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What Does Amendment 1 Do?

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 28, 2008

Q: What would Amendment 1 do?

A: * It would double the homestead exemption for primary homeowners to $50,000.
* Make Save Our Homes tax protection portable for homeowners who want to move to a new primary residence, up to $500,000.
* Give a $25,000 tax break on tangible personal property for businesses.
* Give a 10 percent cap on annual increases in assessments for property without homestead exemptions.

Q: How will the doubled homestead exemption work?

A: Current law exempts the first $25,000 of your primary home's value from taxation.
The amendment would "double" that by exempting the third $25,000 of your home's value.

In other words, the first $25,000 of your home's value would remain exempt from taxation. The next $25,000 (up to $50,000) would be taxed. The amendment would exempt the next $25,000 of your home's value (from $50,000 to $75,000). You would pay taxes on whatever value remains, above $75,000.

Q: How much am I likely to save?

A: Statewide, average savings would be about $240 for owners of homesteaded property; in Hillsborough County, the average savings would be about $300. That savings could be eroded if local governments raise their millage to compensate for a shrinking tax base.

If Hillsborough County commissioners did this, the average savings could drop to about $250.

Q: Will I lose my 3 percent assessment cap if this passes?

A: No. The Save Our Homes program, which caps annual increases in assessments for primary homeowners, would remain in place. The amendment would expand the program by allowing homeowners to transfer the savings they have amassed under the program to their next home, should they move. This is the "portability" feature of the plan, which could boost savings substantially for some homeowners.

Q: How would Save Our Homes portability work?

A: Homeowners would be able to transfer their Save Our Homes benefit of up to $500,000 to a new primary residence. If they move to a more expensive home, the entire benefit transfers; if they downsize, the same proportion of value is transferred. The provision is retroactive to include 2007 homebuyers.

Q: Does the amendment include special help for seniors?

A: There is nothing in the proposal that pertains to seniors specifically. However, the portability feature is expected to appeal to seniors who may want to downsize but fear losing their Save Our Homes tax protection by moving.

Q: What isn't included in the amendment?

A: * Additional tax assistance for first-time homebuyers.
* Reforms to reduce or eliminate the tax inequities that Save Our Homes creates among longtime homesteaders, first-time homebuyers and owners of nonhomesteaded property.
* A guarantee that lawmakers will hold public schools "harmless."
* Alternative sources of revenue to offset tax cuts.
* Anything to stop cities and counties from raising their tax rates to compensate for revenue lost as a result of the amendment.

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.

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