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News & Notes
Property Tax Update
Commissioners Needed for Property Tax Special Session
The Legislature has indicated today their intention to extend the current special session through Wednesday of next week to address property taxes, yet again. Please make your travel arrangements today to be in Tallahassee on Monday and Tuesday of next week to meet with your legislators and discuss the impact of these reductions to your county's services as well as its assault on home rule.
Please come to Tallahassee armed with some critical statistics regarding the impact the current rollbacks and caps have had on your local government. What projects won't be built due to the rollback? What programs were cut? Jobs? FAC has developed discussion points that can be used as well by clicking here.
The current property tax proposals are outlined below:
Governor Crist:
Governor is proposing parts of his original plan minus the rollback. FAC's preliminary estimated fiscal impact is $7.0 billion over five years. Only the exemption for tangible personal property would apply to state and school taxes. The major components include:
- Portability of Save Our Homes would be effective through out the state. If someone moved into a higher valued home their portability would transfer dollar to dollar versus if moving into a lower valued home the portability transfer would be the percentage reduction from the just value to the assessed value.
- Double the homestead exemption to $50,000
- Homestead exemption 25% of just value for first time homebuyers.
- Exemption of $25,000 for tangible personal property.
Speaker Rubio:
In addition to the Governor's plan, Speaker Rubio has asked that the additional measures be taken:
- Total elimination of property taxes for low income seniors;
- Targeted relief for affordable housing;
- Targeted relief for so-called "working waterfronts," which are the restaurants, inns, bed and breakfasts, and marinas that are vital to Florida's beachfront and tourist economies;
- Additional property tax relief for property owners who make energy efficient improvements to their homes and businesses;
- Measures to level the playing field and protect property owners from the abuses of government, including an elimination of so-called "presumption of correctness" which currently gives ultimate authority to property tax appraisers and leaves little recourse for property owners whose property is unfairly assessed, as well as requiring that all Florida property appraisers switch from appointed to elected positions.