Drew Wilson
The Florida Realtors, the state’s largest professional association, made a seven-figure donation to the principal committee backing one of the property tax measures that will be on the November ballot.
Amendment 2 is for Everybody showed a pair checks from the trade group totaling $2.9 million during the reporting period for the week of Oct. 6. Like past reports for the pro-Amendment 2 committee, the Florida Realtors were the only donor on the contrib list.
With the new haul, the committee has now raised a total of $9.56 million. The week also saw it put those funds to work through more a pair of ad buys that combined to more than $1 million — $811,000 headed to Gainesville-based SGS, a company tied to GOP consultant Pat Bainter, and another $272,000 was paid to New York-based McLaughlin & Associates.
Amendment 2 is for Everybody had about $2.35 million left to spend on Oct. 12.
Amendment 2 would make instill a permanent tax cap on annual assessments for non-homesteaded properties, excluding school taxes. Voters approved a measure a decade ago current that limited property assessment increases to 10 percent a year, but that is set to expire in 2019. Amendment 2 would make that measure permanent.
Supporters have pushed the property tax measure has having “no catch,” saying that a vote for Amendment 2 “avoids a three-fourths of a billion-dollar tax increase,”
A recent poll commissioned by the Florida Chamber of Commerce showed about half of Florida voters were firm supporters of Amendment 2 while 25 percent were firmly opposed, giving it strong odds to pass in the fall. Amendments require 60 percent support from voters to make the state constitution.
The amendment also recently earned the backing of Florida TaxWatch, which recommended voters take a pass on Amendment 1, which would increase the homestead exemption by $25,000 to $125,000, and vote in favor of Amendment 2.
