Jana Baldwin, Marlin Design and Construction, brings another interesting article about taxes to the board….
[Jana Baldwin is partner and marketing director for Marlin Design and Construction - Custom Residential Homes built in northwest Florida. You may visit www.marlindesignandconstruction.com to view the beautiful homes or call her at 850.545-7622 or 850.576-3978 for more information.]
Lawsuit challenges portability proposal: Pressure for more tax cuts
While the latest lawsuit is the first to question property tax portability through the courts, challenges to Florida’s Save Our Homes amendment are not new. “There have been challenges to Save Our Homes for 15 years, so we expected a lawsuit regarding portability,” says FAR Vice President of Public Policy John Sebree. “We see this as an opportunity – it puts pressure on the Legislature to go even further, targeting additional relief to first-time homebuyers and the non-homestead property owners who need it so desperately.”
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Feb. 14, 2008 – A lawyer for three new Florida homeowners has filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the portability portion of the Save Our Homes Amendment.
The plaintiffs, homeowners in Tallahassee, Port Charlotte and North Palm Beach, are also seeking tax refunds for themselves and other recent homebuyers, which could cost local governments and school districts billions of dollars.
Save Our Homes caps annual assessment increases at 3 percent for primary homes, or homesteads. That means the plaintiffs and other recent homebuyers are paying much higher taxes than longtime residents with homes of the same or similar value.
The amended lawsuit alleges Amendment 1, which voters adopted Jan. 29, increases the disparity through a “portability” provision that lets homesteaders take their Save Our Homes benefits with them when they move.
A state judge in Tallahassee last year dismissed a similar lawsuit by out-of-state owners of second homes in Florida that challenged Save Our Homes on grounds that it violates anti-discrimination provisions of the U.S. Constitution. An appeal is pending.
Gov. Charlie Crist, who touted the plan, said Wednesday he was confident the new tax-cutting proposal will withstand a legal challenge.
“Part of my confidence is based on the fact that Save Our Homes has been in existence since 1992,” Crist said. He said Amendment 1 is “an extension of that.”
Tags: Marlin Design and Construction, northwest florida, Residential Homes, Taxes
