Scott: Reduce corporate taxes

Further cuts to Florida's corporate tax levies will headline Gov. Rick Scott's agenda for the state's 2012 legislative session.

Scott's key proposals are twofold: first, to double the corporate income tax exemption to $50,000; and to add a $50,000 exemption from the tangible personal property tax for businesses.

After last year's Legislature increased the corporate income tax exemption to $25,000, roughly 50% of Florida businesses did not pay state corporate taxes this year, according to estimates from the News Service of Florida. If the exemption is doubled, that number would move up to roughly 60%, FNS estimates.

A $50,000 exemption from the tangible personal property tax for businesses would cut the number of companies forced to pay the tax -- currently around 300,000, the News Services estimates -- in half.

Current fiscal estimates show the Florida Legislature can expect a revenue shortfall of more than $1 billion when budget negotiations begin for the next fiscal year.