Amendment One, Vote no -- and focus on property tax reform

by Pat Santeramo

Desperation breeds discontent. Floridians are rightfully desperate for property tax reform. Even so, their discontent should be focused on the legislators who have created our state's twisted version of Robin Hood taxation. For years, legislators have robbed Florida's poor and middle class in order to make the state's rich even wealthier....

Over the last decade, legislators in Tallahassee have quietly shifted more and more of the financial responsibility for educating our children and providing police and fire protection to local governments. Doing so has forced city and county leaders to do the legislators' dirty work, raising taxes here at home where we live. Rather than taking responsibility for the tax system they have created, legislators now say that city and county budgets have become too large....

At the same time, legislators have continued to reward the rich -- often, their campaign contributors -- by giving away billions of state dollars in luxury tax exemptions. They don't like to talk about their pet tax exemptions for the sale of yachts, stadium skyboxes, stocks and bonds, especially while they face cutting another $1 billion from the state's faltering budget....

It's time for the rumblings of voter discontent to grow louder -- and more productive. Legislators need to explain why Florida is 17th in the nation in property taxes, but at the bottom of all 50 states for public school funding. Taxpayers should hold lawmakers accountable for giving the state's richest residents millions of dollars in tax breaks while urging voters to take $3 billion from our school children.

Floridians remain desperate for comprehensive tax reform, but the legislators who created this amendment are no Robin Hoods. Voters will hopefully see through their swashbuckling with our state's increasingly lopsided tax system and do the right thing on Election Day by voting ``No on One!''

http://tinyurl.com/2ra2vr

Property tax referendum reflects shallow politics

.... Here is the crux of this state-created crisis: Legislators say local governments spend too much money, resulting in high property taxes..

Hello? Almost without exception, each year the Legislature imposes unfunded mandates on local governments and school districts. Now, legislators have the nerve to say these same local governments must be fiscally controlled by the state.

Floridians, pay attention! We are being sold a bill of goods, and the goods are bad. Whether we are native Floridians or have been here for a short period of time, this is our state and we deserve better from Charlie Crist and the Legislature.

The governor should lead Florida, not participate in a diversionary shell game that could very well cripple local governments in the delivery of adequate, vital public safety and quality-of-life services.

My family and I, as well as many of our friends, will be voting NO on the property tax amendment Jan. 29.

Granted, our tax system certainly needs some adjustments and improvements. This issue is being addressed by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. Let's give the commission a chance to work through this complicated issue and recommend needed substantive changes.

The Jan. 29 property tax referendum is a result of shallow politics out of Tallahassee that draws on the frustrations of hard-working taxpayers....

http://tinyurl.com/2snnym

When the Rich Pay No Taxes

During his eight-year reign as governor of Florida, Jeb Bush fashioned an economic time bomb. On his way out the door he lit the fuse. His handiwork will soon devastate this state and visit unprecedented suffering on its people. It will be a nightmare, part of which will imperil the public schools, the operation of local governments and the state retirement system.

The government of the State of Florida realizes most of its revenues by way of sales and use taxes, intangible taxes and corporate income taxes. Sales and use taxes are the most regressive and hit poor, working and retired people the hardest. These taxes have done nothing but increase and when they are discussed it is in the context of raising them.

Meanwhile, if he could have, Jeb Bush would have relieved Florida's wealthy persons and corporate entities of their entire tax burden. As it stands he came very near his goal. Tax loopholes created during his administration for corporate income now shelter between $500 and $600 million that was counted as revenue before. $600 million more was lost to the state when Bush eliminated the tax on intangible properties (stocks and bonds) in January 2007.

Jeb Bush tried to privatize all things profitable and make the people assume all risk associated with investment. His program gave a leg up to charter schools and turned elements of the state's water supply, public roads and social services over to wealthy investors. The lynchpin of his healthcare agenda was to turn Medicaid into a private managed health care system. That program was piloted in five counties. The Department of Children and Families was turned into a massive private gamble that money could be made off Florida's most vulnerable children.

When investments went bad the working people of Florida ate the loss. In 2002 the state's short-term investment and pension funds lost $334 million as Enron collapsed, three times the loss of any other fund in the nation. Jeb Bush's minions invested in Edison charter schools when the stock was valued at $37 and got out when it was worth 14 cents. Another $500 million of the public's money was lost to enable other corporate adventures.

