A Miami-based citizens' group with some influential backers is preparing to launch a statewide
petition drive for a constitutional amendment to lower property taxes.
BY KATHLEEN
McGRORY AND MARY ELLEN KLAS
Members of a South Florida citizens' group with some influential backing
have a message for state lawmakers: Lower property taxes soon or we'll do it ourselves.
Citizens
for Property Tax Reform announced Thursday it is prepared to raise and spend more than $2 million to put a tax-cut amendment
before voters on the 2008 primary ballot. The group has established a campaign headquarters.
Supporting
the cause: the powerful Latin Builders Association.
The challenge is daunting: They must gather
and verify more than 611,000 signatures for a yet-to-be written proposal that lowers property taxes enough to win the approval
of 60 percent of voters.
The group's call for action comes at a time when the House and Senate,
unable to solve the inequities of the current property tax system, are scheduled to meet next month in a special session in
Tallahassee solely to work on property tax reform.
House Speaker Marco Rubio, who raised expections
in the Legislature earlier this year when he proposed eliminating property taxes altogether, met with the group last week
and supports its efforts. He said it ''adds to the pressure'' to find a solution.
At
a Thursday morning press conference in Little Havana, the citizens' group outlined the proposal. It calls for seniors
to pay 30 percent of their assessed tax bill, homesteaded-property owners to pay 40 percent and commercial and investment
property owners to pay 50 percent.
Bernie Navarro, the group's chairman, knows there's
much work to be done before the measure appears on any ballot, but he says there's no shortage of outrage among property
owners over the property tax issue.
MOMENTUM
''I've
gotten calls from people in Jacksonville, people in St.
Petersburg,'' he said. ``We've got a lot of momentum. We could really get somewhere.''
Citizens for Property Tax Reform was founded earlier this year when Navarro, a west Miami-Dade mortgage executive,
and two friends traveled to Tallahassee to observe Florida lawmakers tackling property taxes.
The group is heavily backed by
the Latin Builders Association and Miami-based supporters of Rubio, embracing the lawmaker's original plan to swap a hike
in sales tax with eliminating all taxes on homesteaded properties.
The measure was rejected by
Gov. Crist and the Senate.
MIAMI IS `HOTBED'
Rubio now predicts that if
legislators don't resolve their differences, more groups will sprout up around the state. ''Miami is one of the hotbeds
of property tax because it's a particularly egregious problem here,'' he said.
Next
month, lawmakers are set to debate several proposals to lower property taxes.
Rubio supports creating
a super-sized exemption on homesteaded property, which would be based on each home's market value.
All primary homeowners would pay a base rate of 20 percent on the market value of the home, up to $300,000. Owners
of more expensive homes would pay 30 percent on the portion between $301,000 and $1 million and 70 percent on the portion
beyond $1 million.
Democrats have countered with a plan that gives homesteaded property owners
their existing $25,000 exemption plus a write-off that's equivalent to half the median value of a home in their county.
Rubio said Thursday he is looking at another option that would take pieces of the Democrats' plan but expand
it to give heftier tax breaks to owners of higher-priced homes.
Under Rubio's new option:
• Homeowners would get a super-exemption of 75 percent of the median value
of a home in their county unless they are over age 65, in which case their tax exemption would be 90 percent.
• Homes whose market value is between median value in the county and twice
the median value would get an exemption worth 50 percent the median value;
• Homes
worth more than twice the median value would get a 25 percent exemption on their taxes.
FAIRNESS
Rubio said he sought the option because he is concerned about the impact a flat percentage would have on small cities
and counties and because a fixed number in the constitution would require constant change.
He
said he will not back off the notion that all homeowners, regardless of the value of their homes, deserve a substantial tax
break.
''The purpose of our tax system is not to redistribute wealth,'' he said.
``We're not doing this to start class warfare. Someone with a $12 million home can be paying unfair taxes as
much as someone with a $200,000 home.''
