How are you going to Vote on Amendment 1?

Here's an editorial from someone who is not on "Charlie's List."

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DAN GELBER
Democratic Leader of the Florida House

On Jan. 29 Floridians will get a chance to vote on the tax amendment crafted by the Florida Legislature. I'm voting No because the choice the Legislature gave Floridians makes no sense to me.

• It requires voters to choose to fund a too-small tax break with scarce public education dollars.

• It greatly exacerbates an already unequal tax system.

• It delivers modest relief at the expense of reform, when we should be striving to deliver real tax relief through true reform.

How is it that a state considered by every index to be a low tax state finds itself in the midst of a bona fide tax crisis? The answer, simply put, is that Florida has created gross inequities in its tax burden. Over the last decade, the Legislature handed out close to $20 billion in special-interest tax exemptions and corporate giveaways. While it was giving away your money, the same Legislature was increasing your school property tax and shifting more of the burden of government to your counties and cities and, ultimately, onto local property owners.

But rather than directly address this dynamic, the Legislature crafted a measure that will only exacerbate the current inequities in our tax code.

Under the new plan, homeowners with homestead exemptions who already receive protected status through the Save Our Homes 3 percent tax cap will be able to take their SOH savings with them if they move -- a concept known as ''portability.'' This means that almost all the relief will go to homeowners who purchased their homes many years ago, while homeowners who purchased or moved in the last few years (or in future years) when home prices were highest will forever be paying a much greater share of the tax burden. I have always supported portability -- but only if it is part of a reform that addresses the inequities in the tax burden, by providing relief to new and future homeowners as well.

Additionally, by creating a tax system that guarantees similarly situated neighbors will always pay grossly different amounts of taxes, the Legislature has opened up Florida's tax plan, including the original SOH amendment, to constitutional challenge. Ironically, last year the Legislature hired a renowned tax expert to advise us on what kind of portability Florida could implement without offending constitutional notions of fairness. While he gave us lots of advice in his 93-page report, his primary advice was to stay away from exactly the kind of portability we placed on the January ballot.

While the proposed amendment addresses homeowners, it totally ignores everyone else. Businesses and snowbirds who already pay more since the SOH tax cap doesn't apply to them, will see increases. And renters will get the worst deal -- they will continue to pay property taxes indirectly without the benefit of any tax cap and end up not even owning the asset they are paying taxes on. Ouch!

Unfairness is not the only problem with the Jan. 29 plan. While the Legislature could have drafted an amendment that held public education harmless, it chose instead to fund tax relief with lots of public education dollars. The Legislature's own Economic & Demographic Research Center calculated that if Floridians adopt the Jan. 29 amendment, Florida's public education system will lose billions of dollars over the next five years. Why should we take that much out of a system that already ranks last in per-capita education spending and that has had the worst high school graduation rate in the nation for three consecutive years?

Perhaps the best reason why you should vote No on Jan. 29 is that this is one of those occasions where you should hold out for a better plan. If the amendment passes, most assuredly we will never get tax relief and reform. We will have created too many winners and losers such that there will never be another opportunity to achieve the necessary 60 percent approval of voters to amend the Florida Constitution.

I hope that the state's Taxation & Budget Reform Commission, a citizen group that has the authority to put measures on the ballot for approval, will have the courage to review the billions in tax breaks that the Legislature gave special interests and rebalance our tax code so that property owners get a real break.

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Here's an editorial from someone who is not on "Charlie's List."

--------------------------------------------------------------

DAN GELBER
Democratic Leader of the Florida House

On Jan. 29 Floridians will get a chance to vote on the tax amendment crafted by the Florida Legislature. I'm voting No because the choice the Legislature gave Floridians makes no sense to me.

? It requires voters to choose to fund a too-small tax break with scarce public education dollars.

? It greatly exacerbates an already unequal tax system.

? It delivers modest relief at the expense of reform, when we should be striving to deliver real tax relief through true reform.

How is it that a state considered by every index to be a low tax state finds itself in the midst of a bona fide tax crisis? The answer, simply put, is that Florida has created gross inequities in its tax burden. Over the last decade, the Legislature handed out close to $20 billion in special-interest tax exemptions and corporate giveaways. While it was giving away your money, the same Legislature was increasing your school property tax and shifting more of the burden of government to your counties and cities and, ultimately, onto local property owners.

