Investors – Earn 18% Return on Investment – GUARANTEED!I know it sounds like a gimmicky sales pitch but I’m not going to make a dime off this one. I just want to keep my readers informed. Orange County (Orlando Area) recently held their tax certificate auction and believe it or not – they didn’t have enough investors to purchase all of the tax certificates. As a result, they’re holding another auction with some slightly different rules Read more Bookmark This Post
Amendment 1 Florida Property Tax Questions & Answers
Additional Homestead ExemptionBookmark This Post
Florida House to consider tiered property tax planTALLAHASSEE, Fla. – May 11, 2007 – In an opinion piece published today in The Orlando Sentinel newspaper, Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio signaled a shift in the House’s approach to property tax reform, introducing the concept of a homestead exemption based on a home’s value.During the regular session, the House, under Rubio, pushed a property tax reform plan that would get rid of property taxes for homeowners in exchange for a sales tax increase as high as 2.5 percent. Rubio says that proposal stemmed from three House goals: reduce local government taxing and spending, provide significant and immediate relief to taxpayers, and give Floridians statewide the opportunity to vote for meaningful and comprehensive property-tax reform. However, Rubio also says the House “would support any plan that met those three goals and was more focused on the taxpayer than the tax collector. “During the past few weeks, Rep. David Simmons (R-Maitland) suggested an idea that met the House’s policy goals, and offered an opportunity for opponents of the House plan to reconsider their objections,†Rubio said in today’s editorial. “The House is now considering a variation of (Simmons) idea of dramatically increased homestead exemptions based on a percentage of the value of the home.†The system works similar to the IRS’s tiered income tax system. All homes would have the same tax savings on the first $300,000 of value, for example, giving workforce housing the maximum deduction. But a home’s proportional property tax savings would go down for homes worth more. Rubio offers an example, which seems to be his preferred amount of tax shielding, though he also seems willing to negotiate with other House members as well as the Senate. In the opinion piece, his plan offers substantial savings to most Florida homeowners along with significant cuts to local governments’ coffers. Rubio’s example calls for 80 percent of a home’s value to be shielded for the initial $300,000. On the next $700,000 of value, 70 percent would be exempt. Any home worth less than $1 million but more than $300,000, then, would be taxed at two different rates. Homes worth more than $1 million would pay proportionally more – a tax exemption of only 30 percent for the home’s value that exceeds $1 million, and a total property tax bill calculated using three different tax rates. Examples using Rubio’s numbers: 1. $300,000 (market value) home: 80 percent shielded from property taxes, making the taxable value $60,000. The county or city’s millage rate would then be applied to the $60,000 only. 2. $1 million (market value) home: 80 percent shielded up to $300,000 as it was in example No. 1, for $60,000. That must be added to a taxable value of $210,000, calculated by taking the remaining $700,000 ($1 million minus $300,000), which has a 70 percent shield. Add $210,000 and $60,000 to get a total taxable value of $270,000. 3. $3 million (market value) home: The two taxable values in No. 2 apply for the value of the home up to $1 million, for $270,000. Add that to $1.4 million, calculated by taking the remaining $2 million and shielding it by only 30 percent. $1.4 million plus $270,000 equals a taxable value of $1.67 million. For homesteaded properties, the Save Our Homes amendment’s tax savings could go away, but Rubio claims that 90 percent of these homeowners would actually end up paying less in property taxes under the new plan anyway, and “the average beneficiary of this approach would see his or her tax bill cut in half.†Commercial and non-homesteaded property owners would be taxed under a similar approach under this idea. Rubio did not recommend a specific tax rate, but it would probably be higher. According to Rep. Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park), head of the House’s committee charged with working out a property tax compromise bill with Senate leaders, the general concept of tying property-tax cuts to a percentage of property values “seems to be something that we both (House and Senate) have economic and philosophical support for.†Two key issues will impact any compromise, however – the drop in tax revenue local governments would be expected to absorb, and whether a tax increase elsewhere, such as sales taxes, would be needed to make up for any deficit. “If it’s such a huge revenue impact that we just have to go back to the drawing board and make up for it with sales tax, we’re going to have a difficult time coming together,†says Sen. Mike Haridopolos (R-Melbourne) the Senate’s lead negotiator. Still, Haridopolos did not reject the plan altogether. Cannon says there is beauty in the methodology of a percentage-base property tax because “you can tailor it. … It doesn’t necessitate a replacement revenue source altogether. It also doesn’t rule it out, either.†Source: The Orlando Sentinel, writers Mark Schlueb and John Kennedy, state Rep. Marco Rubio, May 11, 2007***As always, the latest in Real Estate News as it pertains to Spring Hill Real Estate, Brooksville Real Estate, Weeki Wachee Real Estate, Hernando Beach North Real Estate, Hernando Beach South Real Estate, and Hudson Beach Real Estate. – Brought to you by Hernando Luxury Homes, Your Luxury Real Estate Leader in Hernando County, Florida and Pasco County, Florida.  Bookmark This Post
