Florida lawmakers want to help renters with cuts in property taxes
The more than 850,000 residents of Broward and Palm Beach counties who rent their homes would benefit by changes key lawmakers say they are now willing to make to the tax cut plans taking shape in the Legislature.
Until now, many Republican lawmakers had wanted to leave landlords free to decide what, if any, property tax savings they would share with tenants. But top House Republicans have joined Democrats in citing the need for firmer guarantees that tenants, as well as property owners, profit from any property tax reductions that are enacted this year.
House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, and other high-ranking Republicans say they are soliciting ideas from interest groups and fellow lawmakers on how to revamp a proposed tax-cut package so that it would also deliver savings to the more than 2 million Floridians who live in apartments or homes that belong to others. The original blueprint drawn by House Republicans was fiercely criticized as a bonanza for rich homeowners.