In tax tangle, Byrd keeps his footing - May 12, 2003
Flashback to another tax showdown
Published May 12, 2003
“Neither Senate pressure nor editorial jabs have budged the House speaker during a budget showdown.” St. Pete Times - STEVE BOUSQUET
TALLAHASSEE - A smiling Johnnie Byrd arrives for his daily news conference, trailed by an entourage of aides and lawmakers. The House speaker from Plant City sees a tape recorder on a lectern and leans over the machine.
“No new taxes. Live within your means,” Byrd says in a self-mocking tone, drawing laughs. “Just when you’re tired of saying it, maybe it will sink in with this crowd.”
Byrd has been saying it for months, and the message, replayed over and over, has sunk in. Senate President Jim King has ended his quest for more money and will enter this week’s special session in agreement with Byrd on the bottom line. King said senators won’t be “obstructionists.”
By standing firm, Byrd looks like the winner of the tax brawl.
A new St. Petersburg Times poll shows more voters agree with him than disagree, but it is a mixed message. A majority of 55 percent said they do not support an increase in state taxes, but 52 percent said they would support higher taxes to avoid layoffs or cuts in summer school.
“The bottom line is that a majority of the people put Republicans in office, and the Republican philosophy is one of fiscal restraint,” said Byrd, who keeps a copy of the book Those Dirty Rotten Taxes on his desk in the Capitol. “You don’t raise taxes in the bottom of a recession. You cut taxes.” MORE