Amendment 2No property tax on farm equipment

In plain words

"Tangible personal property" means business belongings you can touch that aren't land or buildings: tractors, tools, machines, sometimes furniture. Florida counties tax them every year. Amendment 2 ends that tax for such belongings on farmland that are used for farming or agritourism (farm visits and tours that bring in money). (mynews13.com ↗)

Before and after

Numbers come from the official ballot title and from the full text and analyses cited on this page, not from the title alone (ballot title ↗); also see (flsenate.gov ↗)

Example

Illustration only: a farm with $200,000 of taxable equipment, in a county where the total tax rate is $15 for every $1,000 of value, pays about $3,000 a year on it today and $0 if Amendment 2 passes.

Biggest change

• Farm and ranch owners (or the people who lease the land) would no longer pay local property tax on business belongings that normally stay on farmland and are used to grow or raise farm products or for agritourism. State economists estimate local governments would collect about $31 million a year less. source: mynews13.com

Who it affects most: Farmers, ranchers and agritourism businesses, and the counties, schools and special districts that collect the tax, mostly in rural areas.

Cost to the state: None for the state. Local governments would collect about $31.0 million a year less, starting in the 2027-28 budget year (state Revenue Estimating Conference).

Our plain-words summary. Every line points to its source.

Claim check

We check facts that people on each side state about this measure. Verdicts: True, Mostly true, Mixed, Mostly false, False, or Too early to tell.

• Rep. Anna Eskamani (D), opposes it: says Amendment 2 would cost local governments about $30 million a year. True
  What we found: The state Revenue Estimating Conference says local property tax money would drop by $31.0 million in the 2027-28 budget year. The loss grows to $32.3 million in 2028-29 and $33.6 million in 2029-30. The state's estimate shows no effect on state revenue. source: Florida Senate bill analysis source: Spectrum News 13
• Rep. Danny Alvarez (R) and Sen. Keith Truenow (R), the sponsors, supports it: says farmers are taxed on their land and again on their equipment, and Amendment 2 ends the tax on the equipment. True
  What we found: Today, farm land is taxed, and movable property like tractors and tools is taxed as 'tangible personal property' after the first $25,000 of value, which is already exempt. Amendment 2 would exempt this property if it is usually kept on land classified as agricultural, is used to grow farm products or for agritourism, and is owned by the landowner or leaseholder. It would start with the 2027 tax year. source: Florida Senate bill analysis source: Florida Senate bill summary
• Rep. Anna Eskamani (D), opposes it: says Amendment 2 has no limit, so most of the benefit goes to a handful of large agribusinesses, not small farms. Too early to tell
  What we found: It is true that the amendment sets no dollar cap on the exemption; the Legislature may set conditions by law. The state analysis does not say how many farms would benefit or how the $31.0 million in savings would be split between large and small operations. Small farms with under $25,000 in equipment value already pay no tax on it under current law. source: Florida Senate bill analysis source: amendment text (Division of Elections)
• Hillsborough County Democrats, opposes it: says Amendment 2 would take money from local services that rely on property taxes. Too early to tell
  What we found: The state estimates local governments would collect $31.0 million less in 2027-28, rising to $33.6 million in 2029-30. The amendment does not say which services, if any, would be cut; each county, city or district would decide whether to cut, raise rates, or use other money. No political committee had registered for or against the amendment as of recent tracking. source: Florida Senate bill analysis source: Spectrum News 13

Each check uses at least 2 sources, one of them official. Where we did the math ourselves, we say so.