Gov. Scott Proposes Cutting Taxes on Cellphones, Cable TV, Textbooks

By Dwellie Striggles

Reducing cellphone and television taxes would save the average resident with a $100 cell phone bill $3.60 a month or about $43 a year, under a proposal from Gov. Scott.

Scott stopped by the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce on Friday and announced his goal to cut a little more than $400 million in state cellphone and television taxes.

“If you’re spending more than that, you’ll get more money back,” Scott told those gathered. “But that’s a lot of money back in people’s pockets.”

The governor’s $77 billion budget plan for 2015-16 includes $673 million in tax cuts. It is a reduction of roughly $100 million in spending from the current year.

The biggest proposed tax cut, $470 million, would come from reducing the communications services tax from 9.17 percent to 5.57 percent.

Most Floridians, on average, pay 9.17 percent on non-residential landlines, cellphones, and other various services not including satellite services, which increases taxes to about 13.17 percent.

Florida wireless service taxes are among the highest in the country behind Washington state, Nebraska and New York.

In addition to decreasing taxes on cellphones and TV, Scott is proposing to eliminate sales tax on college textbooks. This would help college students taking five classes a semester save about $170 per year, he said.

Ashley Herbert, a graduate student at Florida Atlantic University, appeared with Scott and heralded his planned textbook tax cut.

“Applied to college students, these tax cuts are going to be extremely beneficial,” Herbert said.

Scott was able to propose boosting education spending as well as tax cuts thanks to an improving economy that is pumping more tax revenue into state coffers.

“We’re going to do the things and we’re going to have the safety nets to take care of our families,” Scott said. “But we know it’s your money. It’s not government money.”

The final decision on Scott’s proposed 2015-2016 “KEEP FLORIDA WORKING” budget lies with the Florida Legislature. The legislative session starts March 3.