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Jackie Colson-Miller

Jackie Colson-Miller
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Why I am Voting “NO” on the Florida Property Tax Referendum

When you are buying a house in Florida, the subject of Property Taxes always comes up!

Property Tax Reform in Florida is badly needed. The burden of taxation has shifted to the local government level and, as a result, property taxes are a major source of revenue. Property owners are bearing too much of the States tax burden and the increase in property values has drastically increased the typical property tax bill.

We could discuss how local governments increased their budgets with the windfall of tax revenues. We could talk about their lack of stewardship with our tax dollars. But, instead, lets talk about spreading the States tax burden out among any number of revenue sources, that dont single out property owners as the cash cow for Cut_billthe State of Florida. Cigarette Taxes (Florida has one of the lowest in the U.S), Alcohol Taxes, Gambling Taxes, Hotel and Tourism Taxes and increased Sales Taxes would spread the burden more evenly. A recent poll on The Real Estate Sizzle indicates voters are willing to pay other taxes, in lieu of property taxes!

In North Carolina, some crafty legislators included a “transfer” tax for every home sale, in a Medicaid bill…How did THAT happen? Talk about more “hurt” to the homeowner!
In Florida, tax reform is not a partisan issue.It is not Democrats vs. Republicans, as many would like to think.

Some people will say their are in favor of the amendment, because it is a start . It would not be a start it would be a finish . Here is the truth: If the amendment does NOT pass, the issue of Florida Property Tax Reform is sent to the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission for a BETTER plan. Did you hear that??? BETTER PLAN. A plan that is in the best, long-term interest of all Floridians.

The Tallahassee Democrat ran a commentary today that really sums up the issue, with truth and eloquence!

I am voting NO on the property tax referendum on January 29thFloridians deserve a better plan that doesnt require property owners to bear such a tax burden for the entire State!

What do you think?

Here’s one of my earlier articles on the Property Tax Issue.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 6:09 pm and is filed under Florida Real Estate, Property Taxes in Florida, Real Estate News, Tampa Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Why I am Voting “NO” on the Florida Property Tax Referendum”

  1. Anne Says:
    September 13th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

    Hi! I am so glad to see this b/c I didn’t know they’d have to come up with a better plan. Can you cite a source for this? The verbage from the legislation?

    I am not entirely opposed to the new plan–I think it effectively saves money for owners of the average-priced homes and hits those who chose to have higher priced homes (my home is worth more than double the average priced home, so it’s not like I’m passing the buck here). However, I agree that cigarette taxes need a hike, as do other “sin taxes” like gambling and luxury taxes like hotels. Home ownership should NOT be a luxury.

  2. Jackie Colson-Miller Says:
    September 13th, 2007 at 1:41 pm

    Anne:

    The article in the Tallahassee Democrat confirmed that the plan is going to the commission if it doesn’t pass with the voters. I also know that from many conversations with people in politics and local government, but I haven’t seen it widely publicized in our local media. Unfortunately, the “masses” are unaware of the situation, for the most part. I hope my blog is one way of educating the public about any issues involving Real Estate, or living in Florida.

  3. Barbara Kent Says:
    September 13th, 2007 at 6:50 pm

    I am also going to vote NO

  4. Flint Says:
    January 13th, 2008 at 12:23 pm

    I am voting NO. The referendum does little for those of us that have owned their homes for only a short time (5 yrs and less). Also, a 10% cap on non-homestead investment property per year? Give me a break. Even California gave multi home owners in that state some consideration with proposition 13. I think Gov Crist had a good idea but, it was not well thought out for the people, and now that everyone has put thier two cents in, it is not acceptable to me and they need to go back to the drawing board on this one.

  5. Nick Says:
    January 16th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

    I am in the early stages of my research on this but am voting no at this point.

    The reason? It’s not enough and the quote in the write-up was correct in saying this will be a “finish”, not a “start”. If this passes, any future progress will be put on the back burner and that will be the end of the issue because “something”………… has been accomplished.

    If it doesn’t pass, politicians will be forced to revisit this issue in a timely manner in order to accomodate a major public interest. At the very least, and mark my words, we’ll see a surge of progress just before the next local elections! Especially when someone is shooting for a “re-election”.

    Thanks,
    Nick

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