Florida realtors funding ‘Vote Yes On 3’
At the Florida Realtors’ Orlando headquarters, the sign out front reads “The Voice For Real Estate In Florida.” Now the organization, which boasts more than 238,000 members in the Sunshine State, will be the “voice” of Amendment 3.
The measure goes before voters in November and promises a property tax cut. A “yes” vote would provide an additional $150,000 homestead exemption on residential property taxes next year, and a $250,000 exemption in 2028.
Believing passage will boost home sales, the “Vote Yes On 3” committee is headed by Florida Realtor leadership: The committee chair, Margaret “Margy” Grant, is the Florida Realtors CEO, and committee treasurer David Garrison is the Florida Realtors Chief Operating Officer.
Records with the state division of elections, under the Florida Secretary of State’s Office, show the Florida Realtors poured $ 10 million into the “Vote Yes On 3” campaign last week.
A spokesperson for the organization told WESH 2 News that no one was available to be interviewed on camera for this report, but that they may have more to release following the official launch of the “Vote Yes on 3” campaign on Wednesday.
In announcing last month its support for the amendment, the organization released this statement: “Florida Realtors supports Amendment 3 because it offers voters an opportunity to provide meaningful property tax relief while strengthening Florida’s commitment to attainable homeownership.”
The “Vote No on 3” campaign thinks otherwise.
“I think it’s very short-sighted,” said the political committee’s chair. Bryan Desloge. Notably, the former Leon County Commissioner is a republican, but he thinks republican leadership under Governor Ron DeSantis is steering voters wrong on Amendment 3.
Desloge says, in addition to the argument that cutting property tax revenues to cities and counties will leave them $5 billion short in year one and $12 billion annually by year five, making it difficult to continue to pay for public safety, parks, libraries and more. He predicts that the reduction in revenue on homestead property will almost certainly result in higher property taxes on rental and vacation properties, with people living on those properties absorbing higher costs.
Desloge adds, “You sell a house that’s not homesteaded- second homes, third homes, commercial properties, renters, all that stuff- we’re going to shift the cost. We have to. There’s no way you can absorb that kind of hit.”
He recommends voters reject Amendment 3 and wait for the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, which meets every 20 years to assess taxation statewide, to tackle property taxes when the Commission meets next year.