COMMENTARY

Not Everybody Needs A Tax Break

By DAVID REDDY

Published: Oct 11, 2007

Five or six years ago housing prices took off in Florida. Our nice four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath house began to look like a brilliant investment, made even better by the Save Our Homes tax cap.

Last year we got a new neighbor who paid more than twice what we had 11 years ago. Bad enough, but she also pays taxes on an assessed value that is twice as high as that on our house. Down the street and around the corner, the people who rent out their house and the people who own a business have been paying taxes on their full assessed value straight along.

Gov. Crist and the state Legislature are intent on making everyone happy by forcing local governments to roll back taxes. The trouble is they want to make so many people happy they can only afford to make them a little happy. It may be heresy, but my wife and I don't want the tax cut for homeowners. Give the money to people who bought their houses at the inflated prices of recent years and to those who don't qualify for the Save Our Homes cap.

Florida government can do something else for us and for the state's economy: Make the tax cap portable. Right now, we're in the catbird seat, but we're stuck there. If we decide to sell, maybe to get someplace that doesn't need as much upkeep, we face two problems. Houses aren't selling and, if we do manage to find someone to buy our house, we will face a much higher tax bill for the new place, even if it's worth less than our old house.

"Tough," you say. "Poor babies," you say. OK, but there are hundreds of thousands of homeowners like us who have the down payment and the credit rating to jumpstart the housing industry in Florida. Give us the opportunity to adjust our current circumstances without being stuck with double the property taxes and a lot of us might be interested.

"But," you say, "you'll be selling a house for every house you buy." True, but bringing thousands of qualified buyers into the market will firm up housing prices and maybe convince other buyers, who have been waiting for the bottom of the housing slump, that now is the time to buy. Of course, some people have no intention of ever moving and for some, any savings on property taxes could be important. They can be accommodated.

State leaders should consider giving a more substantial tax cut to those who need it most; recent homebuyers and property owners who don't qualify for the homestead exemption and allow long-term homeowners to adjust to their changing needs, both real benefits for the people of Florida.

David Reddy lives in Tampa and formerly served as a state folklorist and manager of the Florida Folk Festival.