Anne Gannon Issues Latest Warning On Property Tax Cut Amendment.
Palm Beach County’s top tax official is the latest official to say Amendment 3 — the Amendment that could lower Florida property taxes — is a horrible idea. We are publishing the official statement started by Anne Gannon, Palm Beach County Tax Collector:
>> As a constitutional officer dedicated to efficient, transparent, and equitable collection and distribution of property taxes for Palm Beach County, Anne M. Gannon shares critical concerns regarding proposed Amendment 3. While tax relief for Florida property owners is an important priority, constitutional changes of this magnitude carry potential significant unintended consequences for local communities, infrastructure, and public services.
Primary Areas of Concern
• Severe Impact on Core Local Government Services: The substantial expansion of homestead exemptions (up to $250,000 for non-school levies) and the reduction of the non-homestead assessment cap from 10% to 5% will eliminate billions of dollars in local revenue over time. Property taxes directly fund essential local protections—drastically cutting budgets for public safety, county sheriffs, fire-rescue, emergency medical services, and forcing deep reductions in roads, parks, libraries, and other vital infrastructure.
• Shift of the Local Tax Burden: When primary homeowners receive large tax breaks, local governments still face the cost of delivering essential services like law enforcement, emergency response, and road repair. To offset these revenue shortfalls, municipalities may be forced to raise tax rates or shift the tax burden to fund these vital services onto renters, small businesses, local commercial properties, and other taxpayers.
• Disproportionate Risk to Rural Counties and Cities: Smaller, fiscally constrained rural communities rely heavily on modest property tax bases to sustain operations. Reductions of this scale risk severely destabilizing or bankrupting small rural cities and counties, directly impacting the families who depend on local government stability for basic public services.
Anne M. Gannon encourages all Florida voters to carefully examine the full fiscal and operational scope of Amendment 3 on November 3. She remains committed to serving Palm Beach County taxpayers with integrity and transparency and stands ready to work with the Legislature and local government partners to ensure public awareness of property tax policy.
Read the full article on Boca News Now