While most Florida homeowners are itching for a break on their property taxes, Fisher Island’s wealthy residents have been getting breaks for years.
Residents of the exclusive island at the foot of South Beach have gotten accustomed to challenging the property appraiser’s assessments before the Miami-Dade County Value Adjustment Board —and saving big on property taxes.
The assessment cuts approved by the county board have translated to $15.2 million in lost tax revenue from 2002 to 2005, according to a report by Service Employees International Union Local 11, which is trying to organize island workers.
The tax-trimming strategy extended into the 2006 tax year as island homeowners filed more than 540 petitions with the board to challenge their property valuations.
“Every American has a right to appeal his property taxes, and many Americans choose to do so. The people of Fisher Island paid $21.5 million in property taxes last year and received virtually no services from the county,” Fisher Island Community Association president Mark James said. “We have no apologies for our right to appeal our property taxes.”