To Dismay of Some in Florida, Legislators Cut Property Taxes

NY Times ^ | June 15, 2007 | ABBY GOODNOUGH and CHRISTINE JORDAN SEXTON

[Pharmboy]

MIAMI, June 14 — Addressing rising anger about the cost of owning a home in Florida — and the recent troubles of the state’s real estate industry — the Legislature on Thursday approved a plan for a property tax cut it said would be the largest in state history.

The plan was championed by Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican who has vowed to make taxes “drop like a rock,” and Marco Rubio, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, who has made property-tax relief the main goal of his first year in power.

The cost of the package was initially estimated to be $31.6 billion over five years, but a last-minute change pushed by Republicans in the Senate may have blunted the savings by as much as $7 billion.

Even so, many local governments that levy property taxes said it would ravage their budgets, potentially forcing layoffs of police officers and firefighters and deep cuts to public schools. Some counties and cities have raised the possibility of a legal challenge.

Florida does not have an income tax, and lawmakers did mention imposing one to make up for lost property tax revenue. Republican leaders had hoped to substantially decrease or even eliminate property taxes in exchange for a sharp sales tax increase. But that idea proved too controversial.

[aculeus]

bttt

[gcruse]

Precisely. The NYT knows no shame. Thing is, they’ve blown their cover so many times they may as well put on black face. It’s a minstrel show with snake oil sponsors.

[SunkenCiv]

Lowering property taxes is one way to increase property value (a little bit), but mostly leads to more rental property construction and a long term decline in residential property value (if that’s possible in the presence of so many trailers).