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<br />'. <br /> <br />House Proposal - aka Rubio Plan <br /> <br />1. Tax rollback - rolls back local property taxes based on 2001 rate plus increases <br />for inflation <br /> <br />..a bill that, if approved this spring by the legislature, would cap tax increases at inflation <br />after rolling tax rates to their levels in 2001 - before the real estate market boomed and <br />local government spending skyrocketed. Local governments could vote to increase <br />spending beyond the tax caps. - Marc Caputo and Mary Ellen Klas, Miami Herald, <br />2/22/07 <br /> <br />Local governments could decide to go over the cap with only a 2/3 vote or a simple <br />majority of 2/3 is not possible. <br /> <br />House Republican legislators proposed a revolution in how Floridians tax themselves <br />Wednesday: an immediate, nearly 20% reduction in all property taxes this year, and the <br />option to abolish property taxes on residents homesteads..... Local elected officials said <br />the proposal, which is far from assured of passage, would hobble their municipalities <br />because it would impose a ceiling on their ability to tax and spend. - Mark Hollis and <br />-Jamie Malerne;-Sonth Florida-Sun::Sentinel;-2/22/07--. n <br /> <br />2. Cap on spending - based on 2001 spending formula. Cities could exceed the cap <br />with a unanimous vote of the governing body. <br /> <br />The House plan calls for a separate state law, effective July 1, 2007, that would <br />immediately force local governments to roll back property tax rates and cut nearly $5.8 <br />Billion in spending, or an average of 19% of their budgets. The legislation would also <br />impose a cap limiting future property tax increases. The rollback would not affect levies <br />for school districts, but the cap on future increases would. - Jason Garcia, Orlando <br />Sentinel, 2/22/07 <br /> <br />..A proposed constitutional amendment, that if approved by voters, would limit state <br />spending increases to the inflation rate, and eliminate property taxes entirely for owners <br />of homesteaded properties. That, in combination with the rollback legislation, would cut <br />property taxes statewide by $13.5 Billion. The sales tax increase would only pump <br />about $7.8 Billion back into local governments, leaving a $5.8 Billion hole. <br /> <br />...But they agree on this: Local governments stand to lose about $5.8 Billion from <br />taxpayers - and the poor would start paying more while the well-off would pay far less. <br />- Marc Caputo and Mary Ellen Klas, Miami Herald, 2/22/07 <br /> <br />The spending limits on local governments are modeled after programs adopted in other <br />states. A plan adopted in Colorado in 1990 backfired after 15 years when businesses <br />threatened to leave because of deteriorating education and healthcare services. <br />Colorado voters suspended the tax and budget overhaul plan in 2005 for 5 years. - <br />Marc Caputo and Mary Ellen Klas, Miami Herald, 2/22/07 <br /> <br />3/9/2007 <br /> <br />Florida Property Tax Reform Legislation <br /> <br />3 <br />