Today's News: Intense special session results in tax agreement

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/10/30/298938.html?title=Intense+special+session+results+in+tax+agreement

TALLAHASSEE (Bay News 9) -- Monday night, state lawmakers passed a constitutional amendment to cut property taxes. The agreement came after the House reluctantly passed a take-it-or-leave-it compromise that the Senate offered.

This means a property tax relief plan awaits Florida voters when they go to the polls on

January 29th.

According to House Majority Leader, Rep Adam Hasner (R-Delray Beach), the House property tax plan would:

1. preserve Save Our Homes
2. provide additional homestead exemption relief to those who need tax relief the most such as recent homebuyers
3. allow for the "portability" of accumulated Save Our Homes benefits
4. add vital protections to business and non-homesteaded properties that are currently unshielded from unexpected and substantial assessment increases
   

The Proposal

The plan summary follows: The refined property tax plan includes three key additions:

• portability of accumulated Save Our Homes (SOH) benefits
• a guaranteed SOH benefit for all homestead properties
• and a five percent assessment cap for all business, commercial and non-homestead property.

Additionally:

The plan eliminates the "lock-in effect" of Save Our Homes by allowing portability of accumulated Save Our Homes (SOH) benefits.

Homeowners could transfer the SOH benefit to a new homestead anywhere in Florida within two years of leaving a former homestead. Portability is not limited within a county or any other jurisdiction.

• If "upsizing" to a home of equal or greater just value, the homestead owner could transfer 100 percent of the SOH benefit to the new homestead, up to a $1 million transferred benefit.
• If "downsizing" to a home with a lower just value, the homestead owner could transfer a SOH benefit that protects the same percentage of value as it did the former homestead, up to a $1 million benefit.
• The provision is retroactive to 2007, so those who sold and established a new homestead in 2007 would be eligible to transfer the benefit from the former homestead.

Enhanced Exemption

The plan accelerates "Save Our Homes" savings by providing a "Guaranteed Save Our Homes" Benefit - an enhanced homestead exemption - so all homestead owners could enjoy meaningful SOH savings without having to wait years for those savings to accrue.

This benefit targets greater relief for those homestead owners who currently have the least tax protection - such as new homebuyers that are paying two to three times the neighbors for the same value home.

So, for the would-be buyers who feel stuck in their home because they can't afford to pay more in taxes, or the buyers who are delaying a second home purchase because they don't want to get killed by non-homestead taxes, or even for the buyer who wants to downsized in a waterfront condo, but doesn't want to lose 25 years of accumulated tax shelter - THIS IS GREAT NEWS!