Item Coversheet

Committee Assignments - C4  F




COMMISSION MEMORANDUM

TO:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission 
FROM:Commissioner John Eizabeth Aleman 
DATE:May  17, 2017
 



SUBJECT:REFERRAL TO THE FINANCE AND CITYWIDE PROJECTS COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF HIGHER HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS ON PROPERTY TAX REVENUE FOR MIAMI BEACH.

ANALYSIS

Please place on the May 17, 2017 City Commission Agenda, a referral to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee (FCWP) to discuss the potential impact to the City budget that raising the homestead exemption on property tax revenue could have in Miami Beach.

In November of 2018, 4.3 million homeowners in the state of Florida could vote on increasing homestead exemptions from the current $50,000 on the first $100,000 of a home’s taxable value to $75,000 in an effort to give homeowners a break on property taxes. While the average homeowner participating in this program – a program that currently lowers by $50,000 the taxable value on a primary residence – may save an average of $200, it is estimated that Miami-Dade County could lose approximately $76 million per year in property tax revenue. The cut could negatively and directly affect basic services including police and fire as well as business owners and temporary vacationers who could see raises to their annual taxes.

In light of this information, I would like to direct staff to work with the Property Appraiser’s Office to help assess and determine the impact that such a cut could have on the City of Miami Beach’s property tax revenue.

Attached is a recent Miami Herald Article reporting on the issue.

Please contact my office at extension 6437 for additional information.

Legislative Tracking
Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman & Co-sponsored by Commissioner Arriola

ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Miami Herald - Raising Homestead Exemptions