Florida TaxWatch Backs Senate Reform Proposal

Florida TaxWatch is calling the Florida Senate's proposed property tax reforms "a good step in the right direction."

The reform legislation, which is on the Senate Finance and Tax Committee's April 17 agenda, includes a property tax roll back, a cap on government spending and a $25,000 tangible personal property tax exemption.


Under the plan, property taxes would be rolled back to the 2005-2006 level and be frozen for one year. After that, annual government property tax revenues could not grow faster than population and income.

Florida TaxWatch, a nonpartisan research institute that tracks taxation, spending and public policy, noted that the Senate plan includes several provisions that Florida TaxWatch has already recommended, including the rollback of taxes and the $25,000 exemption on tangible personal property tax.

The group qualified its support by noting that inequities created by the Save Our Homes amendment, which caps the growth of a property's assessed value, have not been addressed.

"This plan is a good step in the right direction and will meet the Florida TaxWatch call for tax relief now," the group said in a written statement, "but most of the inequities created by [the] Save Our Homes amendment remain."

Source: Jacksonville Business Journal