Crist supports portable tax cap in state

He wants to be Jeb Bush’s heir apparent, but Attorney General Charlie Crist showed he isn’t afraid to push proposals that Florida’s governor opposes.

During a speech in Naples on Thursday, Crist, who is running to succeed Bush as Florida’s governor, proposed allowing homeowners in Florida who possess the Save Our Homes property tax cap to take that cap with them when they move within the state.

Bush has been cool to this idea in the past. But Crist said it was necessary to keep Florida’s economy strong.

“Floridians are being priced out of the market to buy new homes,” Crist said. “Making the homestead exemption portable is essential to helping homeowners.”

Crist spoke at the Naples Economic Development Council luncheon at the Naples Sailing and Yacht Club.

Save Our Homes is a tax relief package aimed at keeping Floridians of moderate means from being taxed out of their houses. It was passed as an amendment to Florida’s Constitution in 1992 and says the taxable value of a homesteaded property can rise by no more than 3 percent a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.

Because the original Save Our Homes was done by constitutional amendment, anything to change it voters would have to be approve as well.

While Save our Homes is popular with homeowners that have it, it can keep millions of dollars in property taxes out of the coffers of county government. As such, Crist’s proposal will likely get a mixed reaction from local officials who rely on property taxes.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” said Collier Property Appraiser Abe Skinner. “It’s OK to make it portable within a county. But not outside (of a specific county).”

Making it portable within the whole state could lead to people with Save Our Home exemptions leaving coastal areas and moving to the county’s inland where property values are not as high.

If a lot of people did this, it could lead to those inland counties having to add infrastructure to deal with the new people, but not being able to collect property taxes from any of the new people, Skinner said.

But Skinner said he doesn’t worry about Collier County losing a lot of tax revenue. He believes it is the inland counties that would be threatened, not the coastal areas.

Collier Commissioners Jim Coletta and Donna Fiala, who attended the luncheon, both said they opposed portability of homestead exemptions throughout the whole state but would support portability within a county.

Crist also said he would not raid the affordable housing trust fund as governor. He vowed that the money in the state fund would only be used for affordable housing issues.

Throughout his speech Thursday, Crist stressed the need for more tax cuts, affordable housing, and a diversified economy.

“We must maintain a pro-business environment with low taxes and a skilled work force,” Crist said. “Our future success depends on diversification.”

Crist’s stop in Naples was part of a bus tour he is taking around the state.