"Car crash taxes" are the fees some Florida cities have begun to charge drivers who cause auto accidents. The fees were to cover the cost of the first responders to accident scene – emergency medical personnel and the fire department. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed the new law this week that bans those fees.
Opponents of the fees said this was a form of double-taxation in that property taxes are collected to cover the cost of emergency services. Also the fees were not covered by most insurance companies.
Of course, the municipalities were using the fees to cover the significant budget shortages due to reduced property values.
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One Comment
Sandy Grinnell
Matthew -
I sort of had mixed feelings about this too. It might be more appropriate if the fee was charged to non-residents, but then that's probably unconstitutional.
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