But rather than directly address this dynamic, the Legislature crafted a measure that will only exacerbate the current inequities in our tax code.

Under the new plan, homeowners with homestead exemptions who already receive protected status through the Save Our Homes 3 percent tax cap will be able to take their SOH savings with them if they move -- a concept known as ''portability.'' This means that almost all the relief will go to homeowners who purchased their homes many years ago, while homeowners who purchased or moved in the last few years (or in future years) when home prices were highest will forever be paying a much greater share of the tax burden. I have always supported portability -- but only if it is part of a reform that addresses the inequities in the tax burden, by providing relief to new and future homeowners as well.

Additionally, by creating a tax system that guarantees similarly situated neighbors will always pay grossly different amounts of taxes, the Legislature has opened up Florida's tax plan, including the original SOH amendment, to constitutional challenge. Ironically, last year the Legislature hired a renowned tax expert to advise us on what kind of portability Florida could implement without offending constitutional notions of fairness. While he gave us lots of advice in his 93-page report, his primary advice was to stay away from exactly the kind of portability we placed on the January ballot.

While the proposed amendment addresses homeowners, it totally ignores everyone else. Businesses and snowbirds who already pay more since the SOH tax cap doesn't apply to them, will see increases. And renters will get the worst deal -- they will continue to pay property taxes indirectly without the benefit of any tax cap and end up not even owning the asset they are paying taxes on. Ouch!

Unfairness is not the only problem with the Jan. 29 plan. While the Legislature could have drafted an amendment that held public education harmless, it chose instead to fund tax relief with lots of public education dollars. The Legislature's own Economic & Demographic Research Center calculated that if Floridians adopt the Jan. 29 amendment, Florida's public education system will lose billions of dollars over the next five years. Why should we take that much out of a system that already ranks last in per-capita education spending and that has had the worst high school graduation rate in the nation for three consecutive years?

Perhaps the best reason why you should vote No on Jan. 29 is that this is one of those occasions where you should hold out for a better plan. If the amendment passes, most assuredly we will never get tax relief and reform. We will have created too many winners and losers such that there will never be another opportunity to achieve the necessary 60 percent approval of voters to amend the Florida Constitution.

I hope that the state's Taxation & Budget Reform Commission, a citizen group that has the authority to put measures on the ballot for approval, will have the courage to review the billions in tax breaks that the Legislature gave special interests and rebalance our tax code so that property owners get a real break.

LOL! At least I know someone is reading this stuff.

LOL! At least I know someone is reading this stuff.

Yeah, and understanding this stuff too....that's why we're voting No.


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SHELL

If you are voting no....I am voting no !!

Yeah, and understanding this stuff too....that's why we're voting No.
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Vote however you want. But do not believe that many understand.

Vote however you want. But do not believe that many understand.

I KNOW that many don't understand...that's why so many in this state ended up with exploding mortgages. Far too many relied on "professionals" telling them what they wanted to hear. Then when the 'fit hit the shan' the "professionals" just rocked back on their heels and said, "They're adults, they can read, they 'should have known' what they were signing. It's their own fault that they're being kicked to the curb."

If this thing passes, I can see Charlie when this tax-relief 'fit hits the shan.' He'll rock back on his heels and say, "Well the voters wanted it, they're adults, they 'should have known' what they were voting for. It's their own fault that the schools and public services are going down the drain."

I'm voting 'No' so Florida will have another opportunity to get this tax thing right--and come up with a plan that doesn't require a $1,000 a plate fundraiser at Trump Tower in New York City and a $10-a-head Florida State Beg-a-thon to drum up support.

BTW Walt, did you send in your $10?

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SHELL

If you are voting no....I am voting no !!

And if I jump off a cliff......


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I'll be right behind you.........looking down !!

I'll be right behind you.........looking down !!

Thanks.




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Shelly, thanks for that article, very informative. I see no reason to re-quote it in it's entirety, though I will pass it along.

What other non-partisan items are on the ballot?

BTW Walt, did you send in your $10?
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No. As a long time beneficiary of SOH my tax bill is insignificant. I really do feel for those people that have second homes and such that were not limited by SOH. And I am getting postcards from the unions stating that this tax cut is being done to benefit second homeowners. Like that is a bad thing.

