If you drive a car, wet a fishing hook, get a divorce or buy a burial plot, some of Florida’s leaders want to dip into your pocket by levying what they call a “user fee.” A tax by any other name would be as steep. Seeking to plug a $6.1 billion shortfall, budget writers in the Legislature have packed a dozen or so spending bills with higher fees that would affect Floridians from all walks of life: motorists who renew licenses; anglers who fish along the coast; people who file for divorce, sue for injuries or visit a state park. It would cost $20 to register a burial plot. The governor has proposed $529 million in new or increased fees in his budget. Budget-writers accepted some of them, like higher fees for renewing driver’s licenses and filing lawsuits, and ignored others, such as taxing water bottlers 6 cents for every gallon they pump out of the ground. Legislators say the smorgasbord of fees is justified, given the increased cost of providing things like motor vehicle licenses, Highway Patrol troopers, courts and clerks. “If people want to drive, you have to pay a fee,” said Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations. “We haven’t raised some of them for over 20 years.” Others caution that higher fees could create problems. One proposal would impose filing fees of $2,000 for lawsuits involving assets or damages of more than $250,000 including antitrust and intellectual-property cases, medical malpractice, home foreclosures and even divorces. It now costs $295 to file a suit, regardless of the amount of damages sought. The Senate wants to impose a sliding scale of $295 to $2,000.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/legislature/sfl-more-fees-b040309sbapr03,0,6103095.story
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