New Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos last week said of his chamber that 'we will not raise taxes a single dime.' Hoo-ah! Not so fast. I wanted to check out Sen. Haridopolos' pledge because, let's face it, we won't hear many Democrats pledge not to raise taxes, and Republicans control state government. So we have to probe how deep any Republican pledge runs. With Sen. Haridopolos, that pledge might not run very deep. First, I wanted to see if Sen. Haridopolos included fees, not just taxes, in his 'not a single dime' vow. In 2009, a non-election year, the Republican-led Legislature that included Sen. Haridopolos raised fees and taxes by roughly $2 billion to balance the budget. Foreclosure filings -- nice timing on that one -- went from $295 to $2,000. Vehicle registration fees increased; a first-time car registration went from $100 to $225. About $1 billion came from an increase in the cigarette tax, which GOP legislators conveniently called a 'surcharge.' David Bishop, press aide to Sen. Haridopolos, e-mailed to say that Budget Director Craig Meyers says that 'when Senator Haridopolos talks about taxes, its (sic.) taxes as understood in the Florida context. Traditionally, taxes in Florida have been defined as sales tax on goods, products and services and taxes on real property. Income is the other kind of tax but constitutionally prohibited in Florida. Fees are normally associated with deliverables. Sewage fees, garbage fees, legal fees, licenses for example, the citizens or professional actually gets something. If they don't pay it, they don't receive the benefit.' To me, 'tax' and 'fee' are the same as 'beer' and 'wine.' Same effect; it just depends on how you get it. If a city raises the 'garbage fee,' you can't opt out. Still, some Republicans tie themselves in knots trying to avoid the 'T-word.' Democrats have it so much easier. But here's the real test of Sen. Haridopolos' pledge: Does he mean that the Senate won't raise the sneakiest tax in Florida, one that most taxpayers don't know is being raised even when it happens over and over? That would be the Required Local Effort. Under Florida's formula for financing public schools, the Legislature sets most of the property-tax rate for county school districts. So if the Legislature doesn't want to spend as much money on education from the state's general fund, which mostly comes from sales taxes, the Legislature can 'raise' property taxes without most people knowing. In 2007, a Palm Beach Post reporter calculated that the Legislature had raised property taxes that way by $2.3 billion over seven years. So how is Sen. Haridopolos on this 'stealth' tax increase? According to Mr. Bishop, the press aide, the Required Local Effort 'isn't a tax. It's the local government's contribution to education. Funding education is a joint effort between the state and local school districts.' Not a tax? That must explain why it shows up on your property-tax bill. According to Mr. Bishop, though, Sen. Haridopolos 'hasn't taken a position on (Required Local Effort), but it would not fall under the tax category we've discussed.' So to review, the 'not a single dime' pledge does not cover all the instances in which Sen. Haridopolos and other no-new-tax legislators have voted to let government take more money from Floridians. Oh, and the next time you hear a Republican in Tallahassee criticize out-of-control federal spending, remind him or her that the new, Republican-led Legislature just last week took $31 million more in stimulus money for energy-efficient appliance rebates, which is nothing compared to the $5.3 billion in stimulus money the Legislature took to balance the 2009-10 budget while some members criticized 'out-of-control' spending in Washington. Not that there's anything wrong with taking federal stimulus money. Former Gov. Jeb Bush happily took nearly $1 billion from Washington in 2003, when the GOP-led Congress approved a stimulus to help states out of the post-9/11 recession. Mr. Bush used $300 million of that money to lure The Scripps Research Institute to Florida. What's wrong is the tax-and-spend hypocrisy. Sen. Haridopolos was right to take the stimulus money. Second-guessers must explain how they would have found $5.3 billion without gutting education, health care or public safety or raising taxes. At the same time, Sen. Haridopolos and others don't get to pander about reckless federal spending. Florida remains far from economic recovery. Getting there will take creativity, innovation and courage in Tallahassee. Cliches and empty pledges aren't worth a single dime. Randy Schultz is editor of the editorial page of The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: schultz@pbpost.com 