But the worst was yet to come! Because although term limits forced Jeb Bush to give up his Tallahassee office in 2006, it did not thwart his plan for turning the apparatus of state government into his own personal cash cow. First he put one of his stooges, Coleman Stipanovich, in charge of making decisions for the multi-billion dollar Local Government Investment Pool and the Florida Retirement System. Then he got himself a spot on the Board of Directors of Lehman Brothers, the giant Wall Street financial services corporation. This unholy alliance has borne bitter fruits.

The now resigned Stipanovich made $1.5 billion in bad investments, $842 million of them purchased through Lehman Brothers. The pension fund now holds $756 million in worthless paper related to the housing market meltdown, almost 8% of its cash holdings. The state's short-term investment fund is faced with similar losses. Jeb Bush and Lehman Brothers won't be losing any sleep over it though because the vulnerability has been dumped on Florida's 1.1 million current and retired state workers, hundreds of school districts and local governments, the state-created Citizens Property Insurance, and the state treasury.

This fiscal year the state treasury suffered the first waves of the tsunami that is coming. The servile Florida State Legislature was called back into special session barely six months after passing a $71 billion budget to address a 1.1 billion dollar revenue shortfall. Among other things these servants of the wealthy took $100 from each of Florida's public school children to rebalance the budget. The lights had not been turned out in the Capitol Building when the Office of Policy and Budget projected an additional $2.5 billion revenue shortfall over the next 18 months.

And Florida, now weakened by the greed and avarice of a few, faces a growing crisis in its second largest industry after tourism. To get a sense of the outlook for agriculture consider these recent statements and their sources:

· "We're not in any old drought. We're in what I like to call the biblical drought." –Shannon Estenoz, member of the South Florida Water Management District's (SFWMD) governing board.

· "We are facing Armageddon. I think we are going to see massive crop losses we have never seen before." – Malcolm Wade, member of the SFWMD and a Vice-President of U.S. Sugar.

· "We are beginning to see some of the initial signs of collapse. If you're a farmer, you're going into the spring season with a greater than 50 percent chance you're not going to have enough water to make a crop." –Nelson Mongiovi, director of the division of marketing, Florida Department of Agriculture.

The crisis in agriculture threatens to shrink the state's revenues by up to $8 billion more over the next five year.

Governor Charlie Crist is reportedly "torqued off" at the insurance companies and wants property taxes to "drop like a rock" but neither sentiment is more than public theatrics. The Governor and State Legislature have no answers because the only solution requires they turn on their masters. There is no salvation to be found in higher sales taxes for working people, or slightly lower property taxes for the average homeowner, or reduced funding for schools, fire and police protection, or shredding the social safety net, or higher rates of unemployment, homelessness, crime and violence. Florida's survival now hinges on one question, "Can the people force Jeb Bush and his corporate band of reverse-Robin Hood's to give up enough of their ill-gotten wealth for the sake of everyone's survival?"

The men in charge in Florida have looked over the horizon and seen the inferno that lies ahead. They fear only one force—their victims united and mobilized in acts of resistance. They have already begun sowing seeds of division hoping to block any uprising as human misery and deprivation spread across the state. They don't expect their sham property tax proposals to result in lower property tax bills. They expect the measure to pit desperate homeowners against teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and other workers living paycheck to paycheck. Their campaign, as always, will attempt to sharpen racial divisions. They will point the finger at immigrant workers, local governments, and district school boards. Any scapegoat will do to divert attention from them as they execute the final phases of their plan.

Paul A. Moore
FEA Legislative Committee
United Teachers of Dade
Miami Carol City High School

Jan 11, 2008

A tax system in shambles couldn't handle 'stacked crises'
Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte

My View

In 2005, the LeRoy Collins Institute for Public Policy published a report titled "Tough Choices," pointing out that Florida's housing boom of 2000-05 had given Florida a remarkable boost in revenue, allowing a massive shift in tax policy. The shift was away from taxes on wealth and a shift of funding from state to local government.

In the fall of 2005, the Collins Institute reported:

"But real estate booms like the current one inevitably slow, stop or, worst case, crash. We can't say when, how or how severe the end will be. Even the drivers of the current boom are something of a mystery. Various analysts cite a glut of foreign savings investments, the wave of condo conversions, speculative investors looking to flip properties for profit, and novel mortgage formats attracting marginal buyers. Taken together that looks to be a setup for a sharp fall eventually."

