Florida has no state income tax.

You knew that already? Of course; that's one reason it wasn't mentioned in last week's column about Miami-Dade County's need to cut services, raise property taxes or both.

The column mentioned that Miami-Dade property taxes eat a greater share of homeowner income than is the case in most other counties. Some readers thought it should have said that it's because we have no state income tax.

It's the things not said that most often rankle readers. It's also what most troubles me when the subject involves complex issues laden with nuance and decades of history. There are many reasons for the things not said. Usually, it's a matter of space, as the column is written to a pre-set size.

Or it may be that the significance is questionable. For example, even when compared to areas without income-tax revenue, say other Florida counties, Miami-Dade property taxes still take a heftier chunk of our homeowners' income.

STAYING ON TRACK

Sometimes it's to avoid digression. For example, a recent piece on healthcare reform and the shortage of healthcare providers mentioned UM President Donna Shalala's worthy idea of creating medical centers run by nurse practitioners, instead of doctors.

The column noted a problem with the idea: There's also a shortage of nurses. What it didn't say was that Shalala believes there are plenty of trained nurses, but they've left the profession. That raises questions about how to get those nurses back, how long it would take and whether it's even possible.

At other times, it's due to an oversight on my part. A recent column on the exclusion of foreclosure sales information on the county's website used the buyer of a foreclosed home as an example. If you enter the buyer's name, Grisel Lopez, in the property search section of the site, no property comes up. That led one reader to insinuate that Lopez doesn't exist and the example was a fabrication.

Lopez is real, but when you type her name on the site, for some reason the property doesn't show up. To find it, you must type in the property address or her husband's name, Miguel Lopez. Should the column have mentioned that? Probably.

AVOIDING REDUNDANCY

Then there are the things not said simply because they've been said so many times before.

The last piece on the county budget debate could have mentioned that the issue isn't just about how much property taxpayers are paying, but about residents' lack of faith in how the county manages that money.

It could have mentioned that, while there are some people who will fight any tax for any reason, local residents have shown a willingness to pay for essential services that benefit the community, having voted to fund mass transit and children's services.

Key to that last vote: a faith in how The Children's Trust was managing the funds.

When it comes to the county, that faith, always volatile, has eroded significantly in recent years. Some ways to regain it: Improve transparency so taxpayers can easily see where every dollar goes. Give control of mass-transit funds to an independent panel, as originally promised. Let residents vote on whether to pay for a ballpark.

In short, to earn the people's money, local leaders first need to earn the people's trust. Last week's column could have said all that. Then again, some things shouldn't need saying.

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