Senate Bill 1738 - additional homestead exemption

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As this additional homestead exemption (Senate Bill 1738) is being considered to assist low income Seniors and could be on the ballot this year, there will be a few still complaining that some of us don't pay taxes. They want to see the elderly poor pay more no matter what but have no compunction about building affordable housing for younger poor people or 3,000 s.f. townhouses on Lucerne for the working, struggling artist.

If it passes with 60% of the Florida vote, cities will get less advalorem. This will be a big challenge for all municipalities in Florida. They will have to come up with special assessments that are not fair nor are they equitable. As we go into our Budget discussions, all involved can't forget that Lake Worth, with 14% of its population here in Lake Worth, already has a senior exemption. The vast majority of Seniors have incomes less than $20,000 a year.

The homestead exemption for low-income seniors isn't the only one Floridians might be asked to vote on this year. State legislators also unanimously approved a constitutional amendment that would provide a homestead exemption to surviving spouses of veterans or emergency first-responders who died in the line of duty.

Each measure would need to be approved by 60 percent of voters statewide (a supermajority) before it could go into effect.

Cities in PB County that already have the Senior exemption:

The additional benefit for qualified seniors applies only to taxes levied by the following authorities. The county's senior exemption does not apply to other taxing authorities, such as the school district and municipalities.

$50,000
Town of Haverhill
Town of Loxahatchee Groves
Village of Wellington

$25,000
Palm Beach County
City of Boynton Beach
City of Lake Worth
Town of Lantana
City of Palm Beach Gardens
Village of Palm Springs

$5,000
Village of Royal Palm Beach