Now, most people recognize that this forecast was entirely accurate, as was the report's warning of a severe impact on state revenue.

At least since the Collins Institute report, we have known that we are facing significant shortfalls in revenue even as we experience significant demands on state funding. Implementation of the class-size amendment and the voluntary pre-K programs necessitate additional resources, for example, and Medicaid's steady growth means that Florida will need an adequate tax base just to meet its existing obligations.

When we look at significant issues such as teachers' salaries, adequate funding for colleges and universities, the sad, steady growth of prisons and the need for improvement for child-care programs, we understand that the state has a long way to go in providing services most citizens support....

Today, we have so hampered the ability of government to collect taxes that we simply would not be able to deal with "stacked crises." We have built walls around the authority of government, not considering the consequences. We could face a situation where Florida, a wealthy state by many tests, would not be able to meet its obligations to its citizens.
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Former Gov. Jeb Bush left office proud that there had been $14 billion in tax cuts, mostly to the benefit of wealthy citizens and corporate interests. During this period, efforts to close tax exemptions and loopholes in the corporate income tax were blocked.

These cuts in taxes and continued tolerance of exemptions and loopholes have left the Florida tax system a shambles. The steady increase in property values that sheltered tax-cutting decisions has now, as predicted, come to a halt.

We may be able to muddle through the threats to public institutions. After all, the rankings of our public schools and universities will not get worse — we are already at the bottom when compared with other states.

If we are prudent, we will prepare for the worst and not leave government to be paralyzed by restrictions. A proposal, bounded with political constraints but flexible enough to allow officials to deal with a series of real problems that threaten the state with bankruptcy, is now before the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission for debate and consideration:

"Legislative power to address a fiscal crisis.

"(a) Upon certification by the governor that a serious fiscal crisis threatens the state, the Legislature shall have the authority to adopt by three-fourths vote of both houses, such measures as may be necessary to raise revenue, notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution. "(Legislative acts authorized by this section shall expire two years from the date of the last certification of the existence of a serious fiscal crisis or earlier date specified by the Legislature."

http://tinyurl.com/3y7sbh

Too many inequities

Why voters should reject tax plan

Voters should be aware of what the Legislature is asking them to support on Jan. 29. The proposed constitutional amendment on property taxes does not constitute reform. It doesn't address the unfairness of the state's system. And it embeds more inequities in the constitution, making real tax reform extremely difficult.

We need fair taxation. This isn't it. The proposal would cut taxes for those who need it least. Those who can afford to pay more are likely to pay less -- certainly in percentage but in many cases in real dollars -- than low-income residents. First-time homebuyers will pay far higher taxes than their already established neighbors. Commercial property owners will pay more. So will renters. Because of all these inequities, Amendment 1 may be unconstitutional.

The Florida Senate estimates that the negative fiscal impact for cities, counties and special districts will be more than $9.6 billion over five years. It estimates the impact for school districts will be $2.7 billion over five years. Many cities will lose significant revenue (up to $2 million for medium-size cities like DeLand or Port Orange), which is in addition to the revenue restrictions that the Legislature placed on them last year.

These cuts severely restrict the ability of local governments to invest in improvements -- such as quality schools, police and fire protection and road systems -- that sustain the quality of life for residents and attract new job-creating industries. To make up for cuts, local governments may have to cut services. And they will likely have to increase user fees and impact fees or raise sewer and water rates. Many may create special taxation districts, such as for fire protection. The whole package hurts Floridians more than it helps. Let us count the ways:...

http://tinyurl.com/yu49pu

As clear as mud

By The Times-Union

The proposed property tax amendment, to be decided Jan. 29, may not have the worst written ballot summary in Florida's electoral history. But, it's definitely in contention.

It's more than 500 words. How could anything that long be called a summary?

And it's pure gobbledygook. Nobody could understand it except a lawyer.

The summary, for example, says in part that it "increases the homestead exemption by exempting the assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000. This exemption does not apply to school district taxes."

One might take that to mean it would increase the homestead exemption, except for school districts, from $50,000 to $75,000.

But if one thought that, one would be wrong.

It means the homestead exemption would go from $25,000 to $50,000, except for school district taxes.

Confused? Try reading the entire summary.

It's available at the Supervisor of Elections Web site, www.duvalelections.com....

http://tinyurl.com/2r98ky

Groups fight tax proposal

The school district and employees' union work to educate on its impact on education.
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
Published January 15, 2008

LAND O'LAKES - With voting already under way, local Pasco school organizations are trying to make sure people understand exactly what Amendment 1 to change the state property tax structure means, from their perspective.

