St.Petersburg Times Ed Board: No on Property Tax Ballot Proposal

With the Florida public (or at least the small fraction of the Florida public that can be convinced to vote on a non-Presidential ballot) poised to pass judgment on a property tax cut proposal referred by the state legislature in less than a month, the St. Petersburg Times editorial board rings in the new year by letting us know where they stand on this proposal.

They're agin it:

This state and its residents are facing serious economic challenges in 2008, but the amendment on the Jan. 29 ballot is not the answer.

And their reasons for opposing it seem exactly right:

There are many good reasons to vote against the property tax amendment. It
provides little help to businesses and owners of second homes or investment properties who need the most relief. Instead of creating a fairer property tax system it adds to the unfairness by allowing Save Our Homes benefits to be taken to a new home. And even with its projected reduced savings, the amendment still would cut funding for education and local government exactly as their revenues will be dropping because of other tax reforms and the slumping economy.

Put another way, fairness and sustainability are two areas in which the Florida tax system could use some improvement-- and the January proposal would not help in either area.

The striking thing about the debate over Florida property tax reform so far has been the absence of any real concern about fairness. Some participants in this debate would probably take issue with this characterization, but these are the same folks who thinks that the central tax fairness question to be answered in the next month is "do I deserve a $240 tax cut?" And that having answered "hell yes," they've successfully addressed whatever tax fairness concerns might arise.

The broader tax fairness question that should be asked, and answered, over the next month, is "what's wrong with Florida's property tax system, and does the proposal to be voted on fix these problems?"

The folks at the St. Pete Times clearly get this. It remains to be seen whether Florida voters will.