Disappointing tax notices has homeowners asking, 'Where's the drop?'

[RockaFowler]

Two months ago, a triumphant Gov. Charlie Crist visited Palm Springs and promised that a tax reform package he had just signed would cause property taxes to "drop like a rock."

But when Palm Beach Gardens retiree and landlord Fred Wang received his tax bills this week, he wondered where the big savings had gone.

One of his properties, a duplex in suburban West Palm Beach, saw its assessed value soar by 35 percent. His tax bill on the home rose 17 percent from 2006.

"I was surprised," Wang said Thursday. "The governor pushed the tax reform, and the legislature worked real hard to lower taxes. But when I get the bill, it looks like there's a disconnect."

Wang did see decreases in preliminary tax bills on other properties he owns, although the cuts weren't the rock-like drops he expected. The bill on his residence in Palm Beach Gardens fell 5 percent, and bills on other rental properties he owns fell by 2 percent to 9 percent. But the retired engineer was expecting more.

The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's office said the average tax bill in the county actually rose slightly from 2006 to 2007, from $4,599 last year to $4,617 this year.

snip

In a speech to Realtors today in Lake Buena Vista, Crist said a proposed property tax amendment on the ballot in January will offer bigger savings.

"Florida's going to have a sonic boom when this happens. You're going to be busier than you've been in your life," Crist told 550 agents at the Florida Association of Realtors' annual convention.

"Get ready, get your rest, make sure your license is up to date."

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2007/08/23/0824proptax.html#comments

OK, is Charlie Crist high on something?? I thought I would post this here to let more people see the delusional governor of Florida. I liked Mr Crist for a minute and then this stupid tax cut. There was no tax cut. Let's be real . . .

[mrcheerful]

1. Well John Dick Sucker Engler told home owners in michigan that they would save $1,000's on property

taxes if they supported him cutting everyone off welfare except Children. 1,000's of single people were cut off welfare and michigan home owners are still waiting for that tax break.

[partylessinOhio]

2. Well our Dem preacher gov changed the Homestead Exemption and

RAISED my property tax. My house was built in the 1920s, needs repairs and painting. The valuation is definitely NOT going UP.

:thumbsdown:

[BlooInBloo]

3. Huh. Looky at that! A republican politician screws the middle-class!

Fuck you - you deserve what you fucking vote for.

[Malikshah]

4. I have no sympathy for Fred Wang. None.

He owns multiple properties.

We've got friends who are working overtime for less pay and paying so much in healthcare costs for their kids that they're fearful of losing their villa.. yup-- not a single family home, but a semi-detached place.

The fact that the Palm Beach Post would use this guy as an example just shows how radically screwed up their priorities are.

[rsr1771]

5. well, I own only one...

and my taxes went up as well. Although I own a house, Im by no means a millionaire. Many people in Florida cannot afford a house because of high insurance rates and property taxes. Property taxes hurt all homeowners.

[Malikshah]

6. I agree and sympathize-- it's rough-- using a multiple property owner as an example

though, as the Palm Beach Post did, was not an effective bit of coverage. They should have looked at the average homeowner.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. I might as well fence my property and be done with it.

Whenever you give the real estate industry too much of anything, it generally means more churn in property, and less opportunity for homeowners to put down roots. It's the way the real estate industry likes it, and the way local government likes it because people can't stick around long enough to bond and find common interest, if they're moving out once they raised their kids. And they move out because the families who are exploited the most are families with young children. They just don't know how it's being done to them. But the hint is, that Seniors don't want to put up a penny in recreational facilities for the young, and older businessmen types who wouldn't think twice about colluding with the local government to expedite development, at the expense of their neighbors.