Today’s entry: Brian, I know you’re going to be covering Amendment 3 soon. When you do, I’d like to know how many people work in those professions who’d stand to benefit from the added property tax exemption. In doing my own research on it I couldn’t find that information. Thank you.
Bottom Line: So yes, today is the day I’m covering Florida’s proposed constitutional Amendment 3 and figured it’d be appropriate to address this question along with my breakdown and recommendation of it. Your question is a good one, because as I outline in my breakdown of the amendment, the additional property tax exemption for those in these professions has the potential to place greater pressure on the property taxes paid by all others who aren’t in these professions. The proposed amendment calls for an additional $50,000 property tax exemption for those in the following professions:
- Classroom teachers
- Law enforcement officers
- Correctional officers
- Firefighters
- Emergency medical technicians
- Paramedics
- Child welfare services professionals
- Active-duty members of the United States Armed Forces
- Florida National Guard members
In order to determine how many would stand to benefit, we first need to see approximately how many Floridians work within these professions.
- Classroom teachers: 198,417
- Law enforcement officers & correctional officers: 93,000
- Firefighters: 20,420
- Emergency medical technicians & paramedics: 60,000
- Child welfare services professionals: 12,000
- Active-duty members of the United States Armed Forces: 55,862
- Florida National Guard members: 11,900
The proposed amendment, if passed by Florida’s voters, would apply to approximately 451,600 households within our state. There are currently 7,931,313 households within our state, meaning this benefit, if passed would have the potential to be applied to between 5%-6% of Florida’s households. Now I say potential because obviously not everyone owns their home and those who rent in these professions wouldn’t see the benefit of this additional homestead if it were to pass. 33.8% of Floridians rent the homes they live in. Once we’ve accounted for rentals, there are approximately 299,000 Florida households which would stand to benefit from this proposed constitutional amendment. I’m not sure how this information may impact your thinking, if at all, regarding how you intend to vote on Amendment 3. That said, I’m a big believer in making informed decisions and to your point, this isn’t information which has been provided elsewhere. Having this info helps complete the picture as to what it is we’re being asked to consider.
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