It's not all that we expected but it's a start to build real TAX Reform. We encourage you to vote YES on 1 and support the proposed "Citizens Initiative" for real tax reform that we hope will be on the ballot in November 2008
Click on the link to see a Comparison for Yes on 1.
http://www.yeson1florida.com/resources/downloads/yeson1_comparison_chart.pdf
Floridians, our fate is in our hands. Passage of Amendment 1 will return money to homeowners right away and put nearly $10 billion back into Florida’s economy over the next five years.
This tax cut is in addition to the $15 billion property tax cut created during a June special legislative session that rolled back property taxes to 2006 levels.
Amendment 1 benefits those who want to move into a different home, seniors seeking to downsize, and business owners facing rising property values.
Have you been dreaming of moving into a bigger house because your family is growing? Have you lived in your home for years and are looking to buy a smaller home because the kids have grown up and moved to a new city? The scenarios below can help explain how the property tax cut from Amendment 1 will save your money.
Looking for a larger house?
If you bought a house for $95,000 in 1995 and its current market value now is $300,000 and the assessed value is only $150,000-- you could transfer the full $150,000 difference to buy a more expensive home.
If the purchase of your new home costs $400,000, you would be paying about $6,300 in taxes without portability. But with the tax savings from Amendment 1 including the Save our Homes portability and the double homestead exemption, the new annual taxes would be about half or $3,600.
Want to downsize?
Under the new tax plan, portability also will apply if you want to move to a less expensive property. Instead of transferring the difference, your transfer will be your existing Save our Home percentage.
For example, if you live in a $300,000 house with an assessed value of $150,000, you pay taxes on $125,000 or about $2,100. If you wanted to move to a $200,000 condo the savings will be significant.
In this case, you would bring 50% or $100,000 in savings that reduces your assessed value to $100,000 on the new property. With the newly increased $50,000 homestead exemption from Amendment 1, the taxable value for all local government taxes other than school taxes would fall to $50,000. The new total annual tax bill would be about $1,000 or about half of the old tax bill.
