Finally today when I first glanced at the Florida House Majority Whips proposal for property tax relief I knew there would be some skeptism by voters, but never thought I'd get all the out and out whinning from various parts of city and county governments. It would be embarassing to start naming names here, but their criticism seems more wrapped around what could be than what is.

The state wouldn't be proposing doing away with homestead exemptions and replacing that opportunity with a sales tax if the cities had done their job of protecting property owners in the last few years. The cities just didn't get it done. The county was no help so the legislature is stepping in. I don't know what the Senate's version of this plan is going to be, and hardly have a clue as to what Governor Crist will no doubt weigh in with, but one thing is clear. the gravy train is over for cities and towns.

There are all kinds of versions of what sales tax rates are likely to be under the new plan. One rumor has the sales tax spiraling to almost 20%!  This is nuts. So I called Tallahassee myself and confirmed what I had already surmissed, that even with local options added in, the worst a new state sales tax might be is 10% and that's because the Tallahassee  itself has a 7.5% figure and after you add the new sales tax rate supplement of 2.5% it works out to 10%.

Floridians have long been accustomed to the financial relief of a homestead exemption, designed and employed years ago as an incentive to get people to move here and hopefully stay.  This ploy is rather outdated today given the still publicized number of $1,000 people per day moving here without in many instances even the knowledge of such an excemption. When a former Attorney General Bob Butterworth suggested the state do away with this perk he was met with the resistance of the state Supreme Court. Butterworth wanted to sunset the perk suggesting we no longer had to bribe people to poulate the state, they were willing entrants.

My advice for citizens is to watch andlisten to the presentations without drawing preconceived notions as to whether you are being ripped off. The idea is win-win for everyone. In the end you will have to decide any change at the polls. be armed this summer with the facts, not the scare tactics.