As an answer to an incredibly loud cry from Florida citizens, our State leaders made a brave attempt to address property insurance early this year. While I believe there is more to do to bring down cost, as well as balance the impact to insurance companies, I embrace the spirit of the outcome. I look for-ward to the follow-up legislation that is necessary to continue attacking the problems related to property insurance in our State. But now on to another big problem: Property Taxes. Local governments across the state are bracing themselves for the impact of sweeping reform as many rely on these funds for police, parks, transportation, recreation, neighborhood and other community services. Governor Crist rolled out his proposal for property tax reform while legislative leaders are touring the state for citizen input.
The Governors property tax proposal calls for capping growth for non-homesteaders, personal property exemption for businesses, save our homes portability and doubling the homestead exemption to $50,000. Capping the growth for non-homesteaders would help those with commercial property and homes in Florida other than their primary residence. This change would cap the rate of growth at 3 percent a year. Local government revenue could decrease by millions annually if this idea is implemented. Personal property exemption for businesses would allow any business with less than $25,000 in tangible personal property to avoid paying taxes on it. The implementation of this idea could reduce revenues to cities, counties and schools by $200 million a year. Save our Homes portability would allow homesteaders to take taxable value protections from their old home and apply to a new home anywhere in Florida. This change has a double impact: it would allow homesteaders who want to buy a bigger home to be assessed on only a portion of its value; conversely, it would allow homesteaders who want to downsize to a smaller or cheaper home to transfer the percentage of their savings on the old home to the new home. Finally, doubling of the homestead exemption to $50,000 is an issue Governor Crist proposed during his Campaign. While cities and counties would also take a financial hit here, it is probably less of a financial burden than other aspects of the proposal.
Our citizens will have to make tough choices as it relates to property taxes and the solutions offered by the Governor and legislature. You can debate the issue of whether or not local governments can survive the reduction in revenue by tightening their belt buckles until you are blue in the face. However, I think too big of a hit to our local governments’ revenue at one time would be unconscionable. Where I get lost in the debate is this issue between full time residents versus part time residents. There are those who suggest that the greatest problem with our property tax structure is the disparity between homesteaders and people who live in Florida only part time. It is true that people who live in Florida only part time pay drastically more in property taxes than those who homestead in Florida, yet this is not a new concept. There are other examples, including college tuition, where preference is showed to citizens of the state. There is no reason for debate here. We all know that people come to Florida for a number of reasons including the fact that we do not have an income tax. Our property taxes are our substitute for not having an income tax. Our property tax problem has become the price we pay to live in this great State. So it needs to be reformed, and none of us would disagree with that. However, I save my sympathy for those of us who choose Florida. I save my sympathy for those of us who live with and in Florida every day. If I have to make a choice of who deserves the most relief from soaring property taxes, I choose the people who chose our state for HOME. I am not suggesting that property taxes for part-time citizens don’t need some reform as well. But please don’t make the debate about one versus the other, because membership does have its privileges and I am with the HOME team.