Now it’s the voters turn to pass the property tax reform. The Florida Legislature passed a new property tax reform and a proposed amendment that will appear on the January ballot. The amendment offers some relief for owners of residential and commercial property, but does not go as far the earlier proposal. This proposal must receive 60 percent of the votes on January 29, 2008 in order to become law. Here are some of the highlights:
• Double the homestead exemption, but only for homes valued at more than $75,000 and not for school taxes
• Allow owners of homestead property to transfer up to $500,000 in Save Our Homes benefits, including school taxes, to a new home
• Impose a 10 percent assessment cap on non-homestead property for the next 10 years. The cap does not apply to school taxes. After 10 years, voters will have the option to restore the 10 percent cap
• Allow businesses to exempt $25,000 in taxes paid on computers, office equipment and other personal property
With the deadline at hand, lawmakers had to quickly agree, and the final package represents a product that everyone could accept. The House, however, emphasized repeatedly that it would continue to work on property tax reform during the Legislature’s regular session next year, an opinion echoed by FAR.
While in favor of portability, FAR worries about including a portability provision without also adding some kind of relief for first-time homebuyers, a move promoted heavily but one that did not make it into the final version. Without any kind of first-time homebuyer protection, the U.S. constitution’s “right to travel” provision could be the basis of a court challenge.
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