10% Cuts Confirmed

I hate to say it... but I would even vote for a State Income Tax to offset what these bufoons did . It is better than being unemployed over the long run..and YES ALL...State LEOS are way underpaid.. not even close to what the top out rates are posted. Plus many State LEO agencies work a 9-10 hour day unpaid ... if you want us to be like other LEOS... how about treating us the same and equal for ALL LEOS... PBA what are you doing to save jobs ?

As a long time Republican I have one thing to say.....I'm done with the Republican Party!!! I am officially now NPA...no party affiliation! They have screwed this state up big time. Why didn't we see it when JEB was in office...guess we were all a little taken back by the family name and them being conservative, which is usually good for law enforcement. However, JEB and now Charlie Boy have let the Republican machine tear a new one in this state.

The republican representatives and senators are saying they will not increase any fees or fines that go along with any regulatory items in this state...they'd rather make "draconian cuts" as JD Alexander from central florida put it. Translation = layoffs!

There are millions of dollars to be made on increasing the price of cigarettes through taxes. Friends over at ABT tell me that folks in New Jersey pay up to $4.00 just in taxes on a pack of cigarettes. Our ABT friends also said that good ole Charlie Boy and the republican machine stopped the state from collecting a surchage tax on alcohol sales...however the price of a cold beer or a good ****tail didn'g go down did it?? If this was brought back this could also bring in hundres of thousands and maybe millions of dollars for the state. But no, let's not look at new revenue...just cuts.

What a bunch of assholes!! See ya RPOF!!! And the union better not endorse this skinny little ****er again!

As a long time Republican I have one thing to say.....I'm done with the Republican Party!!! I am officially now NPA...no party affiliation! They have screwed this state up big time. Why didn't we see it when JEB was in office...guess we were all a little taken back by the family name and them being conservative, which is usually good for law enforcement. However, JEB and now Charlie Boy have let the Republican machine tear a new one in this state.

The republican representatives and senators are saying they will not increase any fees or fines that go along with any regulatory items in this state...they'd rather make "draconian cuts" as JD Alexander from central florida put it. Translation = layoffs!

There are millions of dollars to be made on increasing the price of cigarettes through taxes. Friends over at ABT tell me that folks in New Jersey pay up to $4.00 just in taxes on a pack of cigarettes. Our ABT friends also said that good ole Charlie Boy and the republican machine stopped the state from collecting a surchage tax on alcohol sales...however the price of a cold beer or a good ****tail didn'g go down did it?? If this was brought back this could also bring in hundres of thousands and maybe millions of dollars for the state. But no, let's not look at new revenue...just cuts.

What a bunch of meany!! See ya RPOF!!! And the union better not endorse this skinny little ****er again!

The board automatically changed my original word to "meany" in my last statement. I originally typed a$$hole$.

I too was blinded by the dismantling of Florida by my party. I changed my affiliation as well. NPA for me!!!! It was not an easy thing to do but looking back at the &^%$**& we took at the hand of John Ellis Bush and more of the same with Chuck, there really aren't any alternatives. A dollar increase in the current cigarette tax would raise more than ONE BILLION new tax dollars. Increasing fines and penalties that have remained at the same level for more than 15 years would add another big boost. Adding ONE DOLLAR to the cost of each vehicle tag would fund a decent pay raise for once. As a footnote, the alcohol surcharge orginally brought in more than 100 MILLION dollars a year before it was slowly and sytematically dismantled by guess who? Close just 25 of the most offensive sales tax exemptions and the problem would be solved. Start housing prisoners in tents and now you have a surplus. There it is - I just fixed the budget. The only real problem now is how to rid Tallahassee of the stupidity of elected office.

Dismantled by CC, JEB, Greer and Dover at FRLA, the surtax was their abomination. What a joke!

Look at that crook Ray Sansom! While we're wondering if we're going to have a job this time next year, that fat cat sits himself up with a $110,000 job with what was Okaloosa Walton College. This was pay back for pushing $25 million to the college last year. Sansom should be a county commissioner in Escambia or Governor in Illinois. Wig Barrows and WD Childers must have been his mentors!

And what is Speak of House Ray Sansom’s party? Well that would be Republican

This explains one thing, with crooks running the Government do you really think they'll look out for the POLICE !!

I too was blinded by the dismantling of Florida by my party. I changed my affiliation as well. NPA for me!!!! It was not an easy thing to do but looking back at the &^%$**& we took at the hand of John Ellis Bush and more of the same with Chuck, there really aren't any alternatives. A dollar increase in the current cigarette tax would raise more than ONE BILLION new tax dollars. Increasing fines and penalties that have remained at the same level for more than 15 years would add another big boost. Adding ONE DOLLAR to the cost of each vehicle tag would fund a decent pay raise for once. As a footnote, the alcohol surcharge orginally brought in more than 100 MILLION dollars a year before it was slowly and sytematically dismantled by guess who? Close just 25 of the most offensive sales tax exemptions and the problem would be solved. Start housing prisoners in tents and now you have a surplus. There it is - I just fixed the budget. The only real problem now is how to rid Tallahassee of the stupidity of elected office.

STATE EXCISE TAX RATES ON CIGARETTES
(January 1, 2008)
STATE TAX RATE
(¢ per pack)
RANK STATE TAX RATE
(¢ per pack) RANK
Alabama (1) 42.5 42 Nebraska 64 35
Alaska 200 4 Nevada 80 32
Arizona 200 4 New Hampshire 108 24
Arkansas 59 38 New Jersey 257.5 1
California 87 30 New Mexico 91 29
Colorado 84 31 New York (1) 150 16
Connecticut 200 4 North Carolina 35 45
Delaware
115 23 North Dakota 44 41
Florida 33.9 46 Ohio 125 20
Georgia 37 43 Oklahoma 103 25
Hawaii (3) 180 10 Oregon 118 22
Idaho 57 39 Pennsylvania 135 19
Illinois (1) 98 28 Rhode Island 246 2
Indiana 99.5 27 South Carolina 7 51
Iowa 136 18 South Dakota 153 14
Kansas 79 33 Tennessee (1) (2) 62 36
Kentucky (2) 30 47 Texas 141 17
Louisiana 36 44 Utah 69.5 34
Maine 200 4 Vermont 179 11
Maryland 200 4 Virginia (1) 30 47
Massachusetts 151 15 Washington 202.5 3
Michigan 200 4 West Virginia 55 40
Minnesota (4) 123 21 Wisconsin 177 12
Mississippi 18 49 Wyoming 60 37
Missouri (1) 17 50 Dist. of Columbia 100 26
Montana 170 13
U. S. Median 100.0

Source: Compiled by FTA from various sources
(1) Counties and cities may impose an additional tax on a pack of cigarettes in AL, 1¢ to 6¢; IL, 10¢ to 15¢; MO, 4¢ to 7¢; NYC $1.50; TN, 1¢; and VA, 2¢ to 15¢.
(2) Dealers pay an additional enforcement and administrative fee of 0.1¢ per pack in KY and 0.05¢ in TN.
(3) Tax rate is scheduled to increase to $2.00 per pack on September 30, 2008.
(4) Plus an additional 25.5 cent sales tax is added to the wholesale price of a tax stamp (total $1.485).

It would seem that most every other state has used this tax to their advantage. Just think about what could be done with an extra billion dollars.