A new report is warning that Amendment 3 would be devastating for renters in Florida.
The Florida Housing Coalition released a report detailing that Amendment 3 could shift the tax burdens to renters and have devastating effects in Florida.
The coalition said that Florida’s proposed Amendment 3 is a tax shift that will either raise our costs or cut our services, and that new taxes and fees will need to be raised in order to avoid cuts to services like law enforcement, fire departments, local health care programs, disaster recovery funds, parks, libraries, road maintenance, and programs that help local kids and seniors.
But Florida Republicans want voters to know that Amendment 3 will help renters and homeownership affordability.
This Florida Housing Coalition report looks at the effects on rent as losses from Amendment 3 are replaced by raising the local non-homestead property tax millage rate. The results for them are frightening and a loud alarm for Florida’s economic future.
According to the report, the average Florida apartment unit will pay on average over $400 more per year by 2028 and over $550 by 2031. Single family rental homes will pay more than $1,000 more by 2028 and over $1,400 by 2031. This results in a higher cost of living and a huge tax shift onto the backs of renters in the years to come.
Of Florida’s nearly 3 million renter households, over 900,000 of them are considered “cost burdened,” paying more than 40% of their income toward rent, according to recent reports. The Sunshine State also ranks as the “worst state for renters,” with costs here nearly 20% above the national average.
“As one of the millions of renters in Florida who feel this cost-of-living crisis every single day, Amendment 3 would only further burden young people, working people, low-income households, and seniors on a fixed income,” Orlando Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost said. “Floridians are already being priced out of the state we love, and this amendment will raise our costs even more while cutting the services we rely on every day. Florida voters should vote No on 3 and demand real affordability solutions instead of this scam.”
“This report is clear: Amendment 3 will cause real harm to our communities as they struggle to fund essential services like law enforcement, fire departments, programs to help local kids and seniors, and so much more,” added Jackson Peel, communications director for Save Our Services – No On 3. “Florida is already one of the most expensive places in the country to rent and Amendment 3 will make it worse. That doesn’t just hurt the hardworking families struggling to pay their bills, it hurts our economy for years to come.”
Review the Florida Housing Coalition report, “Amendment 3 Could Shift Tax Burdens to Renters,” online.
“Shifting taxes onto the backs of renters is shortsighted and bad for Florida. Young families will leave, and seniors will retire elsewhere,” Jackson Peel continued. “There is no way to enact Amendment 3’s cuts without hurting Florida’s working families and seniors. If a community wants to lower their own taxes they have every right to do so, but Amendment 3 forces drastic cuts to services or drastic tax increases, and both harm our communities.
“We all want relief during this affordability crisis but Amendment 3 is not the answer. It is a scam and tax shift that will raise our costs and cut our services.”
RELATED: Florida Republicans: Amendment 3 Helps Renters, Homeownership Affordability
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