Tax reforms faces snags

Floridians like the existing law that protects homeowners from steep property tax hikes and aren't eager to give breaks to the businesses and second-home owners who have been socked the hardest by property tax increases, a new poll says.

As state legislators prepare for a special session aimed at overhauling Florida's property tax system and cutting tax bills, the Zogby International poll conducted last week for The Palm Beach Post and other news organizations suggests that lawmakers and Gov. Charlie Crist will have to work to persuade voters to approve sweeping changes.

"This is not Howard Jarvis-Proposition 13 California," said pollster John Zogby, referring to that state's landmark 1978 property-tax revolt and its populist leader. "This is a completely different state, a completely different political culture. ... This is not going to be an easy sell."

In the poll of 801 likely Florida voters, 64 percent said they have saved money under the Save Our Homes law, which limits annual appraisal increases to 3 percent or less for a taxpayer's primary residence.

Legislative leaders want to force local governments to slash property taxes immediately. Then they plan to ask voters in January to approve a state constitution change replacing the Save Our Homes cap with bigger homestead exemptions.

Proponents say most homeowners would save more money with the new exemptions, while those who don't will be allowed to keep their Save Our Homes benefits.

Constitutional amendments require 60 percent of voters' approval for passage.

"I'd be very surprised if that doesn't occur," Crist said of the 60 percent threshold.

Noting the Zogby poll's confirmation of the popularity of the existing homestead appraisal cap, Crist said a key to winning support for a constitutional change will be assuring voters that "those who enjoy Save Our Homes may continue to do so."

Happy with Save Our Homes

Although the Save Our Homes law has insulated longtime homeowners from jarring tax hikes, its benefits vanish when a person moves to another home. Many homeowners have complained that the law hinders their ability to move, and 51 percent of poll respondents said they would support a plan that softens the tax blow on homeowners who relocate.

The Save Our Homes cap also doesn't protect business property, second homes and other non-homesteaded real estate. In Palm Beach County, 42 percent of residential properties do not have homestead exemptions, compared with 35 percent in St. Lucie County and 25 percent in Martin County. Tax bills have skyrocketed on many non-homesteaded properties across the state.

But only 29 percent of poll respondents said they consider the Save Our Homes law unfair to new homeowners and non-homesteaded property owners.

One of the poll's respondents, Fred Hotujec of Wellington, said he'd like to see a property tax break for people who move but wouldn't support one for non-homesteaded properties if it meant he'd lose services.

"I'm not that concerned about snowbirds or the businesspeople," Hotujec said. "The snowbirds are basically well-to-do people who are looking for a winter haven. That's fine if they can afford it. As for the businesspeople, they have a whole set of tax laws that benefit them. They have plenty of loopholes to take care of themselves. I don't think they need any more breaks."

In the poll, a slender plurality of respondents - 47 percent - said they would support "something that would give you less of tax savings in the future, but make the system more fair for buyers of new homes and owners of non-homesteaded properties." Disagreeing were 43 percent.

And 54 percent said they would oppose giving a property tax break to non-homesteaded properties if doing so would mean reducing local government services.

Certainty about services

The notion that cutting property taxes would force unpopular budget cuts has been a central argument of local governments in opposing tax cuts.

But most voters aren't buying the local governments' complaints. Only 43 percent of those polled said they believe they will lose local government services if property taxes are cut, while 52 percent disbelieved that proposition.

The telephone poll of people who identified themselves as likely voters, conducted Monday through Wednesday, has a 3.5 percent margin of error. The poll was commissioned by The Post, The Miami Herald, WPEC News 12 in West Palm Beach and WFOR CBS 4 in Miami.

The statewide poll included 160 voters from Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. These respondents and 247 other likely voters from those counties were included in a sample of 407 South Floridians. The South Florida poll has a 5 percent margin of error.

The South Florida results were similar to the statewide results on most of the property tax questions. But South Floridians were more likely to say property taxes have affected their decision on whether to move.

Half of South Floridians said they have considered moving within the state during the past two years, with 35 percent citing rising property taxes as the main reason. Statewide, 37 percent said they had considered moving, with only 10 percent citing property taxes.

When asked whether the prospect of losing the Save Our Homes benefit and taking a tax hit affected their moving plans, 47 percent of statewide respondents agreed and 49 percent disagreed. Among South Floridians, however, 54 percent agreed and 41 percent disagreed.

By the same 54-to-41 percent margin, South Floridians agreed they "would move to a new home if you could get a property tax break." Statewide, only 44 percent agreed and 52 percent disagreed.

Local, state leaders blamed

Local governments across the state have used increases in appraised value to boost spending faster than inflation and population have grown. Palm Beach County commissioners, for instance, have increased the property tax-financed portion of the general county budget by 37.7 percent since 2005 and 121.8 percent since 2000.

Local officials blame some of the spending growth on the state or shifting more expenses to local governments.

Poll respondents split about evenly when asked whom they trusted more on the property tax issue, with 40 percent choosing local governments, 39 siding with the state and 21 percent not sure. In South Florida, respondents favored the state government by a 42-to-39 percent margin.

Crist's handling of the property tax issue - he has said taxes should drop "like a rock" - got a positive review from 54 percent and negative marks from 35 percent. House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, and Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, both had negative ratings, with more than 40 percent of respondents saying they weren't sure.

Rubio said the overall poll results show that legislators will have to make the case to voters that the tax reform plan they come up with is better than the current system.

"There's a difference between public opinion and public judgment. ... Public judgment is what people come to believe after they've been given the benefit of both sides of the argument," Rubio said. He added: "This is not a sure thing. We never thought it was."

Pruitt said he has faith that lawmakers will come up with a plan that voters will endorse.

"What I've always found is that Floridians are just inherently fair," Pruitt said. "If they feel that it's fair, I've always found voters to be extremely reasonable."
Source : http://www.palmbeachpost.com