Some Thoughts On Property Taxes
For many, many months I've been trading e-mails with the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners regarding taxation policies here.
My feeling, and that of other property owners who I know, is that the actual dollar figures collected for taxes are too much. In fact, the St. Petersburg Times reported on August 19th that property tax receipts in the county have increased 61% in the last five years.
That, my friend, is a lot of money. In fact, the Times indicates that Pinellas County is swimming in surplus funds, but somehow manages to spend all those extra tax dollars every budget year.
The responses I receive from my e-mails to the County Commission have always been polite, timely and "politically correct". By that I mean I've received responses that consistently present the need for taxes, that tax policy is really set in Tallahassee not Clearwater, and that what's really unfair is the inequities found as a result of the Save Our Homes laws that put an unfair taxation amount upon those who recently purchased property.
My point to the Commission has always been that homeowners have limited resources and the actual number of real dollars collected in property taxes creates a genuine burden on people, and that burden needs to be reduced.
Recently I received an e-mail from a commissioner that detailed a very minor decrease in the millage rate. It's malarkey. It's meaningless. As measured against the vast increase in real dollars collected in taxes by Pinellas County in recent years, the reduction in millage rate is a joke.
What The Big Boss Beaucrat Is Saying
Planet Realtor publishes a newsletter that goes to real estate agents throughout Florida; I read it regularly. I'm going to quote its August 27th story because it carries an article about tax policy which quotes Jim Smith. You'll find this very interesting!
"Jim Smith, the elected property appraiser in Pinellas County, Florida, which includes St. Petersburg and Clearwater, says government spending is the problem, not higher property values. He says elected officials use higher asessments as a way to raise taxes without admitting it. 'It's the big lie,' Smith says. 'I'm fed up with them claiming they cut taxes because they lowered the tax rate, at the same time they're collecting more money because of higher assessments.'"
The article goes on to explain that every year, Florida property appraisers give local elected officials an estimate of what the tax rate should be so that taxes don't go up even if property values have. This is called the Rollback Rate. "If they don't want to spend more money, they can use the Rollback Rate," said Smith. "Of course, they never do. Instead, they get to have a tax increase while claiming they lower taxes."
What It Means
So, every year the Board of County Commissioners is presented with a way to control taxes by controlling spending, and they choose to ignore it. They choose to spend more dollars -- your dollars. So, every year the amount of hard-won dollars that you must pay in property taxes goes up, even though your millage rate may go down. So every year there's more money to grow bigger and bigger government. Like me, you've probably noticed that as government grows it's appetite for more and more money grows right along with it.
What Can Be Done?
So, if you're concerned about your property tax burden, what can you do about it?
I wish I knew. Perhaps the answer can be found in the Rollback Rate. Perhaps not.
Write letters, send e-mails, go to commission meetings, write letters to the editor. Express your concern about this matter whenever you get the chance. And do it loudly! Sooner or later the Commission might hear you and get the message.
In the meantime, grit your teeth and write that check.
For more information about real estate in Pinellas County, visit my website at www.thestpeterealestatesite.com.
My feeling, and that of other property owners who I know, is that the actual dollar figures collected for taxes are too much. In fact, the St. Petersburg Times reported on August 19th that property tax receipts in the county have increased 61% in the last five years.
That, my friend, is a lot of money. In fact, the Times indicates that Pinellas County is swimming in surplus funds, but somehow manages to spend all those extra tax dollars every budget year.
The responses I receive from my e-mails to the County Commission have always been polite, timely and "politically correct". By that I mean I've received responses that consistently present the need for taxes, that tax policy is really set in Tallahassee not Clearwater, and that what's really unfair is the inequities found as a result of the Save Our Homes laws that put an unfair taxation amount upon those who recently purchased property.
My point to the Commission has always been that homeowners have limited resources and the actual number of real dollars collected in property taxes creates a genuine burden on people, and that burden needs to be reduced.
Recently I received an e-mail from a commissioner that detailed a very minor decrease in the millage rate. It's malarkey. It's meaningless. As measured against the vast increase in real dollars collected in taxes by Pinellas County in recent years, the reduction in millage rate is a joke.
What The Big Boss Beaucrat Is Saying
Planet Realtor publishes a newsletter that goes to real estate agents throughout Florida; I read it regularly. I'm going to quote its August 27th story because it carries an article about tax policy which quotes Jim Smith. You'll find this very interesting!
"Jim Smith, the elected property appraiser in Pinellas County, Florida, which includes St. Petersburg and Clearwater, says government spending is the problem, not higher property values. He says elected officials use higher asessments as a way to raise taxes without admitting it. 'It's the big lie,' Smith says. 'I'm fed up with them claiming they cut taxes because they lowered the tax rate, at the same time they're collecting more money because of higher assessments.'"
The article goes on to explain that every year, Florida property appraisers give local elected officials an estimate of what the tax rate should be so that taxes don't go up even if property values have. This is called the Rollback Rate. "If they don't want to spend more money, they can use the Rollback Rate," said Smith. "Of course, they never do. Instead, they get to have a tax increase while claiming they lower taxes."
What It Means
So, every year the Board of County Commissioners is presented with a way to control taxes by controlling spending, and they choose to ignore it. They choose to spend more dollars -- your dollars. So, every year the amount of hard-won dollars that you must pay in property taxes goes up, even though your millage rate may go down. So every year there's more money to grow bigger and bigger government. Like me, you've probably noticed that as government grows it's appetite for more and more money grows right along with it.
What Can Be Done?
So, if you're concerned about your property tax burden, what can you do about it?
I wish I knew. Perhaps the answer can be found in the Rollback Rate. Perhaps not.
Write letters, send e-mails, go to commission meetings, write letters to the editor. Express your concern about this matter whenever you get the chance. And do it loudly! Sooner or later the Commission might hear you and get the message.
In the meantime, grit your teeth and write that check.
For more information about real estate in Pinellas County, visit my website at www.thestpeterealestatesite.com.
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 3:43 AM
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