Property Tax

DISCUSSION POINTS
FALL 2007 SPECIAL SESSION

A Leon County Circuit Court judge recently ruled the Jan. 29, 2008 proposed property tax amendment is unclear and misleading. Now lawmakers are in ongoing discussions to resolve property tax reform concerns. The following are suggested discussion points from the Florida Association of Counties (FAC). Please stress these points when speaking with lawmakers.

Property Tax Solutions
Local Control
Revenue Caps
Share the Burden

Property Tax Solutions

  • As an overriding goal of reforming Florida's property tax structure, FAC SUPPORTS solutions that improve equity and fairness among classes of taxpayers as well as individual taxpayers.
  • FAC SUPPORTS reasonable limits on the rate of property tax assessment increases.
  • FAC SUPPORTS establishing an exemption of $25,000 of value per taxpayer from tangible personal property taxes.
  • FAC SUPPORTS allowing commercial and recreational working waterfront real property to be valued based upon the current use of the property by local option. FAC supports that upon discontinuation of use of the property as a commercial or recreational working waterfront, the taxes that would have been due on the highest and best use of the property for the last three years would become due.
  • FAC OPPOSES caps on local government expenditures / revenues and modifications to the property tax structure that erodes the existing tax base.

Local Control

  • We must keep decision-making where it belongs - at home, with local residents and local community leaders.
  • Protect residents' ability to decide how their community grows. Keep their voices in the decisions that affect them and their neighbors. These decisions can range from whether a community should purchase environmentally sensitive land for future generations, build a new ballpark, pave new roads, or invest in the local economy.
  • Without the ability to make local decisions, our communities will be forced to turn to Tallahassee and compete against one another for funding and authority. We should keep that authority at home and allow residents and their local leaders to make the decisions that are the best for their unique community.

Revenue Caps

  • Revenue caps would force counties to make deep cuts to programs and services that citizens want and expect and could harm quality of life in local communities.
  • Revenue caps hinder the ability of county government to respond to discretionary needs such as increases in law enforcement or improved roads.
  • FAC supports and encourages decisions made by individual county commissions-such as the recent actions in Hillsborough, Sarasota, Broward and Miami-Dade counties-to debate and implement self-imposed revenue or spending caps. This is the essence of "home rule"- local government, not Tallahassee, knows best what local citizens want and is in the best position to make such decisions.

Share the Burden

  • Property Tax reform should be fair, equitable, and across the board. Every citizen should feel relief from property tax reform, and state and local government should share the burden.
  • The largest slice of a Florida property owner's tax bill is for "required local effort," or the portion of local property taxes dedicated to fund the state's public schools. The state's required local effort is about 30 percent of the typical property tax bill. The Legislature, not local governments, sets this amount.
  • Since fiscal year 2000-01, the required local effort for public schools has increased by $4.1 billion, while the state's general revenue contribution for schools has been reduced in absolute terms.
  • In this year's proposed budget, the Legislature wants to increase property taxes by 7.4 percent for the required local effort, or $458 million.
  • The FAC and its members support property tax reform. We recognize the imbalances of the system and the importance of providing fairness and equity to all property tax payers. However, Florida's 67 counties do not believe it is right - or honest - for state government to place the burden of property tax relief on local governments, while state funding responsibilities totaling more than $1 billion annually are assessed to local governments.

County Services

  • Counties provide services that add to the quality of life in Florida's communities. For example, counties provide their citizens with public transportation, parks, libraries, community health care, affordable housing, animal services, and economic development.
  • The needs for these services are as unique as the 67 counties in Florida. A one-size-fits-all mandate from Tallahassee may work for one community while hindering the success of another.

Mandates

  • State and federal mandates now add $1 billion to counties' fiscal burdens.
  • Mandates imposed on counties include voter regulations, labor requirements, and increasing costs from Medicaid, juvenile justice programs, and health care for the uninsured.