Florida’s Property Tax Fiasco, Like the Energizer Bunny, Goes On & On….

Unbelievable! After all of these months of wrangling, town hall meetings, etc, this is the best that they could come up with. The major points of the proposed property tax amendment, which the citizens of Florida will vote on 1/29/08 are as follows:

The homestead exemption will be increased from $25K to $40 or 50K depending on who you speak to. According to the Orlando Sentinel it will be $40K, but a news report on TV and an email from Governor Charlie Crist both refer to “doubling the homestead exemption.”

There will be some portability of the Save Our Homes, whether you are trading up or down in the market.

Businesses will now have a $25K exemption on tangible personal property; and,

Businesses and non-homesteaded homeowners will have a 10% annual cap on their tax increases.

For the past six months we’ve been hearing all of this ballyhooing about property tax reform and this is what they are giving us? To most, this will only amount to an approximately $240 savings. Big Deal!! What happened to the supposed roll-back of our tax base to 2004 levels?? Now, that would have been a savings of sorts. But this is going to do very little for most people that are already experiencing a crunch.

To further exasperate the matter in today’s Orlando Sentinel, they are quoting Gov. Crist as stating that “taxpayers ‘should have hope in their hearts because it’s only going to get better and better and better. This is what they want. This is what they deserve.’”

Damn, I would like some of those drugs that he must be doing. OK, just kidding, but you obviously get my point. I can only think that the governor is alluding to the idea that there will be more tax cuts in the future. I think this is bogus. Once a tax cut is voted on and enacted, that is all we are going to see for quite a while. If this is all they can come up with now, do you seriously think that they’ll add to it in the near future? Look what they’ve done with the property insurance crisis, that should give you an idea.

The sad thing is that this will probably pass because people will be willing to settle for a little something than what they may perceive as nothing.

The legislature did do one thing right in that they’ve included portability of your SOH. Yes, this should increase sales in that people will not feel as ‘trapped’ in their homes as they may be now. But this is not enough. Do we demand more?

I have to wonder how much power we have as voters. I apologize if I appear cynical here, but… Yes, we do have the power to elect our officials and even vote them out of office. But what happened to ‘of the people, for the people, by the people.’ Unfortunately, but politics appears to be just another form of Big Business and the pandering to of such.

Look at the data, but distance between and have’s and have not’s is ever so widening. Moreso, then ever before and there is no end in sight of this abating.

Since I’m getting off the topic somewhat… Crist signed his letter ‘May G-d bless you…’ Now, don’t get me wrong, I do believe in g-d, but that is neither here nor there. What the heck ever happened to the separation of church & state? More and more we see the two intermingling.

Till next time – Marc It Sold!