State of Florida Archives: on Corporations

Rick Scott: Eliminate thousands of regulations on job creators

Two years ago, we knew we had been called here to make the difficult choices to help Florida families get back to work. Together, we faced these challenges head on. We cut taxes... We eliminated thousands of regulations on job creators... We paid down state debt for two years in a row... We invested in priorities--like education... And, now our economy is on the rebound. It's working.

Because we made the hard choices over the last two years, we are able to make the smart choices to keep our economy growing this year.

Rick Scott: Remove the sales tax on manufacturing equipment

As long as even one Florida family needs a job, our work is not done. That is why we are committed to removing the sales tax on manufacturing equipment. Florida is one of only a few states with this tax, and we lag behind the nation in per capita manufacturing jobs. We need to level the playing field to compete for manufacturing jobs. Every manufacturing job supports two to three other jobs in our state.

This year, we are also proposing that we continue to roll back the business tax by exempting 2,000 more small businesses from having to pay it. If we are successful this year, we will have removed the business tax from 70% of businesses since taking office. I am committed to getting rid of this tax entirely.

Marco Rubio: Businesses need certainty to commit to hiring new workers

Obama favors extending the tax cuts only for households earning less than $250,000, about 98% of all taxpayers. Rubio argued that anything short of extending them for all Americans, poor and wealthy alike, would amount to a tax increase at a particularly vulnerable time. "There's a difference between compromise & cutting a deal," Rubio said. "Compromise is a good thing. Cutting deals in Washington, there's too much of that."

Meek defended Obama's economic strategy. Crist straddled the positions of his rivals, supporting a compromise on the tax cuts

Rick Scott: Phase out Florida's Business Income Tax over 7 Years

Jeff Greene: Sold $21M of condos to CA dealer now facing charges

"I was a victim," Greene said, dismissing Meek's suggestion that he "enabled fraud" by signing hundreds of blank deeds that were filled out by straw buyers. "It's very different when you sell a building to a guy and he turns out to be a crook."

Greene dismissed Meek's accusation in the California condo deal with Delbert McConville. "I sold a building through a broker. They found this guy McConville. I've never met him," Greene said. "Everything I signed was done with my attorneys and the escrow officers, my loan agents. I didn't do anything crooked."

Marco Rubio: Work across the aisle to make America more business-friendly

RUBIO: Well, partisan gridlock is not something I'm in favor of. But the problem is it depends on what you're standing for. I'd be more than happy to work across the aisle to do things like lower the capital gains tax, lower the corporate tax, flatten the tax rate, lower all of these other taxes that make America increasingly an unfriendly place to do business. And if the Obama administration tomorrow announces that that's their agenda, or the leadership in Congress does, I'll be thrilled to work with them. But what they're attempting to do is to fundamentally redefine the role of government in America, and we can't cooperate with that, because once we cross a certain point, we can't turn back.

John McCain: Cut corporate income taxes to keep jobs here

A: Yes, I will and I’m disappointed, because I think it’s very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent. I voted to make them permanent twice already. If people and businesses and families in America are now planning their 2010 budget, there’s a great deal of uncertainty. And if we don’t make the tax cuts permanent, then they will experience what amounts to a tax increase. But I also would make sure that not only the tax cuts are made permanent, but we cut corporate income taxes. That would keep businesses here, and it would keep jobs here and create jobs here. We pay the highest corporate income tax of any nation in the world except for Japan. I’m glad to see that we’re going to allow people to expense new investments in equipment, so they can write them off in a very short period of time.

Mitt Romney: Key to economic stimulus: get companies to buy more stuff

A: Well, there’s a great deal that is effective in his plan. First, he’s getting money back to consumers. That makes sense to me I just think we need to go further. We go to corporate support and helping corporations have the incentive to buy more capital equipment. That he also does. I do it more aggressively by writing off a larger amount of capital expenditures--getting companies to buy more stuff so that other companies will hire people. If you want to turn an economy around, the key thing is to grow jobs. It’s not just to get checks in the hands of consumers; it’s consumers & companies buying things that create jobs.

Marco Rubio: Loser pays, to discourage frivolous lawsuits

Loser Pays for Frivolous Lawsuits
• Expand the "loser pays" or "prevailing party" attorneys' fee statutes, strengthen the "offer of judgment" statute, and ensure that any case, claim, or defense not supported by necessary facts or law results in the right to claim attorneys' fees
• Establish a business specialty court
• Economic Civil Rights for Communities
• Institute a pilot program that creates a tax-free zone in Florida's most economically depressed areas

Jeb Bush: Repeal the mandatory helmet law for motorcyclists