This evening as I tried to unwind and relax from several stressful events at work I picked up the Miami Herald to read on the front page: “Miami-Dade mayor: Property tax hike likely” http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1078644.html
Being in Real Estate I understand why we have property taxes, but I also realize that our property taxes rose as quickly as our property values rose in the past several years and have not necessarily gone down the way property values have.
The article gives an example of what an average home in today’s market pay in property taxes without the increase in proposed taxes and with the increase in millage rate: “If your home was worth $300,000 last year and the millage was 2 percent, that’s $6,000 in taxes. If your home dropped to $250,000 this year but millage went up 10 percent to 2.2 percent, that’s $5,500. So, maybe it’s a $500 decrease, not a $1,000 decrease.”
My question here is a how much will the increase in millage really do for the state if we continue on the same path that we are currently in with respect to the housing market? Yes prices have gone down 20%, 30%, 40% up to 60% in some areas of the state; so the incentive to buy is there, but if taxes stay the same the ability to buy is still out of reach for many.
Property taxes are too high, they have grown too fast, and they have affected the re-rehabilitation of our states economy.
Rather than threaten with cutbacks, layoffs, and elimination of programs in schools and government agencies, why not look for alternate methods of breaching the gap. We should look to other states and see how they are doing it. Maybe we should look at raising our state sales tax, or establish a personal income tax, or charge a higher tax on alcohol and tobacco. The truth is that whatever is proposed there will always be someone that is unhappy and will disagree with the suggestion, but what is the alternative; stagnate growth, a stalled job market, a flat economy?
Property tax relief is a necessity that will provide economic growth, and bring vitality back to a state that is currently under a dark cloud of recession.
