Property tax cut proposal dies in State committee, local commissioners cheer

Collier County commissioners' wishes came true Tuesday afternoon when a ballot proposal that would have further slashed property taxes for Florida homeowners failed on a tie vote in State House committee.

On Tuesday morning, the commissioners expressed concerns about the potential financial pitfalls of the bill. The chairman even warned it would "destroy Collier County's quality of life."

The commissioners and other opponents said the bill would have shifted the tax burden to non-homestead properties and "bully" local governments.

"I would take this as an indication that it does not have strong support and I would hope that it is not reconsidered," Collier Commission Chairman Fred Coyle said Tuesday afternoon after the bill failed. "It's a bad bill and the Legislature should keep their hands out of county revenue sources."

Supporters argued the proposed state constitutional amendment (HJR 1289) would have helped cure inequities among homeowners created by the existing Save Our Homes amendment.

During Tuesday morning's workshop, Commissioner Georgia Hiller called the proposal an unfunded mandate. She explained it as a tax shuffle, saying that the bill would not save taxpayers money and the county would ultimately have to increase taxes to make up the money lost.

Hiller said the reality is taxes will not be cut.

Voters, though, still will have a chance to cut property taxes through another proposal lawmakers last year placed on the November 2012 ballot. Amendment 4 includes a "super exemption" for primary homeowners except for school taxes as well as some relief for businesses and other non-homestead properties.

The proposal that went down 7-7 in the House Community and Military Affairs Subcommittee would have added another non-school tax super exemption for primary homeowners. It also would have authorized the Legislature to increase homestead exemptions in the future.

"It lets the state bully local the governments and say 'We know best, we're going to take your money; you figure out how to fund all the things you need to do with less money,'" said Rep. Frederick Costello, R-Ormond Beach. "That's wrong."

Costello's comment drew a retort from Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights.

"This bill isn't bullying," Van Zant said. "In fact, it is defending our citizens to stop the decades of bullying through property taxes that have been invoked on them by local government."

Van Zant said the proposal sponsored by Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, should be passed as a step to eventually eliminating property taxes and replacing them with a sales tax increase.

Rep. Scott Randolph said that kind of piecemeal approach would reduce bond ratings, which would increase governmental borrowing costs, and cause taxes for non-homestead properties to go up.

The proposal is one of several attempts lawmakers have made, including Amendment 4, to reduce inequities that resulted from Save Our Homes amendment, which passed through a citizens initiative in the 1990s.

It put a 3 percent annual cap on assessment increases for primary homes. That's resulted in recent homebuyer paying larger tax bills than longtime beneficiaries of Save Our Homes although the market value of their houses may be the same. It's also meant non-homestead properties, including rentals and second homes, have paid more to make up for savings that have gone to primary homeowners.

Save Our Homes also discouraged homeowners from moving because they would have lost their Save Our Homes benefits. The Legislature proposed an amendment that voters adopted in 2008 to let homeowners to take some of their Save Our Homes benefits with them if they move to another home. It also set a 10 percent annual assessment cap for non-homestead property.

Amendment 4 would drop that cap to 5 percent.

Brodeur said his proposal would further reduce "the gross inequity that we have on property tax right now."

Opponents, including the Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties, argued it would do just the opposite by shifting more of the tax burden to non-homestead properties and away from homeowners.

An Associated Press report contributed to this story