provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The $150,000 homestead tax exemption proposed for 2027 by Amendment 3 is justified, Lee County tax appraiser Matt Caldwell told a joint gathering of the Greater Fort Myers and Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce and Florida Restaurant & Lodging (FRLA) Lee Chapter at a Sep. 16 luncheon meeting at Caloosa Sound Convention Center in Fort Myers. The increase to $250,000 in 2028, however, is the problem, he said.
Caldwell, along with Lee County tax collector Noelle Branning, addressed the workings of Florida’s property tax system and the county’s taxing operations at the chamber luncheon. The big-ticket topic, however, dealt with information voters need to make their decision on Amendment 3 in the November election.
Historically, the homestead exemption has increased from $5,000 in 1934 to $50,000 in 1980 and another $25,000 in 2018, today adjusted to $26,411 for inflation, Caldwell explained.
“It needs to be somewhere around 125 to 150 [thousand dollars] to adjust for dollar cost value over the last so many years,” he added. “So that’s got the least arguable position. Moving to 250 in a single year is a huge shift on a basis percentage perspective. And that’s really a bigger policy question. And the policy question is: What do the taxpayers, how do the taxpayers want to shift the liability for property taxation?”
Another problem with the amendment is the lack of direction for local governments – what they can, should, or cannot do to make up for the loss of government funding, said the tax appraiser of six years. Possible scenarios he described include increasing millage rates for non-homesteaded property owners, raising taxes for business owners, levying assessments, and upping sales tax. He pointed out downfalls and potential for abuse for all those possibilities.
“That will be why this is so multivariable, because every single city, county, and district is going to make a different decision when presented with that action….” Caldwell said. “Just the cold facts about the amendment, there is no tax cut in this.”
The economic impact of the increased homestead exemption has been estimated at $12 billion statewide. The first-year impact for Lee County would be around 20 percent of the tax base, he estimated – higher for Cape Coral with its large residential rolls, almost 30 percent; for Sanibel, around 7 percent, given its high real estate mix of resort, commercial, and non-homestead residential property.
The only good Caldwell hopes to see come out of the amendment if it passes would be, ideally, a more equitable way of dealing with the differences in size of local city and county government.
Caldwell and Branning urged the business community represented at the chamber luncheon to communicate with them about questions relating to Amendment 3 and other tax office functions. Their overview of tax office operations included a look into the future.
“We don’t want to continue to use the same playbook of the DMV 20 years ago. It doesn’t work today,” said Branning. Forthcoming service improvements include automation measures, more online services, and a new specialized service center for all taxing operations, which will open on Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers this winter.
“Thank you to Noelle and Matt for guiding us through the way taxing works for property owners and for helping us make sense of the complex pros and cons of the proposed Amendment 3,” said John Lai, chamber president and chief executive officer. “They shared an incredible amount of helpful information and data to help us sift through all the opinions and some of the misinformation flying around.”
Sponsors for the Sep. 16 included Annual Luncheon Sponsor HBKS Wealth Advisors, along with Community Cooperative; Macro Office Supply, Furniture & Printing, Inc.; Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center; and The Sunny Baker SWFL
The next joint meeting of the Greater Fort Myers and Sanibel-Captiva Chamber and Lee Chapter of the FRLA will take place Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the Marriott Sanibel Harbour Resort in Fort Myers, featuring Senator Rick Scott as speaker. HBKS Wealth Advisors is Annual Luncheon Sponsor. Other sponsors include Florida Blue and Valerie’s House.
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