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Tax Cap Portability Suit Filed

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The Associated Press

Published: February 14, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - A lawyer for three new Florida homeowners has filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the portability portion of the Save Our Homes Amendment.

The plaintiffs, homeowners in Tallahassee, Port Charlotte and North Palm Beach, also are seeking tax refunds for themselves and other recent homebuyers, which could cost local governments and school districts billions of dollars.

Save Our Homes caps annual assessment increases at 3 percent for primary homes, or homesteads. That means the plaintiffs and other recent homebuyers are paying much higher taxes than longtime residents with homes of the same or similar value.

The amended lawsuit alleges that the amendment voters adopted Jan. 29 increases the disparity through a "portability" provision that lets homesteaders take their Save Our Homes benefits with them when they move.

A state judge in Tallahassee last year dismissed a similar lawsuit by out-of-state owners of second homes in Florida that challenged Save Our Homes on grounds that it violates anti-discrimination provisions of the U.S. Constitution. An appeal is pending.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who touted the plan, said Wednesday that he was confident the new tax-cutting proposal will withstand a legal challenge.

"Part of my confidence is based on the fact that Save Our Homes has been in existence since 1992," Crist said. He said Amendment 1 is "an extension of that."

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