11 June 2007

Florida Property Tax Special Session Update

We're just less than a day away from the special session of the Florida Legislature starting on Tuesday, 12 June 2007 dealing with Florida's property tax crisis.

According to yet another Bay News 9 article posted today (Monday, 11 June 2007), Florida House and Florida Senate leaders have agreed to super-size the Homestead Exemption according to this formula:

1. 75% of a property's value up to $200,000 would be exempted.

2. 15% of a property's value from $200,000 to $300,000.

3. Minimum Homestead Exemption would be $50,000. We're talking minimum Homestead Exemption, folks.

4. Do away with Save Our Homes.

I think this sounds like a good idea. However, I see a little issue with Save Our Homes as it will grandfather any property tax assessment based on the Save Our Homes value. Those property owners that may want to think of moving elsewhere still may end up being trapped in their current home for fear of loss of the Save Our Homes cap as it is current practice. We could fix that by making the Save Our Homes cap portable for those property owners who already have such a cap when the Save Our Homes issue gets repealed. In other words, if you the property owner already have a Save Our Homes cap you can transfer it elsewhere in Florida.

So, as I mentioned in my previous blog post, if you think this is a great idea for solving Florida's property tax crisis plus the suggested Save Our Homes grandfathering I mentioned above please tell your Florida legislators. After all, the special session begins on 12 June 2007 but you can contact your legislators via email. Additionally, please feel free to post a reply right here at the Edward Ringwald Blog as to what you think about the current proposal to address Florida's property tax crisis.