Reso 2007-1067 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Property taxes are deductible for Federal income tax purposes. This is the last year that sales taxes will be deductible. Since 2001, the state population has grown 12% while total local taxes levied has grown 83%, from $16.7 billion to $30.4 billion in 2006. Nearly 1,000 new residents arrive in Florida each day Florida currently ranks 44th in state and local taxes as a percentage of income and it's business tax climate was rated this year as the 5th most favorable in America...The governor and the legislature should slow down. An in-depth report ordered by the legislature is not due until September, a committee appointed by former Gov Jeb Bush won't be finished until December, and a constitutionally empowered tax and budget commission begins its own review this year. - Tampa Bay Times Editorial, 2/4/07 If local taxing authority is substantially diminished, the effect will be similar to how counties in Florida functioned before the almost revolutionary constitutional reforms of 1968. ...before 1968, the Florida legislature averaged 4,000 special acts per year that gave counties the right to do what governments do. For example, if a county wanted to start a library system, it had to request and obtain a special legislative act spelling out its right to do that. - Bill Berlow, ..Ass0ciateEditorj~Tallahassee. Democrat, 3/2/07-.. .~..._..n..__ . .....n_n_. ...[apparently] it doesn't matter that local governments much more closely reflect the values and desires of the communities they serve. If local officials' worst fears are realized, many citizens will blame them for reducing services while praising elected state officials for cutting the taxes that pay for the services they demand. - Bill Berlow, Associate Editor, Tallahassee Democrat, 3/2/07 There is the danger the housing boom will lull policy makers into complacency, since the gains come early and the pain later. The immediate benefits are rising revenue and increasing employment. The costs are gradually declining levels of public services as government operations are stretched thin and infrastructure is increasingly crowded. - David Denslow, UF Economist, 2005 Officials in Bradenton, Palmetto and Manatee County have either instituted hiring freezes or are discussing options to handle reduced revenue. - Melanie Marquez, The Herald, 3/2/07 Leon County has frozen some construction, new hires and staff travel..... - Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat, 2/27/07 A group of Alabama residents with second homes in the Panhandle have filed a class-action suit asking a Leon County judge to thro out the state's Save Our Homes property assessment cap. ... They contend the assessment cap passed by voters in 1992 unconstitutionally shifted " more than a reasonable and fair share of the infrastructure demand of Florida" onto snowbirds and second homeowners. - Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee Democrat, 2/27/07 3/9/2007 Florida Property Tax Reform Legislation 2