Florida voters said it loud and clear, passing the Amendment 1 at a 2-1 ratio. 

So it seems that the immediate benefactors of the tax change are longtime homeowners who moved last year or plan to move now, existing homeowners, businesses that pay taxes on tangible personal property, and owners of commercial properties, rental units or second homes whose values have gone up more than 10% in the last year. 

For those individuals that do qualify for the home portability a simple form must be filled out and completed by March.  Visit the link below for necessary paperwork.

http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/sb4d.html

Homeowner's that are not planning to move or have recently purchased their first home will see their tax exemption increase from $25,000 to $50,000, which should amount to an average savings of $240.00 per home.

Owners of nonhomestead property, such as second homes, rental property or commercial buildings, will get a tax break too – but only if their assessment would have climbed more than 10 percent this year. The new amendment limits the increase on their tax assessment to 10 percent.

There are already talks of additional tax reforms in the future.  So it is save to say this will continue to be an ongoing issue in our community.

Jennifer Salkey

As many of you know, if you have been watching the news or keeping up with my blogs, PIP/No Fault insurance expired on October 1, 2007.  But shorlty after its sunset the mandated law was reinstated in the books effective January 1, 2008, with some reforms to reduce the fraud that is prevalent with this coverage.

Bottom line from here the Jan. one has the choice the carry PIP, but if you are deleting this covering be sure that you are properly covered through other forms of replacement coverages or policy.

 Jennifer S.

As many of you may already know NoFault/PIP coverage was a mandatory coverage that everyone with an auto insurance policy had to carry.  As of yesterday Oct. 1, that is no longer the case.  Until further notice no one in the state of FL is required to carry PIP coverage, this means that you can immediately delete this coverage or it will probably be deleted upon the renewal of your automobile policy. 

As a policy holder it would be wise to review your overall coverages to be sure that you and your drivers are properly covered for medical expenses arising from a car accident.  The best person to assist you in this process will be your insurance agent since they know your policy.

Jennifer Salkey

For most of you who are supporters of tax reform here is your opportunity to be counted.  Gov. Charlie Crist has launched a website to promote the passage of tax reform, the name is "Yes on 1".  Since the tax amendment has been temporarily taken off the ballot this is a way for people to re-voice their opinion so we can be sure to vote on a tax reform come Jan. 29.

Voice your opinion, check out the site below:

http://yeson1florida.com/.

Jennifer Salkey

Yes, you read correctly.  For those of you that have never read your car insurance policy everyone in FL is required to carry Personal Injury Protection coverage.  This coverage basically provides each covered individual with $10,000.00 for injury protection (along with other supplements) whether it was your fault or someone else's. 

This current law is set to expire on October 1, 2007.  There has been alot of back and forth regardgin the renewal of this coverage since many critics contend that this coverage breeds fraud and endorses excess medical billing.  Because of this debate no final decision has been made on whether to extend, renew, or change this law. 

In the meantime many insurance company carriers are informing their customers of their options of replacement coverages if PIP were to in fact expire.  But just in case you have not received such a letter from your carrier you may want to confirm what procedures they have in place.

In general it seems that many insurance companies will continue to provide PIP coverage for a specified period of time, or providing the option to purchase additional medical payment to make-up for the lost coverage.

Talks are still in the works, so we will soon find out what the final outcome will be.

Jennifer Salkey

I just found out that there is a way to get discounted or even free prescription medicine, and thought " how come I never heard of this before?"  So if I didn't know who else doesn't know about this?

Well it seems that there are over 219 different programs available and one has to complete a form to see what they are qualified to receive.  The company "spreading the word" is Partnership for Prescription Assistance.  I think there may be some hoops, but it might be worth it.  I personally have not gone through the process yet, but wanted to inform everyone of what I thought was news.

 Jennifer S.