A message from Jose Cancela on property tax reform:
Dear Floridian,
I'm writing today to provide some guidance on the upcoming vote on Amendment 1 on January 29 and then to ask for your help.
Amendment 1 Provides Some Relief — Amendment 1 will provide some relief by doubling the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes, providing some portability of the homestead basis, retaining the Save Our Homes protection, and providing a 10 percent annual cap on increases to non-homesteaded property taxes for the next ten years. While some of these elements will do nothing to make our tax system fairer, the general result is a lowering of your tax burden. On that basis alone, we think it would be foolish to vote against the amendment.
We Need More — However, Amendment 1 is a band-aid solution to a major problem. Analysts are predicting average annual savings of just a few hundred dollars. That is why we are supporting a citizen-driven initiative to amend the Constitution and cap all property taxes at 1.35 percent, which is more fully explained at
www.cutpropertytaxesnow.com. The 1.35 petition will guarantee that property taxes will be capped at 1.35 percent of the market value of any property, including those that are not homesteads.
To support the 1.35 initiative, we need your help. We will be collecting signatures on January 29th at polling places throughout Florida. This is a great opportunity to connect with voters who care about real tax reform in our state and to collect the needed signatures to get the 1.35 initiative on the ballot.
Please let me know if you can help collect signatures. We will be organized at polling places in your area and will provide you with the petitions, signs, and other materials you would need. This is an incredibly important opportunity to work for REAL reform in Florida.
If you can help, please visit
www.saveourhomesforever.com/petition.htm and sign up as a Petition Gatherer. Someone will follow up with you shortly after you sign up.
Sincerely,
Jose Cancela
Co-Chair, Floridians for Property Tax Reform