Tallahassee: Intangibles tax spells tangible troubles.(Brief Article)

ORLANDO -- Michael Bobroff can only dream about what would have been.

If Florida had no intangibles tax, the Orlando area would have been the home to one of Ford Motor Co.'s major financial centers.

"When Ford executives started doing their due diligence studies and discovered the intangible tax, they instantly realized that at the end of the year, they were going to be liable for a great tax liability," says Bobroff, executive vice president of the Orlando-based Economic Development Commission of Mid-Florida. "The company opted for Colorado."

That's one of the reasons why, when the Florida Legislature convenes, one of the major initiatives will be …