South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
December 21, 2005
Author: Andy Reid Staff Writer

A property tax reprieve, and potential refund, for some landowners won an initial endorsement Tuesday from the Palm Beach County Commission. The county agreed to consider extending early payment discounts on property taxes as a way to help those still recovering from Hurricane Wilma expenses. The state Legislature allowed counties hit by the hurricane to give property owners more time to pay their taxes and still qualify for early-payment discounts.

Normally to qualify for a 4 percent discount, taxes need to be paid by November. Taxes are considered delinquent after April 1, 2006. The state agreed to allow the 4 percent discount through Jan. 31, 2006. The extension also allows a 3 percent discount through Feb. 28, 2006, and a 2 percent discount through March 31, 2006. The county commission will decide in January whether to allow all or some of the extensions. “Everybody in this county has been hit,” Commissioner Burt Aaronson said. “We are all here to help the public.”
I
f approved, about 50,000 taxpayers who missed the November deadline but paid this month could qualify for refunds in order to give them the full benefit of the extended 4 percent discount, according to the Palm Beach County Tax Collector’s Office. It will be up to state and county leaders to determine whether refunds or credits are provided, said Pat Poston, the tax collector’s director of tax services. The extension would equate to about $2.5 million in lost tax revenue, Poston said. “The bill itself does not address refunds,” Poston said.
Not everyone qualifies for the extension.

The extension does not apply to tax payments made on behalf of taxpayers by their mortgage companies from escrow accounts. That accounts for about one-third of the tax payments in Palm Beach County, Poston said. The county already collected almost 80 percent of its tax roll. Payment levels remain consistent with past years, which indicates that despite the hurricane, people are able to pay their taxes on time, Poston said.
But state Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, who supported the tax payment extension, said it creates a way for government to help residents still recovering from storm costs.
“There are people out there who haven’t paid their taxes yet because they don’t have the cash,” Hasner said. “[The extension can] keep money in the hands of people who are hurting the most.”

Andy Reid can be reached at abreid@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5504.