Andrew Appleby tells Tampa Bay Times proposed tax law could be clarified
By Caitlin Johnston
Tampa Bay Times
Sept. 26, 2019
Excerpt
Hillsborough County, Fla., Commissioner Les Miller wants to give voters another chance to pass a one-cent transportation sales tax, but he’s adamant the attempt will be in place of, not in addition to, the tax voters already passed in 2018…
Andrew Appleby, a professor of tax law at Stetson University, said the ordinance provides that only one transportation sales tax would ever be in effect, but he suggested going a step further to reassure voters by placing similar language in the ballot text of the referendum.
“It could state expressly that this new surtax will be effective only if the previous surtax is found invalid and thus repealed,” Appleby said. “The ordinance itself makes that clear, but not the referendum text.”
The complete article was originally published in the Tampa Bay Times on March 3, 2020, with the headline, “Backup levy would not double Hillsborough’s transportation tax, officials say.”
Post date: March 6, 2020
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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