Crist backs property tax plan

Tax revamp plan Amendment 5, which would eliminate property taxes paid to local schools in 2010, got a boost Monday when Gov. Charlie Crist offered his support for the voter initiative. The state will boost sales taxes and reduce budgets to make up for lost tax revenue if the measure passes in November. Critics of the plan, which include teachers and some business groups opposed to the sales tax increase, say the extra penny sales tax would produce $4 billion in revenue – half of what’s brought in through property taxes, and it remains unclear how this discrepancy would be compensated for.