Five 'Musts' For Florida Tax Reform

Five "musts" for the Legislature's upcoming session on how to fix property taxes:

1) Fix the real problem. The problem that got us here was exploding land values that drove up taxes too fast -- local governments didn't cut their tax rates and took advantage of the swelling values. The central fix has to be rolling back taxes and capping future growth. Even a big, pretty, seductive tax exemption means nothing if there is no cap on the growth of local revenue.

(2) Help everybody. Those taxpayers hurt the worst by rising local taxes have been owner-occupied businesses, owners of second homes and rental property -- in other words, NON-homestead property owners. But as my colleague Alex Leary points out in this article headlined, Tax cuts skip hardest hit, a lot of the attention in Tallahassee has been geared toward homeowners already protected by the "Save Our Homes" cap. Looks like political pandering.

(3) Fix Save Our Homes. Sure, the 3-percent annual cap under Save Our Homes did exactly what it was supposed to -- it gave a big honking tax break to people who stay in the same home forever. But that's not how life works. People need to move into bigger or smaller houses, and our current law punishes them for it by jacking up their taxes. Either make the Save Our Homes break portable, or get rid of the need for Save Our Homes altogether (see #1 and #2).

(4) Don't cut too deep to look pretty, and then raise taxes elsewhere. The first idea of our state House was to roll back or even eliminate all property taxes on homes, and replace part of the lost money with a higher sales tax, which was both regressive and risky. Don't throw around gaudy numbers like 80-percent tax exemptions if the resulting cuts are too deep that we have to raise taxes or fees somewhere else just to put gas in the fire trucks.

(5) Make it simple and elegant. Whatever the Legislature does in its special session in June, it probably will require a statewide referendum to amend our Constitution. The simpler and more elegant the plan, the easier it will be to sell to the voters. If we're going to end up with some kind of "X percent of the median home value per county" scheme, they'd better hire a modern Thomas Freakin' Paine to write it.

Comments

[Bruce Cotton]

Well stated sir!

[David Gresko]

Point #2 is not completely true. Homestead owners have been hurt. People who purchased homes from 2005 on are paying an unfair share of taxes.

For Point #3, portability is ridiculous. Why should there be a privileged class of taxpayers that can move anywhere they want and take their tax exemption with them? Face it. People who have enjoyed the Save Our Homes exemption for many years in the same house are not paying their fare share of taxes.

[D R]

DAVID IS RIGHT. AND, LANDLORDS GET THEIR TAX MONEY FROM THEIR RENTERS. RENTAL HOUSING HAS NO CAP, SOH, OR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. THE LONGTIME HOMESTEADER HAS IT EASY AND THEY ARE YELLING THE LOUDEST. THE TAX BURDEN NEEDS TO BE CARRIED BY ALL, NOT JUST RENTAL, COMMERCIAL, AND HOMEOWNER THAT BOUGHT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.

[Future candidate]

Hey, Trox. You want fairness. Maybe the Legislature can find a few minutes to study eliminating taxes on diapers, baby wipes, clothing items under $15.00 and other essential products used by Florida's working families.

[jim parker]

There's a reason that we have a legislature, namely, to respond with prudence and wisdom to the often rather heated wishes (demands?) of the unwashed classes. Our 18th and 19th century American ancestors really expressed thoughts like that.

They also HATED high taxes sufficiently to lock/load over it. Until local governments and the Governor recognize the passion people feel on this issue they'll be risking their careers over it.

[Tim]

The goals of property tax reform should be to increase responsible home ownership. There should be considerable benefits given to homesteads. Save Our Homes actually penalizes first time home buyers. Perhaps it should be eliminated except for those people who are on fixed incomes (seniors and the disabled). Anyone who is in the workforce should in theory have the opportunity to increase their wages along with the increases in property taxes.

As stated in point #1, the problem comes from overvalued homes. Rolling back the appraised values into a proper balance is a possibility. There was a point in the last few years where the taxes and the budgets were fair, proportional and reasonable. An attempt should be made to get back to that balance. Cutting taxes below that point harms government services and quality of life.

Rubio's 80% deduction is unreasonable. It is a veiled attempt to cater to the Grover Norquist "Starve the Beast" idealogues. The sooner we all can agree that government is not the enemy and it must be efficently operated and reasonably funded the sooner we can get back to living in a properly functioning community. Those who want to have all the benefits of a free society but do not want to pay for them with their fair share of taxes are simply being greedy and childish. Pay no taxes and every road will be a toll road. If you don't like how government is working for you then CHANGE IT, don't KILL IT! (Research the "TABOR" laws in Colorado. They backfired terribly.)

Government is your voice in action. The harm that you inflict upon it you inflict upon yourself.

[Terry]

Why is it that everyone dances around the possibility of a state income tax? We are one of a handful of states without an income tax, and every civilized state in the union has one. It's simple, clean, easily understood and distributes the burden fairly and equitably among all income classes.Get progressive Florida!

[Tim]

I agree Terry. Florida currently has no state income tax. Jeb all but eliminated intangibles taxes and now there is a push to eliminate property taxes? You can't expect to get something for nothing.

I find it interesting that even during this time of high property taxes the people of Pinellas county voted to keep the "Penny for Pinellas" tax. It precisely because people have recognized that there is a value to it.

FDR, the Founding Father of the Middle Class said this:
"Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle."

This principle was applied and the country experienced its best years of growth and prosperity in history!

[bud tritschler]

We've lived here on the waterfront since way before the tax cap was created, so we've benefitted so much that our friends and neighbors pay us more than $15,000 a year in the form of forgiven taxes to continue our enjoyment.
I'm embarrassed over this unfairnes and ready to give it up, but for political purposes a soft landing must be devised. S.O.H. should be canceled but the benefit derived from it should be transferable and reduced each succeeding year by a percentage of the previous year's benefit. That way, it would never entirely disappear. A 5% reduction would reduce it by half in 15 years. I won't live that long. 10% is more reasonable, reducing it to half in 7.5 years.

[deborah gestner]

Simply stated but I would have included more emphasis on repeal of SALES TAX EXEMPTIONS. Those are a travasty. The Florida Lobbist's are just getting too carried away with their power and fees. Going to a BASEBALL game and paying sales tax on a ticket is fine. But those that have SKY BOXES should pay too. And what about those who come to Florida to purchase airplanes? They dont pay sales tax -- but those that live or work in Florida and purchase airplanes HAVE to pay sales tax. It seems that if you live here -- you pay MORE AND MORE AND MORE. But if you visit or purchase things here -- you are greeted with FREE-BEEs. START THERE AND INCLUDE THAT IN REFORM. The charge should be FLORIDIANS FIRST not visitors FIRST. They will still come regardless of the pennies of taxes that they pay. You are making it too hard for those of us here to stay, work and raise a family. REFORM!