Try looking at the Canadian Snowbird Association website @ snowbirds.org. I researched this site and others for my mother while she was looking for a vacation home in FL. I found the following 2 articles on property tax you may find interesting.
Florida Property Tax Reform
As any property owner in the state of Florida is aware, non-full-time residents pay a disproportionate rate of property taxes versus their full-time resident neighbours due to Florida's Homestead Act and the "save our homes" constitutional amendment.
As Florida does not have a state income tax, there is considerably more pressure put on property taxes to raise revenue for key government services which are primarily the responsibility of county governments.
Florida does permit municipalities to set the taxable value of properties at different levels for permanent and seasonal residents. Increasingly, those counties are passing along the costs to the snowbirds that are ineligible to vote.
There have been cases of snowbirds paying property taxes 10 times as high as those of permanent residents living nearby.
Florida's two-tier system is rooted partly in a "homestead" exemption that dates back many years. The exemption gives permanent residents of the state an automatic $25,000 reduction in the assessed value of their principal residence.
In addition, an amendment to the state constitution that went into effect in 1995 "Save Our Homes" caps the annual increase in assessed property values and taxes at 3 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. That too applies only to the principal residences of permanent Florida residents.
The CSA has been lobbying Governor Jeb Bush to look into this situation for some time now and we are pleased to report things are starting to happen. One month ago, CSA president Gerry Brissenden, contacted the governor once again asking him to revisit this matter.
On Thursday June 22, 2006 Governor Bush signed an Executive Order creating a committee to examine how property taxes are assessed and later used throughout Florida.
The committee will consist of 15 members, all of whom will be appointed by the governor, and will be charged with looking at:
the consequences of current property tax exemptions and assessment differentials
the appropriateness, affordability and economic consequences of property taxation levels in the state
alternative means of taxation
Governor Bush has strongly stressed that the committee take into consideration the principle of EQUITY the system should treat similarly situated taxpayers similarly.
Governor Bush has said he wants the committee to meet as early as August 15, 2006 and file its first report by December. He then said he expects a final report to be issued a year later, at the end of 2007.
It is encouraging to see that the association's lobbying efforts south of the border are starting to pay off.
Contact:
Michael MacKenzie
Research and Communications Officer
Canadian Snowbird Association
(416) 441-7005
www.snowbirds.org
Canadian Snowbird
Association
Florida Property Tax Update
On Monday October 29th, Florida lawmakers passed a ballot measure that would, if approved by voters on Jan. 29th :
Double the $25,000 homestead exemption, but only on the non-schools portion of homeowners' bills, providing on average a $240 break;
Let homeowners take as much as $500,000 of their accrued Save Our Homes benefit with them to a new homestead, providing as much as an $8,500 break;
Giving business owners a $25,000 exemption on their ``tangible personal property" bills, giving them about $425;
Cap assessment increases on non-homesteaded properties(snowbirds) at 10 percent annually, but only for the non-schools portion of tax bills.
I know that these are just articles (not really a fact), but you said you wanted proper info from Canadians in FL. I think the Canadian Snowbird Association might qualify.
I also don't want to get involved with the US tax system re income tax, I have friends who do and they say it can be a real 
time.
