Florida homeowner tax bill

[greeneyedchick]

I would argue yes, because, under the most common scenario, the new comers probably have kids in school, which is the most costly municipal service, while on the other hand, those 40 year owners burden on the town has probably gone down significantly as they no longer have kids in school, probably don't drive as often, don't have as much garbage, etc etc.

Lots of retirees move to FL, so kids in the schools aren't a concern. In Orlando, they have lost so many kids that they are closing down some of the schools due to low enrollment.

 

[airjay75]

The plan would be to add more sales tax as opposed to bringing back the property tax

Well, if the people of Florida prefer to pay more sales tax instead of property taxes, seems to me it's their call. That does probably spread the tax burden around and also makes nonresidents and tourists foot some of the bill, so I can see the appeal of that if you're a homestead property owner.

On a related note, it's interesting to me how different states have aversions to different taxes. I grew up in Montana and live in Pennsylvania now, just north of Delaware. The people of MT and DE will allow a sales tax in their states over their cold dead bodies - it's such a point of pride for both of those states. I suspect states without an income tax like TX and FL feel similarly about income taxes.

PA has a weird quirk that their state constitution prohibits anything other than a flat income tax, which is relatively low at 3.07%. And, because state legislators can't play games with deductions and credits through the income tax, they tend to do it through the sales tax instead. Clothes are generally exempt from sales tax, but not if it is formal or athletic clothes. Paper towels are subject to sales tax, but toilet paper isn't because it is considered an essential household good.

Some states impose sales tax on groceries (usually at a lower rate than the general sales tax).

Some states have very hefty car registration fees and/or personal property taxes. Virginia notoriously has a very expensive personal property tax you pay based on the value of your car every year.

It's an interesting area of tax law.

 

[greeneyedchick]

I think the motivation to remove the property tax and eventually add it to the sales tax comes from the desire to prevent people from losing their homes. With the current system, retirees could have their home paid off but still lose their house if they fail to pay their property taxes. This seems unfair since they own their home. With a sales tax, the retirees have more control over whether they want to buy something or not. Even if they end up spending almost as much in sales taxes as they did in property taxes, they don't have the risk of losing their home anymore. The sales tax would also distribute some of the tax burden onto tourists.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Lots of inconsistencies and misinformation in this thread.