Property tax whiplash
The latest offer by our elected officials to alleviate the burden of property taxes took me a couple of readings to completely understand. One good thing in the proposed Senate package for me: portability. I've long wanted to downsize as my children have grown older and moved out, yet it makes no economic sense to buy a house half the size of what I have and pay as much as triple in taxes. Nonetheless, new homeowners -- my children's generation -- are worse off than long-timers like me.
Between still exorbitant house prices, taxes and insurance, it is impossible to have a decent house in a good-schools neighborhood. If I were young and starting out, I'd hightail it out of here. Can you say brain drain?
Between still exorbitant house prices, taxes and insurance, it is impossible to have a decent house in a good-schools neighborhood. If I were young and starting out, I'd hightail it out of here. Can you say brain drain?
posted by Ana Veciana-Suarez at 9:05 AM
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10 Comments:
Ana: I always love to read your columns and commentary! True about "young folks" starting out in this market. But for us "old timers" downsizing...and still having to pay higher taxes: We "long-timers" who have benefitted the most from Amendment 10 can still sell and take out large chunks of equity from our homes.
Ana, portability is the worst part of this plan. Everyone intuitively knows Save Our Homes is unfair. Portability makes that unfairness even worse.
Anyone with a public voice, like yourself, saying it's a good thing is promoting a terrible injustice.
United we stand, divided we fall. Save Our Homes has divided us, don't worsen it with your blog.
Ana, I believe that this amendment will be challenged resulting in no tax savings this time either. I also believe that if a citizen backed initiative is put on the ballot it has a good chance at passing, giving the politicians no voice. If this happens it will result in cities having no choice but triming their budgets.
I would benefit from portabilityat first glance, however my kids have no benefit at the time of their purchase due to taxes and insurance. It will be a crying shame that they may not be able to live in the town that they were born in. If they go, then I will go too, making portability null and void for me. I guess we will be starting life over in a new town. Pretty sad.
I vote for no property taxes like Rubio wanted. Replace with a 2% sales tax, the only real solution to our real estate crisis.
Anonymous is exactly right. Anyone who has lived here for at least five years has a substantial windfall coming from increased home prices. And yeah, the kids... but what about newcomers? I moved here from New York three years ago, and it's much more expensive here. No income tax? Well, ok, but the property tax I pay, homesteaded, is $7,000 a year. My neighbor across the street pays $800. As a result, I am trying to sell my house and move back to New York. Note, I've also been burglarized twice in one of those "up and coming" Upper East Side neighborhoods. I want to go back where I feel safer. Up north.
Ana, portabilty would work for all, first time buyers and those who moved within the last 4-5 years, only if they roll back the property values back to the 2002 or 2003 rates. Otherwise it still is UNFAIR.
I prefer Marco Rubio's solution of eliminating property taxes and increasing the sales tax, that way everyone pays.
I'm a county employee with 10 years left until retirement. I moved 2 years ago. My taxes went from $3700 to $8300. Between insurance and property taxes, this place is way too expensive to live in retirement. In 10 years I'll be moving to northern Georgia or western North Carolina along with probably 1/2 the hispanic population of Miami-Dade County.
The MIAMI HERALD SABOTAGED the $195,000 SUPER EXEMPTION with DISTORTIONS because it cut taxes by $4200 a year! The MISREPRESENTATIONS by HERALD reporters included:
1. The SUPER EXEMPTION ended SOH. NOT TRUE...all current homeowners could keep SOH FOREVER under the Super Exemption.
2. The SUPER EXEMPTION only cut $88 from your tax bill. NOT TRUE...The $195,000 SUPER EXEMPTION cut a staggering $4,200 a year in tax.
3. Your taxes would skyrocket under the SUPER EXEMPTION. NOT TRUE...the tax calculator used by the MIAMI HERALD used an unrealistic 7% annual appreciation factor given the current market, a more realistic 3% factor would have given homeowners a 25 year tax reduction before taxes increased a penny.
4. There is no cap under the SUPER EXEMPTION. NOT TRUE...local government spending WAS CAPPED at 2-3% annual increases under the Super Exemption.
Now The Herald is SHILLING for this WORTHLESS tax plan that DOESN'T CUT TAXES!
Our legislators have again disappointed us. We HAD to move three years ago from West Dade to the city for family reasons and, consequently, our taxes went from $2,500 to $7,500 (for a smaller, less expensive home, mind you). We are of retirement age and between property taxes and insurance (we had to drop windstorm coverage) we are maxed!!! Our property tax system is not working...it needs to be revamped...will we ever see real reforms? I am not sure I'll live to see it. I am saddened and disappointed. After living in Dade County for 46 years, I would move if it weren't my children and grandchildren are here....if they move, so will we.
The tax structure is a mess - as a non homesteader who might live here eventually - it is rediculous. We pay the highest taxes and use the least services. We spend $$ when we are here. A comment in the paper a couple of days ago stated that having 2 houses makes one rich - well not with us. We are trying to get ready for retirement but we are quickly becoming poor - we were not told the truth about the taxes with or without homestead. This will ruin this state if the property taxes are not made equitable. Some pay sooooo low and others are so high - this benifits no one in the end
I agree. Miami is not the place to live. Property is expensive, traffic is bad, people are rude, shall I go on..... I can't stand this place. I would move but..... There are lots of things keeping me here, for example, my job and health insurance. Just let me win the lottery, you would not be able to see my tail as fast as I would be moving.
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