Amendment drive seeks to add ‘portability’ to tax breakSince this year’s Florida Legislature did not address the matter of property tax portability, the ability to transfer property tax savings accrued from the state’s Save Our Homes amendment, Lee County Property Appraiser Ken Wilkinson says he will try to do so through a citizens’ initiative that would amend the Florida Constitution if approved by voters in 2008.Click HERE to read the full story. ***As always, the latest in Real Estate News as it pertains to Spring Hill Real Estate, Brooksville Real Estate, Weeki Wachee Real Estate, Hernando Beach North Real Estate, Hernando Beach South Real Estate, and Hudson Beach Real Estate. – Brought to you by Hernando Luxury Homes, Your Luxury Real Estate Leader in Hernando County, Florida and Pasco County, Florida. Bookmark This Post
Leaders might double road impact feeThe fee for a single-family detatched home is now just under $4,000. The proposal would raise the fee to $8,000. Other proposed increases could raise the total for a new home by 60 percent. By CHUIN-WEI YAP and DAVID DeCAMP County officials are thinking of doubling road impact fees. The proposed move, combined with other proposed fee increases, would raise total impact fees from $12,000 per home now to $19,000. The road impact fee increase will be proposed in a draft report due to be completed Friday. Road impact fees vary widely, depending on the home or business, but the benchmark indicator is a single-family detached home, currently $3,928. The proposal is to increase the fee to $8,000. “We’re talking about doubling it,” said Michele Baker, the county’s administrator for engineering services. “That’s mostly because construction costs have doubled in the last two years.” The news of the latest proposed increase comes a day after commissioners added $3,000 to impact fees for parks, water and sewer services and law enforcement projects. If the road impact fee recommendation also comes to pass, this means new residents face $19,000 in impact fees overall – a nearly 60 percent increase. Impact fees vary widely from county to county, depending on how built-out it is and what types of services are charged. A broad comparison: Pasco currently charges $12,000 on a single-family home. Hernando County charges $9,200. Pinellas County charges $2,100. In Pasco, the proposed road impact fee increase also is blamed on an expected $7-million shortfall in revenue next fiscal year, largely because of the decline in residential growth this year. Sales have dropped 15 percent to 75 percent among builders, said Alex Mourtakos, president of the Pasco Building Association. Revenue from road impact fees went from $29-million in 2004-05 to $37-million in the current fiscal year but is expected to fall to $30-million in 2006-07, said Manny Lajmiri of Pasco’s Metropolitan Planning Organization. The county also has reduced its list of planned road projects because it reflects many outdated schedules. “None of those dates can really be depended on,” Baker said. Projects to be dropped include the Moon Lake Road widening, the completion of the Ridge Road extension to the Suncoast Parkway and improvements to Power Line Road and Clinton Avenue in the Dade City area. Baker said these projects would be reworked into a longer-range road improvement plan. “This is staff’s first cut at it,” Baker said. “(County Administrator John) Gallagher has seen it, and he doesn’t like it. He wants the projects done more quickly.” The report on road fee revisions, by Tindale-Oliver & Associates of Tampa, will be presented to Gallagher and key county staff members before it makes its way to county commissioners. The report also will include recommendations to phase in the changes over a period of years – possibly six – and to index future increases to some form of market indicator, Baker said. “We could be looking at adoption by the end of the calendar year,” Baker said. Since the burden of impact fee hikes fall on new consumers, the report also includes recommendations on reduced fee schedules to preserve some semblance of affordable housing in Pasco, Baker said. Mourtakos said the fee hikes are so new that the association has not had time to discuss whether to challenge the increases. “It would be foolhardy for me to sit here and not say the people who are agreeing to build houses will pass on the cost to the consumer,” Mourtakos said. Times staff writer Will Van Sant contributed to this report. ***As always, the latest in Real Estate News as it pertains to Spring Hill Real Estate, Brooksville Real Estate, Weeki Wachee Real Estate, Hernando Beach North Real Estate, Hernando Beach South Real Estate, and Hudson Beach Real Estate. – Brought to you by Hernando Luxury Homes, Your Luxury Real Estate Leader in Hernando County, Florida and Pasco County, Florida. Bookmark This Post
