Cutting your Florida property tax by 25% a year? That's what Florida voters will have a chance to decide in November. But adversaries of the plan say that in reality that’s just putting money in one of your pockets and taking it out of another.
In November Florida voters will have a chance to approve a property tax cut averaging 2%, which would dwarf two other tax relief measures enacted over the past year.
The Legislature would be required to replace an estimated $8 billion in annual revenue losses through several options, including a 1% point increase in the present 6% statewide sales tax.
Approved Monday, the measure by Florida State’s tax commission would abolish the portion of property taxes the Legislature requires local school districts to levy in order to qualify for state aid. Representing a much smaller part of overall tax bills would be other school taxes would be unaffected.
Another provision would give businesses, second homes and other Florida real estate properties that do not qualify for a homestead exemption, available only for primary homes, a 5% cap on annual assessment increases. Homesteads now have a 3% cap and the other properties received a 10% limit
The penny-per-dollar sales tax increase is expected to bring in from $3.3 billion to $3.9 billion a year. That is still more than $4 billion short of the replacement goal. Other options include repealing sales tax exemptions, cutting state spending and adding revenues resulting from economic growth the sponsors predict the property tax cut will generate.
There’s a minimum of 17 votes is required to get on the ballot and the commission voted 21-4 for the proposal. The commission's drafting committee now will put it into a ballot format before returning to the full panel for a final vote.
Because the sales tax increase is optional, not required, McKay said his proposal would need only the standard 6%, instead of the require 67% approval at the ballot box.
Meanwhile, only for non-school taxes on houses valued at more than $50,000, amendment 1 is expected to save primary homeowners about $240 a year by doubling their $25,000 homestead exemption.
Contributed by MLR Realty
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