The school district and the employees' union have released slide presentations designed to give the district staff, as well as their family and friends, the details of the proposal and an idea of what its impact will be on education if it passes.

And whether you look at the low-key school district version, which twice states that it's not advocating a position, or the more politically charged union effort that clearly opposes the initiative, one message comes through pointedly: Education stands to suffer....

http://tinyurl.com/3ava58

The Florida PTA opposes SJR 4, the proposed state constitutional amendment that will be on the special election ballot on Jan. 29, 2008.

The Florida PTA recognizes the fact the Florida legislative leaders have made a verbal commitment to hold public school funding harmless, however no funding source has been identified. As parents and advocates for children, we cannot leave our children's future up to chance. What makes the situation even more fragile is that, because of term limits, many of the legislators who have given the verbal promise to protect education will not be in the legislature when future funding decisions have to be made. Florida PTA has long advocated for a tax structure that will adequately fund all services that are necessary for children. The proposed property tax amendment only addresses tax cuts – not true tax reform. These proposed property cuts will reduce funding for school districts without identifying a replacement source. Further they will force counties and cities to make cuts to programs that have a direct impact on children. Examples are: After School Tutoring Programs, School Resource Officers, and School Crossing Guards.

The FPTA does not oppose tax cuts, what we oppose is tax cuts without tax reform, i.e. replacement funds, so that we can insure the future of our children and enhance the ability of the state to fully fund the educational, health, safety, recreational and other basic needs for Florida's children.

http://www.sccpta.net/

Seminole County - Community Information - Property Tax Reform Amendment

http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/cid/taxreform2008/

On January 29, 2008, Florida voters will head to the polls. Ballots will be cast in the presidential primaries.

Another important decision will also be voted on…Amendment 1, a measure for Property Tax Reform. The January 29th tax amendment would give brand new tax benefits and tax caps to landlords and owners of second homes and condos, even if they don't live in Florida.

The amendment would:

• Make Save Our Homes portable allowing homeowners to transfer tax savings from one home to another;

Earlier this year, local governments reduced property tax revenues by $2.3 billion dollars as a result of HB1B.

Seminole County reduced its budget by $21 million for general services and $6 million for fire services. We continually strive to be judicious and responsible with every tax dollar to support and enhance services to the community. While we all support appropriate, equitable property tax reform, this is a balancing act that should not diminish counties' ability to fund the services and programs that matter to their residents.

January is a very critical month for educators all over the state. On January 29 Floridians will be voting on Florida's Proposed Property Tax Amendment. Seminole County property appraiser, David Johnson, estimated a 6.4 million dollar revenue loss for the SCPS 2008-2009 school year if the Amendment passes. State estimated losses have been calculated at 11.3 million, 16.3 million, 21.8 million and 27.4 million dollars for the succeeding years. Most of the dollar losses each year will affect the school board's operating budget. This is the part of the budget that funds almost everything connected to the classroom and students. And this is only the beginning of budget losses for the School Board for a long time – if the Amendment passes!

Homeowners will see a savings of only about $20 a month in property taxes. The savings is very small, but the impact to education is significant, making the passage of this Amendment a very high price for residents to pay for such a small benefit. To make matters worse, the Property Tax Amendment will impact our safety with similar cuts to fire and police departments and other service groups. According to one publication, "Amendment 1 gives part-time residents and mansion owners the overwhelming bulk of the tax cut, while families who live and work in Florida will see very little in the way of tax savings." Because the State is proposing a tax cut, local governments are raising fees to compensate as a result. Many homeowners may actually see a net increase in the taxes they pay as a result.

Reforming our property taxes in Florida is an excellent idea, but this Amendment is not the right way to do it. We do not need another band-aid approach to a systemic problem. As on FEA member says, "Taxpayers should hold lawmakers accountable for giving the state's richest residents millions of dollars in tax breaks (sale of yachts, stadium boxes, etc.) while urging voters to take $3 billion from our school children." The well being of a community starts with an excellent school system, a school system that must be funded appropriately.

FEA has sent you several applications to vote by mail for your convenience. Please fill your out if your preference is to vote by mail and encourage your, family, friends, and colleagues to do the same. Voting in primary or special elections is traditionally very low. This means that if all educators vote, we have a very good opportunity to prevent a major funding loss to education. If we don't do our part, we cannot complain.

