West Pasco Real Estate Blog

Immediate: Require cities and counties to cut property taxes based on a formula tied to how much they’ve increased taxes in the past. The lower rates would take effect with the November property tax bill. Areas where taxes have grown the most on a per capita basis would be required to cut taxes the most. Conversely, cities and counties with the lowest increases would face the smallest cuts.

Long-term: Voters would have to approve a plan to replace Save Our Homes and the homestead exemption with a tiered, percentage-based super exemption. For instance, the first $100,000 of a home’s value might be 70% exempt, the next $100,000 would be 50% exempt, and so on. Homeowners would be able to keep their Save Our Homes benefits (3% cap annually) if that yields greater savings than the super exemption.

Still undecided: a tax relief plan for elderly, commercial and non-homestead (second and vacation) property owners, as well as tax incentives for affordable housing. For commercial property owners, FAR recommends the Legislature place a 10% cap on yearly assessments for non-homestead property and assess property based on its "present use," not "highest and best use."