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Property tax plan has county worried
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| By: Mark J. Crawford, Editor |
February 08, 2007 |
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A move toward cutting property taxes on the part of the state's highest elected official has rural county commissioners, including those in Bradford, worried about the impact to local government.
Gov. Charlie Crist campaigned on lowering property taxes and is trying to make good on those promises by proposing a plan that would raise the cap on homestead exemption from $25,000 to $50,000, meaning the first $50,000 of a homestead property's value would be tax exempt.
If legislators approve, then voters would ultimately decide the issue by voting up or down an amendment to the state's constitution in 2008-or perhaps in a special election this summer or fall.
Christ's plan for property tax relief includes another step-Save Our Homes portability. This initiative would allow Florida homeowners to transfer a portion of their property tax protection from sheltered homesteads to newly purchased homes anywhere in Florida.
The 1992 Save Our Homes amendment caps annual increases in property tax assessments at 3 percent on homestead exempt properties. Moving to a new home, however, can result in a much higher tax bill, even if the homeowner is downsizing.
The new amendment would allow homeowners to take the same percentage of protection they enjoy on their old homestead to their new homestead.
A common example would be a home that was assessed at $100,000 and sells for $200,000. The difference between the assessed value and market value is $100,000, or 50 percent of the market value.
If the homeowner purchases a home for $300,000, they would be able to carry that 50 percent protection with them. Instead of the shock of going from paying taxes on a $100,000 home to a $300,000 home, the new home would be assessed at a value of $150,000.
Bradford County Commissioner John Cooper asked fellow board members to continue watching the property tax debate and to be ready to speak out against changes that could negatively impact the county's budget.
Cooper estimates a 20 percent hit to the county's general revenue budget if such changes as those being discussed become a reality.
"Quite candidly, I don't know if we could handle that kind of hit," Cooper said, and County Manager Jim Crawford added that it was the small counties that would be most affected by the plans being considered.
Cooper said the Florida Association of Counties and the Small County Coalition are doing what they can to influence the direction of the debate, and he is personally spending time this week talking to the Senate's Committee on Finance and Tax.
"Who knows where it's going to wind up, so we may be calling on you over the course of the legislative session to come up to protest, hold signs and do whatever else it is we need to do," Cooper said.
Commissioner John Wayne Hersey called it a serious issue that was going to impact the county "big time."
Chairman Eddie Lewis said whatever the board need to do, it needs to "get right on it."
"There's got to be a better plan somehow," Crawford said.
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2010
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