Realty Blog

June 7, 2007 HEADLINE NEWS from the Florida Association of Realtors.

House and Senate leaders agreed last Friday on a blueprint for property tax reform for florida lawmakers to consider during a special session June12-22. The plan calls for immediate and long-term tax relief:

IMMEDIATE: Require cities and counties to cut property taxes based on a formula tied to how much they've increased taxes in the past. The lower rates would take effect with the November property tax bill. Areas where taxes have grown the most on a per capita basis would be required to cut taxes the most. Conversely, cities and counties with the lowest increases would face the smallest cuts.

LONG-TERM:Voters would have to approve a plan to replace Save Our Homes and the homestead exemption with a tiered, percentage-based super exemption. For instance, the first $100,000 of a home's value might be 70% exempt, the next $100,000 would be 50% exempt, and so on. Homeowners would be able to keep their Save Our Homes benefits (3% cap annually) if that yields greater savings than the super exemption.

STILL UNDECIDED: A tax relief plan for elderly, commercial and non-homestead (second and vacation) property owners, as well as tax incentives for affordable housing. For commercial property owners, FAR recommends the Legislature place a 10% cap on yearly assessments for non-homestead property and assess property based on its "present use", not "highest and best use".

For more information and monitor updates go to (floridarealtors.org)  Legislative Center.