PLEASE VOTE NO on the Property Tax Amendment.

Experts project that the amendment could cost public schools $204 million next year and $2.76 billion over the next five years.

State economists say that this economic downturn is unprecedented. Florida has not experienced back-to-back annual revenue declines since the Revenue Estimating Conference began tracking the economy in 1971.

"Defeat of the amendment would be good for Florida, because it would increase the chances for real tax reform. There are many reasons to dislike the amendment. Chief among them is that the proposal would help most those taxpayers who need help the least, and would cost Florida's public school system about $3 billion over five years." ~ Palm Beach Post editorial

"The 'easy' cuts have already been made; the next round and the round after that will surely be devastating for public education, social services, corrections, and health care. What's it going to take to prod Crist and the Legislature into facing the root cause if Florida's fiscal problems; an antiquated sales tax system that is riddle with so many special interest loopholes that it unfairly taxes some while giving others a free ride?" ~ Gainesville Sun editorial

Gay Parker, President

Seminole Education Association

"There Is Something Dangerous About Amendment 1"

Attached is a flyer from Florida is Our Home Inc.

Click to view attachment

Florida PTA Opposes Amendment 1

http://www.floridapta.org/PTATaxReformStatement%20B.pdf

Florida League of Cities Opposes Amendment #1

http://www.flcities.com/legislative/propertytax.asp

The League of Women Voters of Florida has voted to OPPOSE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT # 1 – PROPERTY TAXES

http://www.lwvpbc.org/jan29amendment.htm

"No Relief for Florida's Children"

January 22, 2008 (Tallahassee) - Today, the citizen leaders of Children's Campaign, Inc., a watchdog and advocacy organization, announced opposition to Amendment 1, to be decided at the polls in a statewide referendum on Tuesday, January 29.

While we appreciate that the backers of Amendment 1 recognize that too many Floridians are struggling, the potential impact of Amendment 1 on our children and families outweighs any benefit. Waiting for the recommendations of the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission on a more comprehensive approach to solving the state's tax and budget problems would be a wiser course.

The state budget is in a tailspin, with prospects of cutting up to $4-billion in 2008 alone. The current budget crisis already threatens children's access to health care and services for abused children. High quality early learning is not available in the existing budget and further budget cuts will have Florida warehousing, not educating our youngest citizens. There are already long waiting lists for after-school care and a deepening [ublic safety crisis within juvenile justice due to a widening budget gap many years in the making. Amendment 1 will create new holes in the last remaining safety net for children by removing the means for cities, counties, school boards and independent
children's taxing districts to fund these urgent needs in their communities. The modest tax relief projected at an average savings of $240 per home annually, is offset by the tens of millions of dollars or more in reduced funding of children's services over the next five years.

Where are organizations that provide services and programs to children and families to turn for help?

Recent efforts by the amendment's backers to "spare education" are more to pass the measure than to address the real impact on children and families. "The Florida Children's Campaign is concerned also about the quality of life for our children in the 16-hours a day the child is not in a classroom," said Roy Miller, President, spokesperson for the citizen leaders. "When that quality erodes, or crises go unaddressed, the child's
performance in the classroom suffers. What happens out of school affects what goes on in school."

The citizen leaders of Children's Campaign, Inc. agree with the strong editorial positions of the vast majority of Florida's leading newspapers which recommend a NO vote on Amendment 1.

Florida TaxWatch, a private, non-profit, non-partisan research institute that is widely recognized as being the watchdog of citizens' hard-earned tax dollars has produced a report that details the downfalls of Amendment 1. The report includes details that highlight the reasons why the proposed amendment is not long-term reform for the state of Florida. To read the full report visit http://ga3.org/ct/T7A7AQS16SMz/ .

To read editorials from the vast majority of Florida's leading newspapers that recommend a vote against Amendment 1, visit the following links:

http://ga3.org/ct/T1A7AQS16SMq/
http://ga3.org/ct/HdA7AQS16SM_/
http://ga3.org/ct/H1A7AQS16SML/
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http://ga3.org/ct/YdA7AQS1bYwC/
http://ga3.org/ct/HpA7AQS16SMM/
http://ga3.org/ct/TpA7AQS16SMS/
http://ga3.org/ct/H7A7AQS16SMA/
http://ga3.org/ct/YpA7AQS16SM1/