Property Tax Amendment Not Longterm Answer

Charlie Crist's sales pitch for the property tax amendment is not going as planned.

Gov. Charlie Crist made a warm sales pitch for a constitutional amendment on property tax cuts at a schoolteacher's Kendall home Wednesday -- only to hear her echo a major criticism of the plan: It's not enough.

The major component of the plan -- which will be on the Jan. 29 ballot -- would give portability to help people avoid high taxes when they move to a new home.

But since Coral Gables High teacher Stephanie Fay is staying put with her two kids, she's not going to see much in the way of savings. She'll save about $240 a year, slightly more than average, from a provision to increase the homestead exemption.

Stephanie gets a huge $20-a-month tax cut. That means she can order pizza for her kids.

The teachers union is against the property tax amendment. It was was foolhardy to tie property taxes to school financing. Now Florida is reaping that bitter harvest. Schools are looking at a potential $2.7 billion lose in revenue over 5 years.

The Miami Herald notes that the state is uncertain how much tax revenue Florida is going to lose. The Florida legislature rushed the amendment through with no serious economic impact studies.

Floridians are angry about property taxes. the states tax revenue is tied to growth. People are leaving Florida faster then they are settling in. Crist and the legislature need to seriously revamp the state's tax system. Florida is facing a deficit and that isn't about to change with the current housing market.