As everyone probably already knows, the proposed Real Estate Tax Referendum, which basically rewrites a great portion of how property taxes will be calculated in the State of Florida, passed yesterday, January 29th, 2008, after being put to the voters, by a resounding 71% to 29% margin, at last count! Although comprised of four different changes to the tax law, the basic purpose of this piece of legislation was twofold: firstly to provide much needed tax relief to the average homeowner, who, due to rising property values, could simply no longer afford to pay ad valorem real estate taxes after a new home purchase; and secondly, as a result, give a shot in the arm to the sluggish Florida real estate market, by allowing homeowner’s “portability” of their existing tax base.
Rather than try to explain here the exact details of what we hope will be a landmark piece of legislation, I have included several links, directly to the Miami-Dade County public website portal: miamidade.gov, all relating directly to this topic.
Visit: http://enr2.clarityelections.com/Default.aspx?page=S&c=miamidade&eid=276 to see all Sepember 29th election results.
Visit: http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/library/2008TaxReformFAQ.pdf to read the specific changes encompassed by the amendment and to get an overview of the new tax reform.
Visit: http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/tax_estimator/PortCapStart.asp for more information on portability
and lastly visit: http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/tax_estimator/CapDiffNewTaxFinal.asp for an actual “Portability Calculator” where you can actually estimate your potential tax savings according to the new law!
We at EWM, as well as everyone in the real estate industry, are very excited at the prospective benefits of potential tax savings afforded by this new law to the average homeowner and/or homebuyer.