Property Tax Relief For Working WaterfrontsThe Florida Legislature is currently considering several bills that, if passed, will provide property tax relief to working waterfront properties in accordance with the constitutional amendment that passed in 2008. While specifics will not be confirmed until a final bill is passed, there are some elements in proposed Senate Bill 7026 that provide insight into how the tax relief will work. "Working waterfronts" - according the bill - include public marinas and drystacks, public access points to navigable waters, properties used for commercial fishing, and water dependent marine manufacturing, commercial fishing, and marine vessel construction/repair facilities. Although the implementing language has not been written, owners of working waterfronts will likely need to file an application with the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's office before March 1. Because of the tight deadline, the Property Appraiser's office is mailing a preliminary questionnaire to each working waterfront property to collect the data that the proposed bill indicates will be needed to grant the tax relief. By completing and returning the form before March 1, property owners will be indicating that they wish to file for the tax relief, and we will accept that questionnaire as having met the filing deadline. As soon as an application form is made available, we will post it to our website and notify the working waterfront owners who responded to our questionnaire. We hope that this will ensure that everyone who wishes to apply for the exemption can, no matter when the state approved application form is made available. According to SB 7026, working waterfronts, used as income-producing investment property, will be assessed utilizing the income approach to value, based on adequate local data on market information including rental, expense, and vacancy rates. Therefore, our office is requesting income and expense information from working waterfront property owners. With the help of property owners, we can implement this new legislation efficiently for the 2010 tax year. For more information, please contact the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's office at 727-464-3207.
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