Pinellas County Florida - Well all home owners, investors and others got some bad news today - Leon County Circuit Court ripped Amendment 5 off the November ballot. We still have a chance because the State will appeal the ruling and it will ultimately be decided by Florida's Supreme Court.
Govenor Crist Weigh's In on Court's Ruling
In the Florida Capital News Crist weighs in. Crist said Cooper's ruling "doesn't mean anything" because whichever side lost was certain to kick it up to the Supreme Court. "I was disappointed but not dismayed. It will be appealed - I think everybody knows that," said Crist. "I hope it stays on the ballot because I like the will of the people. I want them to weigh in. I want them to have that power because they're the boss."
The Florida Association of Realtors, which supported the amendment, decried Cooper's ruling saying "Homeownership is a fundamental right, and Floridians deserve a say on how their property is taxed," said Chuck Bonfiglio, president of the Florida Association of Realtors, in a prepared statement. "We are shocked that the court decided to deny property owners' the ability to dramatically lower their property tax rates."
We as Clearwater Realtors and home owners we are definitely planning to Vote YES for Amendment 5 Property taxes. We believe it's good for Clearwater Real Estate buyers, residents and renters because everyone should experience savings. We also believe it will help home sellers since it will make homes more affordable and more appealing to buyers who do not qualify for homestead exemptions.
Did you know that Florida property taxes have doubled over last 6 years?
Amendment 5 is proposing a sales tax 1% or less to fund education.
If approved it is predicted that Florida property owners could see 25-40% property tax deduction in 2010 if Amendment 5 had passed. This would help local Floridians across the board by sharing the cost of education with all local residents and tourists.
One of the most important things Amendment 5 will do for our clients (people buying vacation homes or invests in Clearwater Beach and the Clearwater area) is provide a 5% annual property tax cap on all non-homestead property (which was set at 10% this past February) It's important for Florida home owners to understand what's at stake.
Additional aritcles discussing Amendment 5 being removed from the ballot:
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Amendment 5 creates these projected savings for Tampa Bay property owners
- Hillsborough property owners = 23%,
- Pinellas County property owners = 25%
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Pasco property owners = 32%
Amendment 5 Property Tax Details
You can get more details on the Amendment 5 proposal at Give Me 5 Florida and the actual Amendment 5 property tax proposal. Benefits: Amendment 5 would have provided much-needed tax relief to Florida's seniors, many of whom fear losing their homes because of an inability to pay higher property taxes on a fixed income.
Amendment 5 proposal built on what Ammendment 1 already gave us:
- Portability
- +25K Homestead exemption
- 10% cap for non homestead property owners
Other articles of interest
- Pinellas County Real Estate matches up to Pinellas County Schools
- Get 25% more Property tax savings in November
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