Posted on 06/15/2007 3:43:25 AM PDT by Pharmboy
MIAMI, June 14 — Addressing rising anger about the cost of owning a home in Florida — and the recent troubles of the state’s real estate industry — the Legislature on Thursday approved a plan for a property tax cut it said would be the largest in state history.
The plan was championed by Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican who has vowed to make taxes “drop like a rock,” and Marco Rubio, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, who has made property-tax relief the main goal of his first year in power.
The cost of the package was initially estimated to be $31.6 billion over five years, but a last-minute change pushed by Republicans in the Senate may have blunted the savings by as much as $7 billion.
Even so, many local governments that levy property taxes said it would ravage their budgets, potentially forcing layoffs of police officers and firefighters and deep cuts to public schools. Some counties and cities have raised the possibility of a legal challenge.
Florida does not have an income tax, and lawmakers did mention imposing one to make up for lost property tax revenue. Republican leaders had hoped to substantially decrease or even eliminate property taxes in exchange for a sharp sales tax increase. But that idea proved too controversial.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I don't live in Florida but I have a good friend who does. My understanding is that the answer is "depends". Have you lived there for 5+ years or did you just move there. If the former, probably something like $1500/year, if the latter, something like $6-8k/year. The issue is, SAVE OUR HOMES limited the increase to 3%/year, but property values shot up in the past 36 months or so. Which means people can't move into a home of the same value because the taxes become insane, but are perfectly reasonably(not that any tax is, but I digress) if you lived there for a length of time.
Democrats (meaning Socialists) are always dismayed by tax cuts, or less government, or more freedom.
It varies by County/City. However, "Real Life" figures for my area are as follows: $450K current value property taxes are about $2,500/year with homestead exemption and 5-10 years in same home..., $6,000/year if you just moved in. These are from the property appraisal website for my neighborhood.
Amen! Or when a school levee is voted down, they always cut things like school buses or lunch programs -- never the bloated bureaucracy.
At least there you had streetlights and maybe a street cleaners and a few services.
With the corrupt local governments in Florida, you're funding some very fat pension plans, too.
Page 4, paragraph 3 in "How to Keep Taxes High by Scaring the Voters for Dummies". Otherwise know as the Liberal Bible.
Notice how they never threaten to layoff any non essential personel? Like maybe someone in the parks department. Or eliminate that grant to Planned Parenthood, or the planned city park for dogs, or any of the other pet projects of the local bluebloods?
The list of stuff that is untouchable is virtually endless, the first things that must go are always police, fire & ambulance. Hillsborough County Florida used this technique quite successfully to get a sales tax increase to fund goodies for the Tampa Bay Bucs.
I’m with you. The dog parks especially irk me. Since when is it the function of government to provide entertainment facilites for PETS? Absurd!
I’m anything but dismayed at having my taxes cut. Give the bureaucrats a little less, and maybe they won’t fund idiocy.
Yeah, my friend lives in Lake Mary and he bought his home 12 years ago for 220 and before he tore it down in 2005 it was appraised at $425 but he was still paying about $1500/Year. After Charley he tore it down when an ancient tree flew about 75 Feet and split the house in two. He built a McMansion in its place and just sold it for 2 million. If nothing changes, he was going to have a 17,000/year tax bill so sold it.
local govt.s corrupt?
NO,
The last Sheriff moved to Hawaii and bought a pineapple farm.
No how do you do that on a cops salary?
You use cops to close out of the way roads for drug planes to land from the Bahamas.
Or so it has long been rumored.
Allow me to make a humble suggestion: any time similar bluff and bluster comes from the mayor's office or the town council, a full-page ad should be taken out in the local newspaper with a list of non-essential stuff that should be cut waaaaay before cops and firemen. Collecting for the ad should not be difficult...
Because your fellow snowbirds and halfbacks demand it sucker. %^)
I hear you. The principal at our high school makes a 6 figure salary and I know has a “complimentary” family membership at a very exclusive country club. That in itself has to be against county regs.
The canned response by public "servants" everywhere. Threaten to cut essential services, as if there were no garbage anywhere else.
As much growth as we in Hillsborough have had over the past 10 years (with little to no signs of a slow down), it is incredible to hear the County Commision poor-mouthing about the tax cuts. Heck, the growth along US 301 between Riverview and Sun City alone must have added several million dollars per year.
They are worse than drug addicts.
In SE PA, such a house would probably be about $7K or more depending on the area. In NJ, I think $12K per year or more would be about right.
“It is an odd headline. The NYTimes reporting “dismay” over cutting property taxes”
Then you do not know the NYT. Their philosophical outlook mimics the Democratic party. To them,taxes are good because it creates needed big governmentto manage the lives of the masses are who not smart enough to manage themselves.
You will never see the NYT lament the RAISING taxes. To them, it’s the mothers milk of socialism.
“This is not Mother Russia - or New Jersey - this is Florida.”
Best line of the day alert!
Either way, Floridians (an Texan's) should realize how fortunate they are. My house is assessed at $465,000 in suburban NYC. My taxes are pushing $13,000 a year and of that amount, $8,000 is for the school tax even though I have never had a child in the public school system. On top of that, I pay a state income tax at the marginal rate of 8.875% and sales tax at something like 8.25%.
Toga party?
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