People will want to buy here, insure here, outfit here, maintain here, crew here, store here, and spend money here. All of these things will generate even more sales tax for Florida and most importantly, more jobs for Florida .”
The numbers clearly show just how much more competitive some nearby states are when it comes to capping taxes on boat sales. Just north of Florida and also along the Atlantic coast, North and South Carolina cap their sales taxes on boats at $1500 and $300, respectively. Along the Gulf, Alabama has just a 2-percent sales tax on boats; Florida’s is at 6-percent.
“This bill is all about jobs, jobs, jobs. We are creating more revenue for our state and giving people opportunities, both employees and small business owners.”
Contact Information:
Trey Radel
TreyCommunications@yahoo.com
800-983-4430