Governor’s group reviews Save Our Homes tax break, other issuesTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Aug. 16, 2006 — Realtors and other members of Gov. Jeb Bush’s Property Tax Reform Committee met for the first time Tuesday to discuss ways to deal with property tax inequities resulting from the Save Our Homes amendment approved by voters in 1992. “We covered the basics in this meeting — what our charge is, the restrictions on what we can and can’t do, and reviewed information from the Florida Department of Revenue and the Florida Association of Counties,” says Realtor Cynthia Shelton of Lake Mary, director of investment sales for Colliers Arnold. “We’ll be meeting once a month at public meetings to be scheduled around the state. We plan to allow 30 minutes for public comment at each meeting, and we’d really like to hear from people coming forward with possible solutions to some of these issues.” Realtor Dennis Nelson of Wellington, who works with the Keyes Company, also serves on the 15-member committee. Realtors bring a lot of resources and valuable expertise to the table, says Shelton. The group’s goal is to offer recommendations to the next Florida governor and state lawmakers on how to deal with Save Our Homes and other property tax issues by Dec. 1, 2007. Bush also asked the committee to take a look at increases in local government property tax revenues. Shelton says the group should serve as a bridge between two groups — a Department of Revenue study of the same issues ordered by the Legislature and the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission that will meet for the first time in 2007, as required by the Florida Constitution. Speaking to the group, Lee County Property Appraiser Kenneth M. Wilkinson, who led the Save Our Homes campaign, said he supports the idea of allowing homeowners to take the tax break with them if they move to another home in the state, called portability, but suggests the cap be limited according to the percentage of the old home’s sale price that is represented by its taxable value. “The purpose of Save Our Homes was to provide a safety net,” Wilkinson said. “I can’t imagine what it would be like in our state today if we were without it.” Save Our Homes limits annual increases in assessed value of homesteads — homes lived in by their owners — to 3 percent or the percentage growth in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. As a result, it has shifted more of the tax burden to owners of newly purchased homes, second homes and businesses. Another issue: recent homebuyers pay more in tax than owners who have lived in homes of equal market value for a longer time. Some residents are afraid to move because they will lose their accumulated Save Our Tax benefit. “From my perspective, as a Realtor, a business person and a homeowner, I’ve benefited from Save Our Homes since I’ve lived in my home for many years,” Shelton said. “But, my being able to receive that means that someone else is bearing a bigger share of the load. Is there a way to balance the intent of Save Our Homes with what’s happening to new Florida homeowners or to those who would like to move to a different home? We’ve got to consider the potential consequences.” Legislation was introduced this year to let homeowners take the tax break with them when moving but only within the boundaries of a county. It did not pass but is likely to come up again next year. The Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) supports limited portability, provided local governments have a choice in the matter. FAR also supports allowing homeowners to move Save Our Homes tax savings to new homes when they are forced to move by the exercise of eminent domain. FAR also supports allowing homeowners to repair and replace homes damaged in casualty events without losing the Save Our Homes tax savings. ***As always, the latest in Real Estate News as it pertains to Spring Hill Real Estate, Brooksville Real Estate, Weeki Wachee Real Estate, Hernando Beach North Real Estate, Hernando Beach South Real Estate, and Hudson Beach Real Estate. – Brought to you by Hernando Luxury Homes, Your Luxury Real Estate Leader in Hernando County, Florida and Pasco County, Florida. Bookmark This Post
Latest Updates (click below to view!)
Deal of the Day
Communities by Type
Communities by Name
New Construction / Builders
County Clerks Offices
County Property Appraisers
County Property AppraisersRecently Previewed Homes
Featured Listings
Neighborhood Sales Reports
Search Site
New Resident Information Package
Latest Blog Entries
Blog Post Categories
Blog Archives
Links of Interest
Who We Are
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
