Survey: Florida's proposed property tax amendment not popular

[Correctamundo]

Mike Fink wrote:

No, you are correct.:)
Property values going down will have some impact on taxes, and should reduce the burden a bit moving forward (assuming they don't just jack the mill rate to compensate). What we need now, and have always needed is hard spending caps on all these taxing bodies.
The question you ask is the one that needs to be asked over and over again. How did we go from the 2000 tax base to the 2006 tax base (where many people were paying 3X what they were in 2000) and NOT lower the mill rates? How did we have all these same services in 2000? Go back to 2000, take that budget, adjust it for inflation and growth, and make that the year 2009 budget. That's what needs to be done, all these "tax shifting" mechanisms are nothing more then slight of hand.
<quoted text>

The slight of hand being they adjusted their spending in accordance with the big inflated tax bills on a value that wasn't even real it was just temporary and not not adjusting our millage rate to be in line with inflation.

The more you give the more they spend and the "pet" projects are killing us all.

[Correctamundo]

The slight of hand being they adjusted their spending in accordance with the big inflated tax bills on a value that wasn't even real it was just temporary and not not adjusting our millage rate to be in line with

and I meant to say in line with cost of living.

[Correctamundo]

mmm wrote:

And what happens to the schools when there's not enough sales tax collected?

Another good point. The funds are not "secured" so to speak.

[lenny]

Get the feeling not a whole lot of floridians trust Tallahassee anymore?

Maybe they'll get the message. Time to stop lying to the people who elected you in there.

[Oops]

And once the turnpike is payed for there will no longer be tolls, and putting tolls on 95 will lessen congestion and the check is in the mail.

[cool hand luke]

what a bunch of garbage this article is! the sun sentinel are a bunch of liberals who do not suppot any type of tax cut. 40% don't support paying less property tax!!!!!!!!!! Bullshlit!!! don't buy or read this garbage, they can't write and they are a bunch of liberals toting water for liberal/more tax revenue Arsholes.

[deerfield beach]

Mike Fink wrote:

Best comment all day.
Portability is for RE agent, Amend 5 is for developers. How about we vote ourselves a tax cut instead?
There's nothing that can be done to help this housing market, it just needs to crash to correct itself. Instead of all these targeted incentives (which are all doomed to fail), let's get something going for all of us who actually want to live and work here!
<quoted text>

Mike I have said this before. The only thing that is going to help the housing market is getting rid of SOH.

[neptola grubbs]

we have too many dorks in charge..........

[deerfield beach]

The Truth wrote:

<quoted text>
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE. They start out the article with some sob story about a teacher losing her job because of tax cuts.... hello?.... where is all the money that was supposed to come from the casinos?
We need a tax break NOW. We need a homeowners insurance break NOW. Or the Florida economy will continue to crumble.
(PS. Don't forget to inflate your tires - it will solve the gas crisis)

for every one dollar that comes from the casinos, the state cuts one dollar off the education budget.Problem is if we cut the school board admin. How would they then reward there friends?

[deerfield beach]

david wrote:

Just so you know that teachers are NOT getting any raises and have been going home with less money every year for the past 5 years
It is ADMINISTRATORS that take all of the money
Why does everyone pick on teachers
<quoted text>

Because the teachers we see, the adminstrators are hidden in the school district office.

[deerfield beach]

Overtaxed wrote:

The problem with this and the previous amendment is that it does nothing to curtail local spending and local tax increases to make up for less revenue.
Local and county governments have spent too much money over the last 5 years. Too many government employees were added to the payroll verses the growth in population.
The only way any of these schemes will work is to put severe restraint on local government spending.

But if it goes through, we can show up at the budget meetings and protest.

[deerfield beach]

Fun in the sun wrote:

<quoted text>
Taxes are not going down, if you look at your past years bill with next years you will see an increase. even more so if you have SOH, dade County has increased by 20%. property taxes have gone down and all other services have gone up. we do not have a income tax because anyone who can shelter income from the IRS will do the same to avoid paying. You want to avoid taxes then rent.

I figure what your share of property tax is so how do renters save on it> It is passed along.

[deerfield beach]

OVERTAXED wrote:

I don't get it. How did she loose her job, the tax cut DID NOT apply to schools???

Simple you didn't think that I would lay off my friends in admin positions who helped me get elected did you? The cuts are being made in the wrong places, and no, I am NOT a teacher.

[deerfield beach]

save my wallet wrote:

how about the retirement communities, some of those people pay little or no taxes, look at the tax rolls there should be a minimun like $500.00

Why? I am only paying 325.00 for my 2 bedroom. Where will I get the money to go on my cruises if I have to pay more?

[KcK]

