Property Tax Cuts on Way to Ballot
October 29th, 2007 by Mike VasilindaFlorida lawmakers have passed a simplified plan to reduce your property
taxes. As Mike Vasilinda reports, the final say will be up to voters in
January.
From beginning…to end, It took the Senate just over three hours to send the house an
ultimatum…pass our property tax plan or get nothing at all. The plan doubles the Homestead Exemption. Senator Jim King of Jacksonville says it is simple and gives homeowners what they want “People came and said ‘look, I want a couple things. I want the double homestead. I understand homestead. I’ve got one homestead, two is better than one. I want that.’”
The plan also lets homeowners take tax savings to a new house, and it caps future increases on businesses and second homes at ten percent. Sen. Ronda Storms failed at lowering the cap.
“I can go back to my constituents and my small business owners and say, you know, we got something. It’s more than half a loaf.” says Storms
The impact on schools is uncertain, but local governments and special fire districts say there will be pain. “ Ron Beasley spent the past weeks trying to keep his Palm Beach unit from being cut.
“At this point we’re going to be seriously looking at what’s left to be cut from the budget. Unfortunately I think the final result is going to be personnel.” How many, Beasley says, remains to be seen.
What’s happened at the Capitol is just half the battle. The rest is up to voters. Charlie Crist was ecstatic and he predicts voters will say yes. “Who doesn’t want a property tax cut after all. I mean think about it. It’s simpler, which I think is better” says Crist.
The January 29th vote will require a 60 percent margin of approval. The plan to let homeowners move and take their homestead exemption with them is retroactive to January 2007.
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