A letter I just sent to the State Of Florida. Feel free to swipe it and send it on up. Now is the time.
The issue of non-homestead property taxes is vital for the health of our state economy.
As unchecked taxes push rental rates past incomes, it reduces the number of transactions as investors refuse to buy rentals because they cannot lease them profitably.
The reduction in transactions has it's own tax revenue consequences. Every time a property sells, the state generates documentary and intangible taxes. The braoder state economy benefits by income influx from the title, real estate agents, appraisers, inspectors, pest control, surveyors, mortgage lenders -- most of which are small businesses and the backbone of the economy.
These out-of-control property taxes hurt first time homebuyers, investors, second homeowners, and renters alike. These people run and manage many of the business vital to Florida's economy. As legislators you can stem this affordability crisis.
With much of the state's revenue coming from sales tax, every lost sale of real estate is lost revenue to the state. You would be wise to examine the 1031 exchange section of the IRS code. The IRS makes this deduction a PROACTIVE part of the code because they realized that by encouraging the purchase and sale of real estate they would actually make more tax revenue than by just gobbling up the capital gains at each sale. This same model will work at the state level.
Sincerely,
Dan Dowling - President
United Mortgage Capital Corp.
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