Looking at my tax bill, there are 3 charges for the schools, 1 state law, 1 local board and 1 debt levy. The state law portion is double the other 2 combined.
According to the amendment, only the local board school tax portion will be eliminated....and it is very vague as to what other revenue may be subjected to taxing. Sorry, but I refuse to ever again vote for a vague amendment, spell it out in black and white how you plan to raise the revenue.
If you want to see the whole amendment a link to a PDF doc can be found here:
http://www.votesmartflorida.org/mx/hm.asp...
Here is the text portion that will be changed if it is apporved.
---
SECTION 19. Replacement of ad valorem taxes required by the legislature with other funds for education.-(
a)
Commencing in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the legislature shall be prohibited from requiring school districts to levy an ad valorem tax as a required local effort for participation in the Florida Education Finance Program or a
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successor program.
(b)(1) The legislature shall replace the revenue impact of the elimination of the required local effort as provided in subsection (a) through one or more of the following options:
a.
the repeal of sales tax exemptions, which are determined not to advance or serve a public purpose, except for the current exemptions for: food; prescription drugs; health services; charitable organizations; religious organizations; residential rent, electricity and heating fuel; sales of tangible personal property purchased for resale or imported, produced, or manufactured in this state for export; sales of real property; and sales of intangible personal property.
b.
an increase of up to one percentage point to the sales and use tax rate in existence on January 6, 2009.
c.
spending reductions for other components of the state budget and revenue increases resulting from economic growth attributable to lower property taxes.
d.
other revenues identified or created by the legislature.
(2) In implementing this section, the amount appropriated and set in the General Appropriations Act in the 2010-2011 fiscal year shall not be less than the amount appropriated and set in the 2008-2009 fiscal year for the funding of public schools under the Florida Education Finance Program, as increased by the average historical growth for such amounts during state fiscal years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, which appropriated and set amount shall be referred to as the "education hold harmless amount."
(3) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to replace
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or eliminate: the ad valorem tax millage dedicated to capital outlay, school renovation and repair, or for the payment of lease purchase obligations authorized by general law; voter-approved millage authorized in the constitution; or discretionary ad valorem millage for school districts authorized by law.
(c)
Each law creating a sales tax exemption shall contain the single subject of a single exemption and a legislative finding that the exemption advances or serves the public purpose of: encouraging economic development and competitiveness; supporting educational, governmental, literary, scientific, religious, or charitable initiatives or organizations; or securing tax fairness.
ARTICLE XII SCHEDULE SECTION 28. Implementation of school property tax reform.-(
a)
The amendments to Section 4 of Article VII reducing the maximum annual change in assessments for non-homestead properties to five percent (5%) from ten percent (10%) shall take effect January 1, 2009.
(b)
The amendment to Section 9 of Article VII reducing to five mills from ten mills the authorized ad valorem millage for school purposes shall take effect January 1, 2010.

[WAKE UP]

lizbeth wrote:

<quoted text>
are your property taxes really sitting at $6000.00? How big is your house?

Hard to believe when you don't pay the bill isn't it? It's not the size of the house, it's the price, and this person's house is valued around $400k by the county...

Wake up and realize that there are people paying as much or more in taxes than you pay in rent...

[Mike]

Taxh8ter wrote:

<quoted text>
Dude, on your side. The logic is we already pay for services we don't and do use. My response was to another poster who said "why should he pay more in sales taxes so the greedy property owners can get a break?"
I, as a property owner, have and still do pay my fair share. But that is the point. We are paying more than our fair share. Some of us are paying 3 times our neighbors share. By increasing the sales tax, it will allow for all people to put some money in the pot for education. that seems more fair to me,.

I was having a Bad Day Yesterday and it showed in my Reading Comprehension. LOL

[Taxh8ter]

lizbeth wrote:

<quoted text>
are your property taxes really sitting at $6000.00? How big is your house?

1800 sq ft.

[Tammy]

Mike Fink wrote:

Indeed. In fact, it might be his only hope with these laws; how many stupid people (who don't understand economics/money) can he find and get to the polls. Amend 1 was a total joke, this is another slap in the face. We need caps on the spending, and a roll back to the "pre-boom" levels. Anyone with 1/2 a brain can see that. And caps would fix the problem forever.
And yet, we get more crap like this. Ugh.
<quoted text>

You know, some of you people are incredible....We need this, we need that, we need caps

WAKE UP !!!! You are not being OFFERED CAPS!!!!!

You are being offered an opportunity to REDUCE PROPERTY TAXES BY 50%(check your TRIM notices that are coming out this month)

So while you might WISH for all the nonsense many of you spout....Maybe next election....

Right now VOTE YES ON 5 !!!!!

I believe that governments are PIGS and we need to starve those PIGS....Amendment 5 is the START...If they have less (which 5 will do ) they will SPEND LESS....

All your nonsensical wishes are not on the ballot - Amendment 5 is

Vote YES on 5

[Tammy]

Mike Fink wrote:

The housing market better not be the "basis of our economy". I thought that hard work, intelligence, and entrepreneurial spirit were much more the basis of our economy then flipping houses back and forth to one another? I guess I'm old fashioned.
I'm all for a property tax cut, I just think that it needs to be done in the right way. We need to impose revenue caps on the taxing bodies, it's the only way to stop this from happening all over again (after Amend 5). We have already seen a preview with Amend 1; we pass a tax "cut" they go and raise the mill rates to compensate. The only way to stop this is to stop fighting about "who's paying more" and combine forces to fight the real problem, which is overspending in many of these big govt agencies.
I like the way someone put it earlier in this thread, why does it cost 3X as much for the same services today then it did 5 years ago? That makes NO sense, and until we address that, we're just putting band-aids on the problem.
Cap the revenues and float the mill rates and mandate periodic re-assesments. It works for the REST OF THE COUNTRY. And guess what, the rest of the country doesn't have a tax "crisis"! That's the thing that all the SOH supporters just keep missing; for all its "wonderful" effects, we are the ones with the crisis, not everyone else (who doesn't have SOH).
Stop hamstringing the system! Just cap the revenues, grandfather in all those with SOH, and float the mill rates for everyone without it. God, it's so easy a 2nd grader could do it.
<quoted text>

Once again, Mike, your suggestion is NOT ON THE BALLOT

You've got to vote for or against what is on the ballot !!!!

A5 will put THOUSANDS into the citizens' pockets....I suggest that you vote for this opportunity to give yourself a WIN FALL !!!!

What other time in your life can you reward yourself with LOTS OF MONEY !!!!

VOTE YES on 5