The Florida Chamber Political Institute (FCPI) released a poll on Monday showing strong support across the Sunshine State for Gov. Rick Scott’s call to cut the Communication Services Tax (CST) on cellphones and cable TV services. Scott’s tax cut is before the Legislature which started a special session on Monday.
The Florida Chamber is a strong supporter of the tax cut.
“Lowering the cost of living and the cost of doing business through targeted tax reforms is a top priority of the Florida Chamber of Commerce," said Marian Johnson, the senior vice president of the FCPI. "Clearly, voters agree with Gov. Scott and the Florida Chamber that lowering cellphone and cable TV taxes will put money back into the pockets of Floridians and help make Florida more competitive."
The poll shows 72 percent of those surveyed support cutting the CST while 15 percent are opposed to lowering the tax and 13 percent are unsure.
Residents of the Sunshine State are feeling better about their own future, the poll finds, with 40 percent of those surveyed thinking their finances have improved over the past year. In a Florida Chamber poll taken in May 2014, only 32 percent thought their finances had improved over the last year.
But the poll shows Floridians remain divided on how the state is doing, with 42 percent thinking the Sunshine State is headed on the right path while 41 percent think it is going in the wrong direction. In the May 2014 Florida Chamber poll, 43 percent thought Florida was on the right track while 41 percent said it was headed the wrong way.
Still, there has been some progress since last year. In the May 2014 poll, 29 percent said jobs and the economy were the most important issue. In the new poll, only 19 percent said that was the top issue. Health care was seen as the most important issue by 17 percent -- up from 13 percent in the May 2014 poll -- while 16 percent said education.
Per the release:
The poll of 605 respondents, conducted on May 14-20, 2015 during live telephone interviews of likely voters, has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample was drawn from frequent voters and respondents were again screened for voter registration during the interview. The sample was balanced according to all known demographic factors. Sixty-four percent of the respondents were interviewed via landlines and 35 percent via cell numbers. The margin of error for this survey is ±3.5 percent, with a 95 percent confidence level. This poll was conducted by Florida Chamber Political Institute, a research arm of the Florida Chamber.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
