Small business poll: property tax crisis has entrepreneurs considering drastic action

The National Federation of Independent Business, Florida's leading small-business advocacy group, today announced results from a comprehensive survey of its members' attitudes toward the state's property-tax crisis. Thirtyfive percent of NFIB member respondents said they are considering reducing staff or benefits, while 14 percent said they might close their business in the near future; another 15 percent said they are pondering relocating out of state, while 39 percent said they're thinking about postponing expansion.

"Like many homeowners, small-business owners are suffering from soaring property taxes," NFIB/Florida State Director Allen Douglas said. "Small business needs immediate relief from the growing property-tax burden that is effectively acting as a wet blanket on Florida's economy. Access to affordable health insurance is certainly a threat to free enterprise in Florida, but today's poll results show Florida should add rapidly escalating property taxes to the list."

In other poll results, 81 percent of respondents said they believe high commercial property taxes are a threat to their business. Asked how they were coping with the tax increases, 42 percent have increased prices, 16 percent have reduced benefits and 21 percent have reduced staff. Sixtyfour percent said their business has absorbed some of the increase.

Also, 89 percent said their commercial property taxes have increased over the last year. Specifically, an alarming 34 percent said last year's increase was greater than 20 percent. Another 9 percent said the increase was between 16 percent and 20 percent; 12 percent said the increase was between 11 percent and 15 percent; 17 percent said the increase was between 6 percent and 10 percent; and 16 percent said they experienced an increase of 5 percent or less.

"Small business's outlook for Florida's economic climate will remain bleak unless state government ensures that local governments lower property taxes without transferring to another revenue source, such as a sales tax or services tax," said Douglas, citing further poll results. "Seventyeight percent of NFIB respondents support an expansion of a 3 percent cap on annual valuation increases for commercial property, while another 76 percent support restricting revenue growth and spending for local government. Small-business owners understand revenue at the local level is far outpacing their own personal revenue growth and want the trend reversed."