I received this spam email from a well known local entrepreneur. Seems to me that they seem to make a really good case why to vote "no" on it. Why pass special laws to help people make more money?? If your not making money on your business, get out and do something else. That's why it's called a free market.
El Diablo says... What do you think? .................Whew... I'm tired
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Sorry for the intrusion, but when I received a flyer in the mail yesterday asking people to Vote NO to Amendment 1 , I just felt the need to speak up.... ( by the way, if you're getting this and are not a voter in Florida, you might not be too interested in this...)
I don't know who these people are or what their agenda is, but this was ridiculous !!!
This is too important for our Economy and all of our lives to get misled by false media.
This particular flyer that got me riled up was acting as if the Property Tax Amendment was going to help people with second homes or investment property in Florida ( ie: NON Homesteaded Property) and hurt the full time Florida Homeowner with Homestead Exemption... In actuality, the biggest complaint re: this Tax reform is it doesn't do ENOUGH to help the people that are not Homesteaded and gives additional help to those that are already sitting pretty, paying lower taxes on a home they've been in for a while...
The only element to this that does help non-homesteaded property owners is a 10% cap on tax increases, similar to the 3% cap provided by Save our Homes . This will protect non-homesteaded properties from future spikes in the market like we had from 2000 to 2005 .
By the way, Save our Homes is in the Florida Constitution and is not going anywhere ! It would take a vote of the people to get rid of it and I don't see that ever happening...
The fear mongering going on about us losing basic services if this amendment passes is totally wrong !
The Govt. ( local, county and state ) have all upped there income by huge amounts over the last 5 years, way more than what this tax reform potentially could give back to property owners. No one wants to see the Fire Dept. and Police cut back and I just can't imagine that actually happening. The schools are totally protected against cuts in the wording of the amendment, so that is basically a non-issue ! Governor Crist has also been speaking out on this subject trying to reassure everyone that there is no threat to our basic services.
The main reason this amendment needs to pass, in my opinion, is PORTABILITY.
Due to the previously mentioned market spike, many Floridians are presently trapped in their homes.
If you've been homesteaded for 5 yrs or more, you are looking at a substantial increase in your property tax if you want or need to relocate within the State of Florida. For many seniors that want to downsize or growing families that need more room, it makes it virtually impossible to move. Think about what would really happen if people are able to move and take a portion of their current savings with them ... I'll use myself for example... we've been in our 2 bedroom townhouse for 12 years and pay only about $1200 yr in property tax. We now have a child and I have a greater need for a home office...we need a bigger place. If we were able to take our Homestead with us and move to a comparable, but larger home, I would actually end up paying more in property taxes, but just not a huge amount more...say $2,500 as opposed to $8,000 ... If I'm able to do this, I would then sell my unit and the property that is now only bringing in $1200 to the county will now bring in a lot more ! depending on if the new owners bring any savings with them, are first time buyers or out of state 2nd homers etc... You can plainly see that the portability feature has the potential to INCREASE the tax revenue, not hurt it ! Not to mention all the Doc Stamps and such the Govt. collects on the sale of real property.
Another HUGE benefit to the economy comes through all the income potential created for a lot of different folks when people relocate.... Painters, Handymen, Moving companies, Furniture Stores etc. etc. this will help every one ! When people are making money , they also spend it !!!
Another less talked about element to this Amendment provides some needed relief to the small business owner in Florida.
One last point ( for those still with me)... if this does not pass, it will be 1 to 2 years before something else might be done.. That is frightening to me ! Both Republicans and Democrats came together to draft this Amendment...but this is really only step 1 in trying to fix a seriously flawed system... if it doesn't get the needed 60% support, then when if ever will we ever get to step step 2 ?