My Two Cents
Tax options to go before voters
Rep. Clay Ford and Sen. Don Gaetz
Ford labels tax cut compromise 'anemic'

Rep. Ford

To be perfectly clear - I just don't like property taxes period! There has to be a better way to finance government, the legislature just has to find it. The long time position of the Florida House has been to substitute sales tax for property tax. We simply have not been able to sell it to the Senate. I like that solution because tourists would pay about 1/3 of the sales tax and, thereby, compensate us for the negative pressure on our public services. Local government and our schools must be provided a steady source of funding to provide basic services. Sales taxes should be that source. The primary reason for a decline in current year state revenue is the stagnant real estate market producing lower documentary stamp revenue. The housing market is depressed primarily due to oppressive property taxes and insurance costs.

Legislative relief is only possible through cooperation from both houses. The Florida Senate has shown little appetite for real and substantial tax relief. Due to delay and unwillingness to negotiate by the Senate, the Florida House was presented a "take it or leave it" bare bones relief package on the last day of special session. The Senate recessed with the members given leave to go home if they wished. The Florida House passed the anemic Senate version and sent it to the Governor with great reluctance.

Sen. Gaetz

Just a week ago, the Senate was saying "NO" to any cap on non-homesteaded properties at all. Florida property owners who have seen their property assessments double and triple in a single year will now see a cap on at least some of their property assessments. This cap will limit any increases to 10% per year.

Providing a cap in any form is a realization that government spending has grown too fast and is too heavy a burden on small business, renters and snowbirds and must be contained if we are going to have a chance to revive Florida's economy.

A cap brings some predictability and stability for non-homestead property owners and allows them to make investments and hiring decisions knowing with some certainty that their tax bills will not be unaffordable next year. While certainly not the cap we proposed, the House's leadership on this issue is the primary reason that any cap at all made it into the final package.

It is our hope that the cap on non-homestead property joined with the double homestead exemption and portability features of the bill, if passed by the voters in January, will help to rejuvenate the housing market, although we could have done much better!

Working with the Senate and the Governor, there will be more opportunities for further property tax relief over the next 12 months. The Tax and Budget Reform Comm A few minutes ago the Senate overwhelmingly passed proposed constitutional amendments to reform the state's property tax system and provide some relief to both homeowners and non-homeowners. The legislation is now before the House of Representatives. If adopted by the House, the proposal will go to the voters on January 29 when Florida casts ballots in the presidential primary election. Gaetz says fight for fiscal reform

will go on

Last week the Senate overwhelmingly passed proposed constitutional amendments to reform the state's property tax system and provide some relief to both homeowners and non-homeowners. Once adopted by the House, the proposal will go to the voters on January 29 when Florida casts ballots in the presidential primary election.

Key features of the Senate action include:

Doubling the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $50,000.

Full portability of SAVE OUR HOMES benefits up to $500,000 anywhere in the state.

Elimination of the tangible personal property tax on 1.1 million small businesses.

A 10% cap on increases in assessments of non-homestead properties.

From previous reports, you know that I have advocated deeper and broader tax relief than was approved by the Senate today. And I plan to continue that advocacy. However, when it became obvious that the choice today was between some tax relief and no tax relief, I joined other fiscal conservatives in voting for the package, knowing that the fight for additional reform will go on. Had we not voted out a package now, there would have been no chance for constitutional reforms for many more months.

Along with Senator Bennett, I sponsored an amendment that would have capped non-homestead property tax increases at no more than 3% per year, mirroring the protection given to homesteaders under SAVE OUR HOMES. Unfortunately, we were unable to gain enough support to pass a 3% cap, since it takes 30 of 40 senators to place a constitutional proposal on a special election ballot.

Fortunately, the 10% cap provides some protection against shifting tax burdens onto rental properties, commercial real estate, and second homes. In recent years it has not been uncommon for nonhomestead properties to be slammed with 20%, 30%, even triple digit increases in assessed value. This skyrocketing tax burden has smothered an already sputtering real estate market with negative affects cascading throughout the economy. The 10 % cap, while not as low as I wanted, will at least give property owners some predictability and will buffer taxpayers from speculative market pressures.

Another casualty of negotiations between parties and chambers was a 25% exemption for first-time homebuyers. I had joined with Senator Baker to sponsor an amendment that would have treated military personnel returning from deployment as if they were first-time buyers, giving them eligibility for the same exemption.

A provision that was dropped while seeking common ground with the House of Representatives was a Senate provision to remove the presumption of correctness now given to Property Appraisers. I believe that taxpayers challenging the accuracy of assessments should not be presumed to be wrong, as is the case in current law. This year, the Bay County Property Appraiser had to acknowledge over $600 million in overvaluations and assessment mistakes. This represents money that doesn't belong to the government but rightfully belongs to taxpayers. Along with other fiscal conservatives in the Legislature, I plan to raise this issue again during the spring session.