The first-time buyer crisis has been one of the major issues of the housing industry and recent events have ensured it is not about to go away. Nor, as a result, will the scapegoating.
Lawmakers in Florida are rushing to beat an October 29th deadline to get a new property tax cut amendment prepared for a January referendum after their prior attempt was thrown out.
Members of the local legislative delegation-Senator Steve Oelrich and Repsresentatives Aaron Bean and Joe Pickens canceled meetings in Bradford, Union and other counties this week because of the ongoing special session.
A Leon County circuit judge struck the prior constitutional amendment from the January 29th presidential primary ballot, saying the language of the amendment summary was inaccurate.
If approved that amendment, passed by the Legislature during a special session in June, would have allowed homestead property owners to trade their $25,000 homestead exemption in for a new “super” exemption that would have given a 75 percent tax break on the first $200,000 of a home’s assessed value, with an additional 15 percent break on the next $300,000 in value.
The catch was the elimination of the Save Our Homes property tax cap, which assures assessed values won’t increase more than 3 percent annually.
The judge felt that fact was obscured in the language of the summary.
Lawmakers are now back at it, working on a plan to provide additional property tax relief in spite of cries that the Legislature shouldn’t be meddling with the local government’s ability to generate revenue.
The most surprising proposal of the session, however, doesn’t involve homesteaded property alone. On Tuesday, the House Policy and Budget Council voted for an amendment that would extend a 3 percent annual cap on increases in assessed value to all classes of real estate property.
If enough legislative support were generated to put the plan before voters, it would be the first time owners of businesses, vacation, rental and other properties are offered the same consideration homesteaders receive under Save Our Homes.
The 3 percent rule would apply even when properties change ownership, protecting buyers from paying taxes on the full market value of the property they purchase. Instead, the assessed value would still increase just three percent.
Supporters touted the plan for the fairness with which it treats property owners.
The proposal goes much further than the plan Govenor Charlie Crist had asked legislators to approve-double homestead exemption from $25,000 to $50,000 with some protection from high tax increases when moving from one homestead to another, a concept known as Save Our Homes portability.
