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Florida Amendment 7, Property Tax Exemption for Veterans (2006)
From Ballotpedia
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Amendment #7 lowered property tax for disabled veterans. It did this by allowing them to take a discount on their homestead property tax equal in proportion to the amount of disability (as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs).
Election results
| Amendment 7 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 a Yes | 3,552,441 | 77.8% | ||
| No | 1,011,958 | 22.2% | ||
Ballot language
| Florida Constitution |
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| Articles |
| Preamble • I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII |
Proposed Amendment #7's summary on the ballot said:
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Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to provide a discount from the amount of ad valorem tax on the homestead of a partially or totally permanently disabled veteran who is age 65 or older who was a Florida resident at the time of entering military service, whose disability was combat-related, and who was honorably discharged; to specify the percentage of the discount as equal to the percentage of the veteran's permanent service-connected disability; to specify qualification requirements for the discount; to authorize the Legislature to waive the annual application requirement in subsequent years by general law; and to specify that the provision takes effect December 7, 2006, is self-executing, and does not require implementing legislation. |
Arguments
Florida Vote Smart, an affiliate of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, provided a voter guide in 2006 to Florida's proposed constitutional amendments. In that voter guide, they presented these arguments for and against Amendment 7, based on their assessment of the arguments that advocacy groups and others were making.
In favor
- "This is a chance to give thanks to veterans who were wounded in combat serving our country. The amendment would provide substantial ad valorem or 'property tax' relief to Florida's military veterans who have fought in a foreign war. The proposed amendment would ensure the exemption is in proportion to the amount of disability a veteran receives."
Against
- "Every permanent Florida resident who has legal title to and resides on real property is eligible for a homestead exemption of $25,000. Currently, disabled veterans receive an additional $5,000 homestead exemption. Providing an additional discount may cause some local governments to lose the income they would normally receive from these taxes."
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Florida Constitution
Proposed Amendment 7 was referred to the ballot by a vote of both chambers of the Florida State Legislature on HJR 631 (2006 session). It was sponsored by State Senator Ray Sansom (R-Ft. Walton Beach).
See also
- 2006 ballot measures
- List of Florida ballot measures
- Florida 2006 ballot measures
- Florida State Senate
- Florida House of Representatives
External links
- Summary of text and election results
- Full text
- State of Florida booklet describing the 2006 constitutional amendments
- Vote Smart Florida description of proposed amendment
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