The House plan approved Wednesday would expand the exemption to cover the portion of home values between $75,000 and $100,000. The Senate, however, would apply the exemption to the portion of values between $100,000 and $125,000.
The Senate version would reduce the revenue hit to local governments. But local officials continued their objections Friday.
“If you put it on the ballot, it will pass because people vote for what they want, and of course everybody always wants a tax cut of some kind,” said Edward Labrador, a lobbyist for Broward County. “But those things have impacts and we can’t ignore that, and this will have a significant impact for the people of Broward County.”
Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson said the proposal subverts “home rule” and transfers more of the tax burden to businesses and other non-homestead properties.
“Nobody wants to pay for taxes, but at the end of the day if we want to provide services, people are still demanding those services,” Robinson told members of the Rules Committee. “I get it. I understand that this is a good political bill, but it is not good government.”
