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Residents may remember in September when Circuit Judge Charles Francis from Leon County threw the first proposed property tax amendment off the January 29 ballot because it was ruled as "misleading and confusing" since it did not explain clearly that the change would phase out Save Our Homes protections.
Well, lawmakers went back to the drawing board and met for the third time in 2007 to create proposed legislation to be once again placed on the ballot for voters in the primary; however, one lawmaker says it still does not do enough for residents in his district which includes Apollo Beach, Riverview and Ruskin.
Rep. Ronald Reagan (R-D67) says, "Over ten months ago, the Florida House of Representatives started fighting for property tax relief. Our goal was to make Florida affordable for homeowners, families, and small businesses. While the House and Senate did pass a plan to provide relief to Floridians, it did not go far enough."
According to Reagan, the Property Tax Reform Plan SJR 2D & SB 4D provides several changes to the original proposed legislation. It eliminates the "lock-in effect" of Save Our Homes by allowing statewide portability for a period of two years after leaving the former homestead. It also provides savings for every homestead owner by creating a new, additional $25,000 homestead exemption for non-school taxes [the current homestead exemption is $25,000].
Reagan also says the Joint Resolution creates a new 10 percent assessment cap for all non-homestead properties (i.e. business properties, apartments, and second homes) for non-school taxes. It also creates a Tangible Personal Property Tax Exemption of $25,000 to lower administrative and tax costs for businesses.
Finally, Reagan says SB 4D provides implementing language for the constitutional amendment and SB 6D authorizes the proposed amendment to appear on the January 29, 2008 presidential primary ballot.
While Reagan is pleased lawmakers did something this time for businesses, he thinks more still needs to be done.
"We spend more money on schools than the cost of living increases [According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CIP rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.6 percent during the first ten months of 2007]. We still need to do more than a 10 percent cap for businesses. It is impossible for them to do proper planning for future periods when they don't know what their future costs are going to be," he says.
Reagan is hopeful voters vote the proposed legislation into law in the Jan. 29 primary elections but feels it is only the beginning. Reagan says placing the proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in January makes the new reforms and savings available for tax bills in November 2008; however, delaying consideration of the property tax reform amendment would mean it could not be implemented until 2009 tax bills are issued.
According to the Supervisor of Elections Website, Florida's election law creates a "closed" primary, wherein only registered members of a party can vote for candidates of that party. However, voters of all political affiliations may vote on the proposed constitutional amendment.
For more information, contact Annalee Morris at 941-727-6447.
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