January 15th quite a few of the local officials will be speaking to the tax cut issue in DeFuniak Springs, 6 PM, Community Center. Will be interesting to see what position they take, if any.

What other non-partisan items are on the ballot?

That is it. Pick a preference for Prez and vote on the amendment. Absentee ballots are out so you can stop by now and vote, or wait until the 14th when early voting starts.

That is it. Pick a preference for Prez and vote on the amendment. Absentee ballots are out so you can stop by now and vote, or wait until the 14th when early voting starts.

Preference being the operative word. As a registered Democrat, my primary vote won't even count. Yours, Walton GOP, only counts by half, isn't that right?

Preference being the operative word. As a registered Democrat, my primary vote won't even count. Yours, Walton GOP, only counts by half, isn't that right?

Yes the Republican delegates have been reduced in half to 57. This rule change though is also interesting.

In the event that the RNC imposes the 50 percent delegate cut, Florida's 57 delegates will be Winner Takes All, selected by the Chairman (as opposed to current hybrid of selection by Congressional District caucuses and At Large appointments), and the WTA delegates will bound to that winner for the first 3 rounds of voting.

The way I understand this is that no matter who wins in the panhandle, it is going to be the more popuilous portions of the State that determine who gets the delegates. In the past this area always seemed to go with a much more conservative candidate than the rest of the State.

No. As a long time beneficiary of SOH my tax bill is insignificant. I really do feel for those people that have second homes and such that were not limited by SOH. And I am getting postcards from the unions stating that this tax cut is being done to benefit second homeowners. Like that is a bad thing.

January 15th quite a few of the local officials will be speaking to the tax cut issue in DeFuniak Springs, 6 PM, Community Center. Will be interesting to see what position they take, if any.

I would harbor a guess and say they will take the same stance they took at the last city council meeting where the City Manager said it was a temporary solution and advise voters to vote no on the Amendment.

I would harbor a guess and say they will take the same stance they took at the last city council meeting where the City Manager said it was a temporary solution and advise voters to vote no on the Amendment.

I will guarantee they will say vote "no," so there's no need to waste your gas on the trip. All the counties are opposed to Amendment 1 because it is money out of their pocket.

Now, if you attend the next Realtor's prayer meeting, you'll hear the opposite.


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Governor Charlie Crist is going to be hosting a conference call to discuss the importance of the Yes On 1 Property Tax Amendment and highlight key points of the amendment. The call will begin promptly at 6:45p.m. (EST) on Thursday, January 10, 2008. The information for this call is listed below. The call will be open to everyone who would like to participate.

Conference telephone number:
888-791-4326

Confirmation Code: 4112725
Title: Yes on 1 with Gov. Charlie Crist (This is what the participants should tell the operators when they call in)


5:45PM CST

is there any one out there that thinks the amendment passing will improve the local and overall housing/commercial markets?

is there any one out there that thinks the amendment passing will improve the local and overall housing/commercial markets?

The Florida Association of Realtors for one....they've got a Million Bucks riding on it.



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is there any one out there that thinks the amendment passing will improve the local and overall housing/commercial markets?

If I understood correctly, it only means $240 per home. I don't think that pays the AC & water bill for the typical Watercolor house.

I will guarantee they will say vote "no," so there's no need to waste your gas on the trip. All the counties are opposed to Amendment 1 because it is money out of their pocket.
Now, if you attend the next Realtor's prayer meeting, you'll hear the opposite.

What is a solution then? Government is against cutting taxes so they will have more to spend. Citizens are against it because it does not meet some definition of real reform. So if we do nothing, then the spending continues.

If I understood correctly, it only means $240 per home. I don't think that pays the AC & water bill for the typical Watercolor house.

Average savings. I doubt homes in Watercolor are average priced. It certainly is not an average neighborhood.

is there any one out there that thinks the amendment passing will improve the local and overall housing/commercial markets?

I really believe it could have a positive effect on the real estate market. It would seem that so does the Florida Association of Realtors.

http://www.yeson1florida.com/resources/downloads/yeson1_comparison_chart.pdf

Average savings. I doubt homes in Watercolor are average priced. It certainly is not an average neighborhood.

All things being equal, if it only exempts the first $50,000 that means the savings for the Watercolor owner living in a $7.5M home will be the same as the owner living in a $175K townhouse...no?


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