Devil may be in the details
To the editor:
On Aug. 23 there is a primary election in Florida. To participate, you must be registered to vote by July 25.
There also will be three constitutional amendments for your consideration:
The first one addresses property taxes. It reads like a greenwashing of a legislative state power grab.
Currently your county government can waive this tax. It is their job to assess the home values for property tax purposes. This ballot initiative “authorizes the state legislature to pass laws prohibiting county taxing flood resistance improvements made to a home…” Sounds like flood control, good thing. But as you read further this would also include construction, waterproofing and “maintenance of land” (landscaping) as goodies that could be exempted from taxation consideration in the assessment process. Republican Linda Chaney (HJR 1377) gives this one to us.
Remembering the rule that a citizen usually has more power to influence the local official that the state, this is a tax break for the benefit of the powerful who can influence the state. Even in it’s most benign interpretation it benefits only us in the propertied demographic. The more land you hold, the better off you will be if Initiative 1 passes. There appears to be no requirement that the exempted improvements be to homes occupied by year-round residents, nor a limit to how many homes one can own and still cash in on this perk. Obviously if we are letting some builders be exempt, the county will need to garner missing revenue elsewhere. Nor can we be accused of subsidizing the low income sector with this measure. Local control on property tax exemption would be shifted to the more anonymous state arena.
You have a reason to go to the polls on August (or request to vote by mail in July) even if you have no party affiliation. You must be registered to vote by July 25 to weigh in.
Ellen Starbird
Cape Coral