Property Tax Talks Underway

This is the week that House and Senate conferees have set for negotiations over how exactly to cut local property taxes this year. The Miami Herald gives a concise update on what the big issues are-- and how little progress was made in Monday's opening session:

No deal on how much local governments should roll back their tax base. No decision on whether or how people could transfer tax savings from a primary residence to a new home. Nothing on swapping out homeowner property taxes for sales taxes.

With the most obvious (and fairest) tax reform choice--that is, an income tax-- off the table, the remaining choice facing lawmakers this week is whether their poorly targeted property tax cuts should be done in a way that is (a) unaffordable or (b) unfair. Not much of a choice.