Gillum: Florida would tax corporations, join other states to pay for Medicare for all

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill


BY BRETT SAMUELS - 09/02/18 09:39 AM EDT

Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum (D) said Sunday that he would increase taxes on corporations in the state to help fund his plan to provide Medicare for all.

Gillum was pressed on CNN's "State of the Union" about his pledge to provide medical care for everyone in his state, including how he would pay for it.

"I don’t buy that," Gillum said when asked if higher taxes are a prerequisite of Medicare for all. "I will absolutely not raise taxes on everyday working Floridians."

The Democrat said he would look to increase taxes on corporations instead, arguing that only 3 percent of companies in the state pay a corporate tax rate.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/404738-gillum-florida-would-tax-corporations-team-up-with-other-states-to

[lark]

1. That's my guy!

[whathehell]

2. Works for me..

[mcar]

3. K&R!

[Godsuki]

4. It's easy. VT and Calif. had no problem

Last edited Sun Sep 2, 2018, 02:04 PM - Edit history (3)

Great idea.

[safeinOhio]

5. Corporations might come out way ahead on that deal.

At least the ones that pay for employ health care insurance.

[OrlandoDem2]

6. I'm excited for Gillum!

[packman]

7. Got my vote -

Industry and big corps have ridden the Scott Train here in Florida too long without buying a ticket for the ride. Screw them to the wall.

[KWR65]

8. We could have a $5.29 per hour flat tax for all workers paid by the employer

That will raise $11k per year for each worker to pay for M4A. We could put a flat tax on all income what ever it's source at 5% or maybe even a national sales tax. No longer will we need gofund me to pay for medical bills or have to give up paid time off to pay medical bills for the family.

[7962]

13. You've got to be kidding. $5.29 per hr for every hr worked? Thats a HUGE tax.

Never happen.
However, I've long been a supporter of a national sales tax because of the hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars that go untaxed or undertaxed. Dozens or even 100s of occupations are self-reporting & I'd bet the largest portion of them dont fully report. I know a ton of them. Its not just drug dealers like so many believe.

[KWR65]

15. That is much cheaper then they pay now.

The average premium for family coverage is $1,462 per month or $17,545 per year (source). These amounts are generally split by the employer and employee. On average, employers pay: $5,179 annually (83 percent of the premium) to cover a single employee.

https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/faq-how-much-does-it-cost-to-provide-health-insurance-to-employees

M4A will be able to save money by setting prices just like Medicare does now.

[humbled_opinion]

9. The problem is going to come when

they say Military retiree TRICARE is converting over to medicare for all, the veteran's groups are a very powerful lobby. The only other issue is the push back against companies that will layoff workers because of the tax increase. The right will exploit it and say that Dems are taking jobs away. I also don't know if the math gets us there with just a corporate tax rate increase, I am sure there will have to be other offsets and cost increases too, i.e., more than the current less than 2% Medicare tax. This is going to need a big push back against rightwing fear mongering fox news.

[Igel]

10. I don't know what this means.

It's how he'd fund it, so it's not exactly a side issue once we're past the "look at what we get, isn't it great that we get all this stuff?" aspect.

"The Democrat said he would look to increase taxes on corporations instead, arguing that only 3 percent of companies in the state pay a corporate tax rate."

He's contrasting "company" with "corporation".

A quick search of florida.gov sorts of sites yields the fact that corporations in Florida pay 6% tax on profits.

Individuals, sole proprietorships, S corporations (mostly) pay no tax ("S Corporations are usually exempt as well, unless federal income tax is owed," https://www.stateofflorida.com/taxes.aspx). They're the "companies" that currently aren't taxed. So if you own a mom-and-pop business, you're obviously not one of those "everyday working Floridians".

However, we're still being manipulated a bit. Those corporations, those 3% who are incorporated as other than S corporations or are S corporations paying federal taxes, are very likely going to be relatively large and account for far more than 3% of profits in the state. In other words, 3% of companies =/= 3% of potential taxable profit.

Or maybe he's unclear on the difference between "company" and "corporation" and he doesn't mean what I infer he means. Mistakes, sometimes prominent ones, happen: For example, another candidate said that the employment rate's low because people are working two jobs (forgetting that working just one job already makes you employed, and the second is pointless for the stats).

[7962]

14. All good and valid points. bumper sticker statements dont hold up very well

As you mention, the "everyone is working 2 jobs" statement was a huge gaffe. And not just a mistake of words, a mistake of understanding how the economy works

[moondust]

11. Taxes on corporations? OMG!

Will investors run for the hills when their companies have to start paying taxes that increase their overhead and hurt their bottom lines? OMG!

[brooklynite]

12. Bad issue to campaign on...

No state has found the willingness to cover the costs of MFA. Florida won't be the first.

[humbled_opinion]

16. It is very complicated i.e.

The cost of medical care in the USA far exceeds that of the other countries that have a universal healthcare system. You must address these cost issues and the minute you do you are pissing in someone's rice bowl. Go ahead and tell patients that in order to loser costs we must end their litigious ability to sue for malpractice etc and allow the government to arbitrate for malpractice or bad care. Doctors, hospitals and staffs would have to take some modest pay cuts, so they will all complain, and of course there would have to be an increase in the payroll taxes and personal taxes of individuals maybe even as much as 10% in order to cover everyone. Of course all of the positives would ultimately outweigh the negatives but like I said everyone gets uptight when they think they will be losing some benefit i.e., at my job I simply asked a retired military coworker if he thought Universal healthcare could happen and immediately he said as long as they don't touch my TRICARE, LOL but the point would be you wouldn't need TRICARE I said, and so he says I spent over 20 years in the military to earn this coverage and you want to give it away for free to everyone, so there is that.

[brooklynite]

18. Your arguments apply to a NATIONAL policy...

The problem with a State Policy is that people and businesses can cross the State line to avoid the tax burden.

[Homer Wells]

17. As a former Floridian

I must rejoice that this is the first "Florida Man" thread I have seen in ages.