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Florida's amendment 5 is thrown out by the courts

Amendment 5, Florida's property tax swapping amendment, was dealt a severe blow last week when a Leon County Circuit Court Judge pulled the amendment off of the November ballot. The judge ruled that the ballot language was improper and could be mis-understood by voters.

You can read more details of this story in the Orlando Sentinel. The Florida Chamber of Commerce has already written an open letter to Governor Crist asking that he call an immediate special congressional session to fix the property tax situation once and for all.

The court decision is already under appeal and most likely will go to the Florida Supreme Court for a decision. Typically opponents of laws make sure they file lawsuits in the most liberal counties they can in order to make sure the judge will rule in their favor. Often times these rulings get reversed on appeal.

I have not made up my own mind on Amendment 5 just yet. However the way these local governments have gone out of control with their spending and millage increases, I believe that major changes to Florida's taxing structure are in order. A check and balance system needs to be put in place in order to keep these tax and spend politicians under control.

If Amendment 5 does get back on the November ballot, I will provide a detailed analysis of it at some point in the future.

Update 8/21/08: It is my understanding that Amendment 5 has been put back on the ballot pending review by the Florida Supreme Court.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

ABR, CPL, CRB, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available. Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Apopka, Kissimmee, Clermont, Casselberry, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Posted by Rob Arnold, metro Orlando full service, investor friendly & foreclosure Realtor on 08/18/2008 10:47 AM

Comments (6)

florida amendment 5, florida property taxes

Originally posted at: Central Florida & metro Orlando real estate services: Florida's amendment 5 is thrown out by the courts

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6 Comments on Florida's amendment 5 is thrown out by the courts

AUG

2008

Mis-understood? C'mon! I am losing confidence in our judicial system. First the chad deal over ruled by the Supreme Court embarrassment and no stupid stuff like this. Give us a break.

Mis-understood? C'mon! I am losing confidence in our judicial system. First the chad deal over ruled by the Supreme Court embarrasment and now stupid stuff like this. Give us a break.

AUG

2008

We are to stupid to understand what? A tax break? I get it!

AUG

2008

I think the language is ambiguous. The "tax savings" will appeal to the public, however, it's really a tax swap, and we could end up with a higher sales tax to make up the school funding that will be lost as part of this proposed Amendment. PLUS, Florida's school system lags behind many other states.

It's easy to be persuaded to "save" money, but this one is not necessarily an actual savings - the increased sales tax will most likely have you spending MORE than the 25% proposed cut.

Research on more than one angle and site is important to understand the complete impact.

AUG

2008

On the surface, amendment 5 seems like a good idea - lower property taxes to stimulate the housing industry. Too bad it's not that simple. An analysis of the amendment by AARP and the Florida Tax Watch organization indicate that this tax cut could have a huge negative impact on our economy, schools, and services.

It has been proposed that the property tax cut be offset by an increase in sales tax. However, the FL Tax Watch estimates the property tax cut will amount to approx. $11 billion and the increase in sales tax will generate only approx $3.3 billion. It's not clear how the legislature will deal with the deficit in revenue, but loss of government services and taxes on services that are now exempt, such as haircuts, attorneys, real estate, etc. are likely. It's also not clear how this will ultimately impact our schools.

Here's a fact sheet on amendment 5 produced by AARP -

http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/cs/misc/fla_amendment_5_factsheet.pdf

OCT

2008

Florida needs to grow up. $3,000 real taxes on a 50k condo is stupid. What will happen on 1/1/09 when the assessments are put together for next year's taxes? Legislators are scrambling big time right now. Assessments should come down 50% in many areas, some even more than that. What will they do? Raise the milleage to twice what it is now to keep the rev coming in? Revolution is coming if that happens. Raise the sales tax, get rid of the bogus loop holes on exemptions, lower spending by 40% and boom, its done. Were the fancy brick cross walks at red bug and tuscawilla really necessary? Uh, no... Was Winter Springs Blvd really in need of repaving...uh, dont think so. And what about this crap where all the shrubs are pulled out, like on 434, and replaced with new ones??When the cc is maxed out you cant act like it isnt.

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