Even though a Leon County Circuit judge has tossed the proposed “tax swap” off the November ballot for being misleading, there is one key aspect to the proposed amendment that remains abundantly clear.
Arguably, it was the only way to resurrect one of this state’s “third rail” political issues: special interest tax exemptions, including services. Amendment 5 would have eliminated the property tax portion of school funding and forced lawmakers to choose ways to replace it. The mix of options would have included sales tax exemption repeals.
Ever since it cost Gov. Bob Martinez a re-election, it has been a political non-starter. It still is.