More on the Inequities of "Save our Homes"

Most observers of Florida tax politics don't need any more anecdotal evidence to understand just how silly and unfair the "Save Our Homes" property tax break has become in the 10-plus years of its existence. But what the heck-- here's one more from the Miami Herald:

Ivette Rivas was thrilled when her 19-year-old daughter, Amber Díaz, who suffers from mild autism, received a scholarship from Florida International University, but first Rivas was in for an education on property taxes.
It came after the Rivas family moved from their large house in The Hammocks to a smaller one closer to the university .... Rivas sold her four-bedroom, 2,500-square-foot home and bought a three-bedroom, 1,900-square-foot home for the same amount: $400,000 .... By changing homes, the Rivas family lost the protection of Florida's Save Our Homes Amendment, which caps property-tax increases year-to-year. Her annual tax bill more than doubled, from $3,500 to $8,600.

This crazy result doesn't have to be entirely attributable to "Save Our Homes," of course-- different taxing districts have different property tax rates, which could explain some of the difference-- but this change must be primarily due to the tax cap, which limits annual growth in a home's taxable value to 3% until you move.

The lesson: repealing "Save Our Homes" has to be a first step in any effort to truly reform Florida property taxes. At the end of the day, the baseline against which property tax liability ought to be measured is what your home is actually worth-- and Save Our Homes makes this impossible in a way that is patently unfair.