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Warmer welcome for the wealthy

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 5, 2009

Florida, long a popular place to visit and retire, should do more to attract out-of-state money.

Business leaders have pointed out with some distress that Florida is no longer a financial bargain. Population growth has slowed, if not stopped.

The state counts on sales taxes paid by tourists to help pay the state's bills, so a shortage of tourists hurts the state budget as well as the tourist industry's motels, restaurants and attractions.

The Leroy Collins Institute has warned that it's not just tourism that is disappointing. Florida's appeal to young, highly skilled workers also is eroding as other states offer cheaper housing and better education.

It will take more good jobs to attract the creative class, but the leisure class is an easier target. With a number of trends working against Florida, it makes sense to try some fresh ideas to encourage tourism and attract semi-permanent visitors, especially those with plenty of money.

One approach that would require congressional approval is the creation of a retirement visa. Many countries have these, enabling foreign retirees to sail right through the immigration process. Typically, the requirements are a certain age (usually 55 or 60) and amount of income or assets (usually quite high in developed countries).

Other requirements that should be considered: establishing a minimum amount that the immigrants must spend on property and mandating they agree not to take a job. The goal is to bring in foreign money without adding bodies to the social safety net or taking jobs away from anyone.

With a retirement visa, a foreign visitor could leave the country and return at will, the same as a U.S. citizen. Many details need to be worked out, including how to deport retirees in the program who run out of money. And it's hard to guess how many rich foreigners would move to Florida, Arizona or other popular retirement states, but there's little to lose from giving the concept a try.

If it works, it would be a new source of customers for the real estate market as well as for merchants and the service trades.

Why might a wealthy foreign couple want to buy a house in Florida? Many reasons worth advertising: year-round golf, cultural events and diversity, good university classes, libraries, sailing, fishing, flying, beaches, medical care, public safety, Internet access, shopping and, of course, the weather. Many of our world-class assets we locals take for granted.

The state and nation could do a better job promoting the advantages of living here. The media tends to highlight our worst side: sensational crime, unemployment, hurricanes and other troubles. To read about us from afar, someone might think nearly any U.S. city is a disaster area.

That's one reason U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez is right to push passage of the Travel Promotion Act of 2009. The federal bill would create a nonprofit agency to sell the U.S. market to international travelers. There is no risk to taxpayers because it would be paid for by private contributions and by fees on foreign visas.

"Over the last decade, tourist traffic to the United States has declined dramatically," Martinez said in a press release. "Florida alone has lost 1.3 million visitors since 2000. The result is fewer jobs and lower revenues for cities and states.

Florida also needs to pay attention to little details that discourage visitors. Incredibly, owners of new airplanes in other states have been worried about flying to an aviation summit to be held in Tampa this fall.

"There has been an attitude of 'Hey, whatever you do, don't go to Florida' with a new plane,'" David Allen said in a report by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Allen is president of the Florida Aviation Trades Association.

The trouble is a Florida law that taxes sales. If you didn't pay Florida sales tax but use the airplane here, you could be charged the 6 percent tax.

The Florida Department of Revenue has reassured aircraft owners, through the national association, that "a brief, recreational use of property in Florida will not, by itself, subject an aircraft owner to use tax."

But if you own a $500,000 plane, you might wonder how brief your stay must be before being hit with a $30,000 tax bill. It's pointless discouragement of just the sort of visitors Florida's economy needs.

A bill to make it clear that you can visit for 21 days without owing tax on your airplane failed to pass the Legislature this year. Lawmakers next session need to adopt a more welcoming attitude. Why not a grace period of three months?

People in other states and countries eager to spend time and money here should be made to feel safe and welcome. It is counterproductive to discourage them with complex rules and shocking tax bills.

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