A new tax cut has been put forward to help stimulate the growth of small businesses in Florida

It has been announced that a new tax cut, known as the Tangible Personal Property Tax Amendment, will be put up for voters’ approval in a November referendum. Amendment 10 to the state constitution would help to reduce the tax burden that is currently being felt by the smallest businesses.

At present, small businesses are expected to pay Tangible Personal Property tax on furniture, machinery, signs, supplies, computers and other equipment. While there is currently a $25,000 exemption, many small businesses are struggling. The amendment would mean that small businesses with less than a $50,000 valuation when it comes to taxable property would no longer have to pay the tax.

The amendment would also provide local governments with the ability and flexibility to offer additional Tangible Personal Property tax relief in order to attract new business investment into the area.

The amendment has been, in part, helped by research conducted by Florida TaxWatch, which determined that there would be a benefit to 156,000 businesses in the area that would qualify for the exemption out of the 300,000 businesses that are currently liable for the tax. This would represent a total saving of over $20 million for these companies.

It is hoped that the long-term benefits of such a tax break would outweigh the initial shortfall, which would see county and city governments needing to come up with additional ways to raise the tax that they would no longer be receiving from the small business taking advantage of the exemption.