Crist pushes first-time homebuyer exemption

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – April 16, 2009 – Florida lawmakers heard the Realtor voice, and Gov. Charlie Crist backed up the message.

Crist made a surprise appearance yesterday before a Senate committee to throw his support behind a new first-time homebuyer property tax exemption. The Florida Association of Realtors’ (FAR) Office of Public Policy was instrumental in obtaining sponsors for the measure.

Crist testified before the Finance and Tax Committee just moments after he met with 10 Realtors who told him they were seeing, according to the governor, a “positive upswing” in home sales in parts of Florida.

“It may not be a blessing for government,” Crist said of the ballot measure’s potential for reducing property tax revenue. “But I know who we work for – we work for the people.

“And for young couples that may want to get a first home, or for families starting out, or even for someone like me, who never bought a home. And I’d like to buy my first home,” Crist added.

The proposed 2010 ballot measure (CS/SJR532) would create an additional, first-year homestead exemption equal to 25 percent of a home’s market value, up to $100,000.

The break would be limited to buyers who never had a homestead exemption before, and would decline by 20 percent until it disappeared in the fifth year after the purchase. The House version of the bill creates a 50 percent break on a home’s value up to $250,000.

Crist told the committee that he and Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, as former legislators, “try to keep our nose out of your business as much as possible.” But he added that the Legislature was entering the homestretch and that the ballot measure “is just a great thing.”

The proposal still has three more committee stops in the Senate.

Source: News Service of Florida

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