Manufacturing tax exemption gets go-ahead in Senate

BY THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

A Senate committee Monday unanimously approved a proposal that would make permanent a sales-tax exemption on manufacturing equipment. The proposal (SB 98), sponsored by Senate Finance and Tax Chairwoman Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, is a top priority of Gov. Rick Scott and is supported by business groups. The state does not currently collect the tax because of a temporary exemption, but the tax is scheduled to return in 2017.

The bill, approved Monday by the Finance and Tax Committee, would make the exemption permanent at an estimated annual cost of $62.8 million to the state and $14.1 million to local governments. "By passing this relief, we will diversify our economy,'' committee member Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, said. But Rich Templin, a lobbyist for the Florida AFL-CIO, questioned the proposal, saying the money could go toward "unmet needs" in the state.