There has never been a more threatening proposal to the way of life for Floridians than the “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes” tax reform. This legislation stands to strip local government of its ability to govern at the local level. Your right to elect, speak to, and have immediate local governmental impact where you live will be swept away under the charade of a promise of lower taxes. The Agriculture industry will be squashed into financial destitution and left exposed and vulnerable for development and golf courses, some of our Governor’s favorite things.
Adjusting the homestead exemption from the current $50,000 to $250,000 by 2028 and possibly up to $500,000, will completely decimate the homestead tax base revenue which is the primary vehicle for your local government to collect money and use it at a local level to make things happen in your community. The remaining funds would be forced to pay for police, sewer, infrastructure and a few other essential needs. At $500,000 homestead would exempt 92% of home owners to not pay taxes according to Ron DeSantise, and that shifts the burden onto every small business, renter, hotel, landlord, and a need for an increase in Florida sales tax to make up the difference. If the difference is not made up in other forms of taxation the county will need to shut down services that money was covering, such as libraries, little league sport parks, boat ramps, parades, and fireworks on the fourth of July.
This is a power play to force municipalities into an option of starvation or suicide. If they raise the taxes, they commit suicide because we started a revolution over that almost 250 years ago. If they do nothing and cut services some counties might limp on thanks to their size and some life support but the majority of counties will default on their bonds in time. This plays right into a preemption the state already has, Fl State Statute 218.503 Financial Emergency, which allows the governor’s office to take over and require the local government to need direct approval from the governor’s office for any financial decision. If local government tried to raise taxes, they realistically cannot anyway. Article VII, section 1 of the Florida Constitution reserves all taxing authority to the state for approval. If the state does not approve the taxation request, there is nothing the county can do, property taxation is the one sole revenue stream of local government that they have control over.
This leaves minimal maneuverability for local government, taxation on non-homestead entities will be the only source of revenue for any local government lucky enough to have these options available to them. The states two largest industries are the primary options for this increased taxation. Those are tourism, think rental homes, and Agriculture, think pasture land and equipment. Right now, agricultural land that is in use as an ag operation gets a tax break on the assessed value of the purchase price of the land, this does not mean the county couldn’t deliver an increase of Milage rate which must also be approved by the state. The last opportunity for local government taxation to fund itself would be Non-AD Valorum special assessments. This includes things like storm water management and agricultural runoff property services. As Agriculture is feeling financial pressure from all direction already with labor, fuel, insurance, and equipment costs all on the rise, something like a milage increase or special assessment fee for a large amount of acreage could be the final blow which slides a farm into being unprofitable. Many farmers have been forced to build housing for H2A workers due to labor shortages and that housing will not be protected under this legislation which creates a huge area of liability and expense for the majority of farmers using these programs which yet again raises labor costs and that cost will be directly extended into grocery store prices. The only way to get around those high grocery store prices is to buy from other countries like Mexico which further undermines out national security and America’s ability to feed itself. This is the kind of thing that turns agricultural land into development projects, not because a farmer chose to cash out, but because they were forced out.
To compare what a rural county has to offer vs an agricultural county let’s look at the largest and smallest counties in the state. Miami-Dade is the largest county with 2,802,029 residents and 270 parks and green spaces. Lafayette County is the smallest with 8,792 residents and 1 park which has everything, baseball fields, walking paths all in one. Now Miami’s parks might sound excessive but if you break down how many parks per residents Miami’s number is worse than Lafayette. Miami gets 10,377 residents per park. Miami creates 4.3 billion in tax revenue and Lafayette County produces 5-6 million in tax revenue. Now take into account that Miami has a lot of tourism, and an international port to generate tax revenue and Lafayette has agriculture alone. Roughly 17% of that agricultural land in Lafayette is enrolled in some type of conservation program which has sold its development rights and exempts it from taxes which means there is even less to pull from when it comes to revenues.
According to Fortune.com there are around 29 counties that will be fiscally constrained by this legislation some included are, DeSoto, Jefferson, Hendry, Glades, Putnam, and Okeechobee, a statistical collapse of their budget due to the value of homes in the county and limited businesses to fall back on for tax revenue can be expected. Should this legislation pass a vote in November the rural and agricultural communities would be prime targets for State take over and a complete loss of local governance. Our third president Thomas Jefferson who is also the primary author of the Declaration of Independence believed above all else the most important thing to protect our republic was to keep government at the smallest local scale with diminishing power as it moved up to the state and nation. The current suggestion of tax reduction is a Trojan horse that would establish a foundation for the undermining of our states ability to govern itself at a local level as well as protect our greatest national security threat, our ability to feed ourselves. The Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes proposal is the biggest threat to Florida and Agriculture we have ever faced. It will require Floridians to show the state elected officials that we can come together and communicate, that they have not divided us into believing whatever a certain side says is right or wrong and that Florida is a state that believes in something. We cannot choose to vote for money, or to be right and the ‘other side’ wrong, or pride. This vote requires character, grit, and the will to bring a better solution to the table rather than the easiest one. Vote no for “lower” taxes.
Written by John Taylor
Edited by Janyel Taylor
The Veranda View 