All politics are local…

Or so says the age old political maxim.

With that in mind I want to urge our readers in Florida to support the proposal that is being considered in our state capital to do away with property taxes on primary residences. I have been informed by my State Representative, Anitere Flores, that the strong opposition to the measure will be coming in the State Senate. I am encouraging all of you Floridians to contact your state senator via email and tell them you support House Speaker Marco Rubio’s proposal.

For more information on the proposal and why you should support it, please visit: nomorepropertytax.com

Update: You can find your Florida State Senator contact information right here.

14 thoughts on “All politics are local…”

  1. Why should I, who can’t afford to buy a home of my own, subsidize you folks who build multi-million dollar hurricane traps in the middle of what sensible people call a swamp? There’s no like provision to end property tax on rental property, so my rent won’t go down. Obviously the only way to make up the money is to jack up the sales tax, which will cause me to pay more taxes. As I see it, it’s a losing issue for me unless some reform is made. This bill needs more work.

  2. It’s included in the rent. The landlord doesn’t make a gift of it. Plus, my landlord includes newspaper clippings regarding property tax increases in every notice of a rent increase. So, certainly renters pay property taxes – through the landlord.

  3. Removing taxes on houses is a wonderful idea. Remember, only tax the bad, not the good. Taxing reduces what is taxed. Who wants to reduce the supply of houses? Real Estate speculators….not occupants.

  4. Juan,

    You are correct, renters pay tax in their rent payments. The cost is passed along to them. But the proposal on the table also rolls back taxes on non-residences (i.e. rental properties) to the level they were at 5 years ago and caps the annual increases that are possible. So landlords will get immediate relief they can pass on to their renters (just like they pass the increases).

    If you don’t think this will happen then consider this. Buying will now be more affordable to some renters because of the removal of the property tax on primary residences. And guess what less demand for rental property does Juan? It creates competition among landlords for renters. Competition equals lower rents.

    There’s something fundamentally wrong with being taxed year after year for something you purchased long ago. The incremental sales tax works better for most people because if you have bad year you consume less and therefore your tax burden is less but under the current system you are screwed. Your tax burden stays the same or increases every year regardless of whether you lost your job or part of your income etc. You could quickly end up in bankruptcy or foreclosure because of taxes on property you already own.

  5. Henry,

    That is a short yet helpful summary of the issue. There are a couple of other reasons why this is a good idea (unless the politicos screw it up). The only reason to keep the property tax is to continue to feed the public treasury. But, there are better ways to do that.

    And, although it is a different argument not covered here, government needs to learn to work within a budget, just like we taxpayers do.

  6. Why not eliminate property taxes on all property used as a principal residence? Here, of course, there’s the additional pressure of having overbuilt condos – there are entire condo complexes that have not one unit sold.

    Just to understand my position – I am in favor of completely eliminating all taxation, state, federal and local. I think the government should put barrels out in front of city hall once a quarter and each person drives past and throws in what he thinks the government was worth the past quarter.

    Lacking that, how about a provision to require the legislature to cut spending by two dollars for every additional dollar they raise with sales taxes?

  7. Juan,

    I’m with you. I’d like to see all of these taxes repealed but as a matter of practicality do you think it’s going to happen?

    Like I said there are benefits to renters in the package. If they aren’t compelling enough then I suggest you send that email to the state senator telling him to do more for renters but not to trash the whole proposal. Unfortunately when the window opens you have to grab what you can take because you don’t know when that window will open again. LittleGator, I didn’t do a big presentation about the ins and outs of the proposal because it’s all at the linked site. But I think the comments section here is a great place to debate the pros and cons.

    Juan Paxety gave me the perfect excuse to do just that.

  8. Local government tax coffers have increased tremendously over the past few years. Has that translated to better service from our government?
    Of course not.

    The #1 redeeming quality of eliminating property taxes is that it puts the money in our hands, not the government’s. A little fiscal responsibility goes a long way for government, just as it does for the average Jose.

  9. I’m all for lowering taxes but I don’t think. Correct me if I’m wrong but the legislation will only end the property tax on residential property that qualifies for a homestead exemption. Doesn’t that only apply to home owners and not landlords? If it does that leaves renters out in the cold who end up subsidizing a tax break for more wealthy larger group of people.

    Also if we just raise the sales tax (and if we do it will be the highest in that nation) instead we aren’t lowering the tax burden we’re just shifting it from one group of people (homeowners) who by the way are one of the largest groups that come out to the polls, to everyone else.

    I’d be all for reducing property taxes as long as the government was really reducing taxes then cutting services (and pork) to pay for it and not just shifting the tax burden around to a different group of people who are less politically active.

  10. Oops the first line was suppose to be:

    “I’m all for lowering taxes but I don’t think that this plan will do that.”

    I know I’m going to catch hell for that typo. lol

  11. Mike,

    You need to read the comments above yours vis-a-vis landords. The proposal rolls back taxes rates for non-homesteads 5 years and caps the increase. Perhaps you should visit the site that’s linked in the post to read the proposal and the FAQs.

    Obviously the revenues lost from property taxes on homesteads need to be replaced. But the fact is that currently 20% of state sales tax is paid by non-florida residents so actually part of the burden is being shifted to visitors.

    In economically tough times sales tax revenue will be lower which means that the state will have to tighten its belt. Right now state revenues from property taxes increase year over year regardless of the state’s economic well being (on the backs of the property owners, of course).

    As far as shifting the burden from home-owners to the entire population of the state (and others as mentioned above) I see that as a good thing. Why should homeowners be the only ones paying for the state’s government and services that everyone “enjoys”?

  12. I’ve throughly read the site linked by Henry, and I’m very concerned that the proposed bill will create two classes of taxpayers – people who are able to claim a homestead and will have the opportunity to wholly eliminate property taxes, and folks who are not able to claim a homestead on their principal residence and who will have to pay the increased sales tax plus continue to pay property taxes, though at a lower rate. I’ve emailed the folks at the site – I’ll post any reply I get.

    This could be a good plan. It needs more work.

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