A Rick Scott tax hike? Yes, some Republicans say

Gov. Rick Scott doesn't talk about how his "record" budget for schools requires the state to collect more taxes from Floridians. But some of his fellow Republicans say it's true.

Scott's $77 billion budget proposal now before the Legislature includes $842 million more for schools, bringing per pupil spending to its highest level. But nearly half of Scott's increase would come from higher property taxes paid by homeowners and businesses due to growth in property values.

Is that a tax increase? Absolutely, a key Republican legislator says.

"It is a tax increase if you're a property taxpayer who gets a tax bill that will go up next year compared to this year. Property taxpayers will look at that and say 'That's a tax increase,'" said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, a key architect of the education budget as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education. "The state is contributing less and less ... and local school districts are contributing more and more."

Gaetz, a former school superintendent and school board member in Okaloosa County, added: "If the check he (the taxpayer) has to write goes up, then he thinks his taxes go up."

Scott's education budget includes $392 million more in property taxes collected statewide as part of the statewide K-12 fund known as required local effort, for a total of $7.6 billion. The state-mandated property tax rate for schools would stay the same under Scott's proposal -- about $5 for every $1,000 of taxable value -- but the growth in property values will require taxpayers to pay more.

If Scott's proposal passes the Legislature, all 67 county school boards will have to ratify the decision.  

"Because property values are starting to increase, the required local effort actually generates considerably more dollars," said Pasco County Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning, a Republican. "Are people paying more taxes? Yes."

Scott also wants to reduce taxes on Floridians by $673 million. That means there isn't enough money, even with a projected $1 billion surplus, to cut taxes and increase school spending without leaning on the backs of local property taxpayers.

Under Scott's proposal, the state would require an additional $14 million in property taxes in Pinellas County; $31 million in Hillsborough; $7 million in Pasco; $57 million in Miami-Dade; and $38 million in Broward. The fine print of Scott's spending blueprint for the K-12 system is here.

In Miami and other booming urban areas, some of the new money is the result of new construction, as office buildings and condos are added to the tax rolls for the first time. But in a built-out county such as Pinellas, virtually all of the increase falls on homeowners and businesses. But when Scott rolled out his budget last month, he made no mention of the need to collect more property taxes. "We are giving Floridians back $673 million of their money," he said.

Whether a spike in property values is truly a tax increase has been the subject of much debate, and it became a political issue in the 2014 governor's race when Scott's Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist, ran a TV ad that said: "Rick Scott raised your property taxes," a reference to the current year's budget that increased local property tax collections without raising the tax rate.

Politifact.com rated Crist's claim mostly false and noted that property tax collections are increasing "because property values are going up after a historic recession and loss of real estate values."

Scott's education budget includes $392 million more in property taxes collected statewide as part of the statewide K-12 fund known as required local effort, for a total of $7.6 billion. The state-mandated property tax rate for schools would stay the same under Scott's proposal -- about $5 for every $1,000 of taxable value -- but the growth in property values will require taxpayers to pay more.

If Scott's proposal passes the Legislature, all 67 county school boards will have to ratify the decision.  

"Because property values are starting to increase, the required local effort actually generates considerably more dollars," said Pasco County Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning, a Republican. "Are people paying more taxes? Yes."

Scott also wants to reduce taxes on Floridians by $673 million. That means there isn't enough money, even with a projected $1 billion surplus, to cut taxes and increase school spending without leaning on the backs of local property taxpayers.

Under Scott's proposal, the state would require an additional $14 million in property taxes in Pinellas County; $31 million in Hillsborough; $7 million in Pasco; $57 million in Miami-Dade; and $38 million in Broward. The fine print of Scott's spending blueprint for the K-12 system is here.

In Miami and other booming urban areas, some of the new money is the result of new construction, as office buildings and condos are added to the tax rolls for the first time. But in a built-out county such as Pinellas, virtually all of the increase falls on homeowners and businesses. But when Scott rolled out his budget last month, he made no mention of the need to collect more property taxes. "We are giving Floridians back $673 million of their money," he said.

Whether a spike in property values is truly a tax increase has been the subject of much debate, and it became a political issue in the 2014 governor's race when Scott's Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist, ran a TV ad that said: "Rick Scott raised your property taxes," a reference to the current year's budget that increased local property tax collections without raising the tax rate.

Politifact.com rated Crist's claim mostly false and noted that property tax collections are increasing "because property values are going up after a historic recession and loss of real estate values."