A THREAT OF SKYROCKETING PROPERTY TAXES DANGLES OVER SOUTH FLORIDA CRE
Keeping property taxes under control is important to commercial real estate investors. Yet, that could change soon – unless Florida Legislators vote to make permanent a 10 percent cap that limits how much your property tax bill can go up. Florida legislators will debate in the 2017 legislative session starting in early March whether to let a 10 percent cap expire in 2019 or make it permanent. This issue is of great concern to CRE investors. The cap was established in the previous real estate cycle, when investment properties were appreciating at a rapid pace and tax bills were getting out of control year after year. To prevent a similar scenario past 2019, State Sen. Tom Lee has introduced SB 76 called Limitations on Property Tax Assessments to remove the expiration date. If the bill is approved, voters will have the last say on the 2018 ballot.
If the cap expires, commercial properties, including vacation homes, will be reassessed to current values and tax bills will increase significantly.
“Failure to pass this joint resolution will result in one of the largest tax increases in the history of our state,” Lee said in a statement.
I suggest that we let our elected officials know we support this bill and the accompanying bill HB 21 in the House. Keeping property taxes down at a time when interest rates are going up can help investors mitigate increasing carrying cost.