SARASOTA COUNTY — More than $10 billion bled from the county’s tax base last year, a decline that translates into a tax cut for many, but more layoffs and a $40 million budget shortfall for the county. The biggest drop came in North Port, where more than $2 billion was shed from the city’s tax base. That amounts to one third of the taxable value of all homes in the county’s second-largest city. Venice’s tax base contracted by 18 percent, Sarasota’s by 13 percent and Longboat Key’s by 10 percent. Part of the drop stemmed from voters approving Amendment 1 on Jan. 29, doubling the homestead exemption to $50,000. Most of the county’s 17 percent decline in taxable values came from a reduction in property assessments because of the slowdown in the real estate market. See also: Florida's Save Our Homes tax benefit loses luster How could Save Our Homes, designed to lower taxes, permit a tax increase at a time of falling home values?
