Making Florida Property Taxes More Affordable & The Courage to Be Free – Top 3 Takeaways – February 28th, 2023
- Two pages. Two percent. You’re likely familiar with the sayings that the best things in life are free and that the best legislation is legislation which isn’t passed. Related, when there is policy which should be passed, it’s often the kind you can easily read and understand. For example, last year’s $1.7 trillion Omnibus spending plan passed by the federal government was over 4,100 pages of legalese that even the authors hadn’t fully read prior to passing it and that members of Congress literally didn’t have time to read prior to having voted on it. Conversely, last year’s Parental Rights in Education legislation in Florida, was only seven pages of good public policy which was easily understood. So much so that I literally read the legislation on-air as critics continued to lie in suggesting the legislation was a “Don’t Say Gay Bill”. Something which isn’t and never was in the legislation. So just as some of the best things in life are free, the best legislation is often short. And on that note the most straightforward piece of legislation I’ve ever read was just proposed in the Florida legislature for consideration in the upcoming state legislative session entitled: Homestead Assessments. The short but sweet legislation introduced by South Florida State Representative Juan Fernandez-Barquin is two pages which would limit the annual maximum increase in property taxes for homesteaded properties to two percent (down from the current three percent). As someone who opposes property taxes on principle (after all do you really ever own your property if the government can take it away from you if you don’t pay taxes annually to retain it?)...
- I’m supportive of any and all efforts to limit the burden of property taxes. While Florida ranks 25th nationally in property taxes, which when factored into not having a personal income tax looks especially good, that’s not at all the case in South Florida...where for example, in the Palm Beaches our effective property tax rate is 14% higher than the state average in addition to having more expensive property values driving still higher property tax assessments. In fact, Palm Beach County has higher property taxes than 93% of the country, a number which jumps to 95% when adjusted for median incomes. Few other places are homeowners are at greater risk of being taxed out of their home than where we live. So yes, two pages capping annual property tax increases to two percent on homesteaded properties is good public policy and should become law in Florida. And we should be evaluating the 10% maximum increase on non-homesteaded property as well. It’s long been a killer for many of our businesses and it’s been a hidden but huge driver of Florida’s rising rent rates often reaching unaffordable levels. After all, if landlords are forced to eat double-digit increases in property taxes, who ends up paying for it? And for the government officials who want to talk about rent control. How about starting with responsibly controlling how much you’re assessing in property taxes? They’re the most punitive, regressive and anti-American of all. And by any comparative measure they’re far too high here already.
- The Courage to Be Free. Today’s the day. While it’s the last day of February, it’s the beginning of Governor DeSantis’ book tour. One which many believe is the unofficial kickoff to a presidential campaign. As I mentioned when first announced last fall: Personal memoirs being published aren’t at all unusual with notable figures. Personal memoirs published by 44-year-olds are much more so. Personal memoirs published by a 44-year-old who will just be starting a second term as governor would qualify as highly unusual (as in it probably has never happened before). And then there’s the title and the premise. The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival. Now maybe DeSantis is hoping that Americans will read it and decide to implement the blueprint themselves. Possible. Maybe it’s that he intends to illustrate what he intends to run on as a platform for president. At this point that feels probable. So here we are. The lead line in selling this book states: No American leader has accomplished more for his state than Governor Ron DeSantis. Now he reveals how he did it. Much like the original billing, the choice of words would seemingly be suggestive. It’s in the past tense. He just started his second term and the state legislative session for this year will soon kick off. There is much more he can do for the state of Florida. And based on how aggressive he’s been in his proposed agenda heading into this year’s session, there’s much more he intends to do. But the question, which has been the question for months now, is how much longer does he intend to? With the book now officially released, the already loud rumors will grow louder. Speaking of which, what do you think Donald Trump’s review of the book will be? And how long before he delivers it?