Citizens cannot afford rising property taxes

In the weeks since the Florida House introduced its plan for property tax reform, opponents have offered much in the way of hand-wringing and hyperbole, but precious little in the way of serious alternatives.

Their responses have been predictable and disappointing. Rather than acknowledge the cause of the problem - government overspending - and the genuine need for relief, opponents of property tax relief have chosen to responded with scare tactics and threats.

Floridians need immediate relief. Homeowners, businesses and renters alike are struggling to fund local governments that grow unrestrained. The people who bear this burden are more than names on the tax rolls; they are real people with real families. Every dollar taken from them through skyrocketing property taxes is one less dollar they have for the things they need.

Government serves the public in many ways, and many of the services government offers are necessary and vital. The question is not whether to fund local government, but rather how much to fund it.

Right now, government decides how big it should be and then sends the citizens the bill. That's how we found ourselves in this crisis. I believe that first the citizens should decide how much government they can afford, and then that government should provide the best services possible with the money the people provide.

Using that principle, the Florida House has proposed a plan that offers immediate relief and allows the voters to decide how and how much to fund their governments.

The House plan gives people greater influence in the decisions that affect their lives. The plan rolls back rates on all property taxes, leaving Floridians with more of their own money. That's a real and meaningful property tax cut for every property owner in the state. To help keep property taxes low, it caps the rate of growth of local government budgets in future years. It also gives voters the option, through statewide and local referenda, to eliminate taxes on homesteaded property altogether, and replace that revenue with a higher sales tax. Citizens, not government officials, will be allowed to decide how much of their money goes to government.

While we in the House believe in giving money back to the citizens, opponents of the plan are desperate to maintain the status quo. Many of them have refused to acknowledge that property owners deserve a tax cut. That is not only wrongheaded, it is delusional.

The amount collected through property taxes in Florida has doubled over the past six years. Neither inflation nor personal incomes have doubled over that time. Governments have grown faster than families' budgets, and they are now sending the citizens bills they can no longer afford. Simply put, government has grown beyond the people's ability to fund it.

The Republican leadership of the Florida House of Representatives has given voice to the people through our own w e b s i t e , www.NoMorePropertyTax.com, which is not funded at taxpayer expense.

The website allows people to endorse the House Property Tax Relief and Reform Act, a bill that would save every property owner in Escambia County an average of $1400 on their property tax bills. It also gives voters an early voice in shaping the property tax debate. I encourage you to go to the website and see the details for yourself. I believe you'll agree that real property tax relief is possible this year.

President Gerald Ford once said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take from you everything you have." Unfortunately in too many parts of Florida, that is becoming all too true. It's time that we give Floridians back the financial security and peace of mind they deserve by giving them the property tax relief they deserve.