On Tuesday, January 29, many Florida voters will go to the polls, not only to indicate their preference for their party's nominee but to vote Yes or No on Amendment 1: Florida's Property Tax Amendment.

Tax cuts and property tax reform are essential to restore the health of Florida's real estate market both immediately and over the long term.

The Pros and Cons of this particular Amendment have been discussed in the The Orlando Sentinel, The Herald Tribune, The Sun Sentinel, and The Palm Beach Post. Florida Realtor organizations have supported it. A more detailed analysis of this amendment can be found in a professional blog entry over at Active Rain.

Everyone in our industry should study the merits of this amendment carefully and vote accordingly.

The amendment will provide some tax relief to property owners. However, it will not address several factors that have stalled sales in our markets. While Fed policy and the credit crunch cannot be addressed at the state level, I see two important factors that are under our control, yet remain un-addressed by this amendment:

1) Our property tax system discriminates against a very important group of buyers: second-home buyers. Many people who move to Florida in retirement, begin their migration by purchasing a second home here. As property values have increased rapidly, the burden of taxation has shifted unfairly from the long-homesteaded to new buyers and the non-homesteaded.

This has slowed the pace of migration to Florida. Should this continue, it will have serious consequences for many different aspects of the Florida economy. States compete and Florida will fall behind if our tax system continues to punish newcomers.

2) Property taxes provided a windfall to state and local governments as property values increased rapidly over the last several years. Swollen budgets will have to be trimmed so that Florida continues to be an attractive business environment as well as a great place to live.

Whether Amendment 1 passes or not, there is still much work to be done to return to a healthy real estate market.