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Many Put On Notice Tax Break To Decline

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By MIKE SALINERO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 30, 2008

Updated: 08/30/2008 12:23 am

TAMPA - This wasn't supposed to be the year of the angry taxpayer.

In January, Florida voters passed Amendment 1, which promised property tax relief on several fronts, including nearly doubling the homestead exemption.

But thousands of taxpayers got a nasty surprise when they received their Truth in Millage, or TRIM, notices two weeks ago. Many saw the assessed values of their homes increase, despite plunging housing prices. The increased assessments wiped out some or all of the savings promised by Amendment 1.

Some taxpayers were disgruntled but philosophical about their smaller-than-expected tax breaks. Carrollwood resident Jim Reul said the $133 reduction in his property tax bill is welcome but won't help much with food and fuel prices escalating.

"I'm a realist. I understand promises made by politicians are not always to be taken at 100 percent," Reul said. "This one should have been taken at about 10 percent, which is about what we got."

Then there are the truly angry, like 70-year-old Thomas Dombrosky. The tax bill on Dombrosky's condominium near the University of South Florida increased by 6.9 percent this year.

Dombrosky said he lives in a crime-ridden neighborhood where property values have been sliding. Yet the property appraiser listed the market value of his condo this year at $94,985, up from $88,840 last year.

"I can't sell it for $40,000," Dombrosky said. "The whole tax system in this county is corrupt."

State Invokes 'Recapture' Provision

The main reason taxpayers saw their assessed values increase this year is a little-known provision in state law called "recapture." It requires property appraisers to increase the assessed value of any house with a homestead exemption by 3 percent or the inflation rate, whichever is lower.

That means even if the market value of your home drops, your assessed value will increase by about 3 percent.

The rule is meant to help local governments recapture some of the market value shielded from tax collectors by the Save Our Homes Amendment. The amendment, passed by voters in 1992, caps increases in taxable property values at 3 percent.

"The market has gone crazy the last four or five years, but the people who have been homesteaded haven't felt the brunt of that because their appraised value has been capped," said Tim Wilmath, director of valuation for Hillsborough County Property Appraiser Rob Turner.

Now that the market is dropping instead of rising, though, they're paying some of those savings back.

The recapture provision affects 202,778 homesteaded properties in Hillsborough County this year. The only properties not affected are those that have no Save Our Homes cap because their market value is the same as their assessed value.

"Those are typically new homesteads that haven't had a chance to build up a cap yet," Wilmath said.

The more expensive the house, the more the 3 percent recapture bites. In some cases, it can wipe out the Amendment 1 reductions.

"If your house is valued really high like $600,000, then that 3 percent increase is getting pretty painful," Wilmath said. "That's an $18,000 increase. Now the Amendment 1 second homestead exemption isn't doing much."

Assessor's Office Flooded With Calls

The property assessor's office has been getting about 600 calls a day since the TRIM notices went out. Most callers want to know why their assessed values went up. A few want their assessed values increased because Amendment 1 allows them to take their Save Our Home caps to another home. The higher the assessed value, the higher the cap.

As for Dombrosky, his assessment was based on sales of other condos in the same complex. Two condos that are the same size and shape sold last year for $120,000 and $123,000, Wilmath said.

Plus, only half of Dombrosky's condo is homesteaded because he owns it with someone who doesn't live there. Therefore, he only gets half the homestead exemption.

Dombrosky said he would gladly sell the county the condo for its assessed value.

"If I have to, I'll walk away from my home," he said. "I'm not going to pay my taxes until they cut my taxes by at least half."

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com.

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