Property values spur Aventura tax break talk

As housing values plummet, Aventura residents may get some property tax relief even if the city keeps its current rate of $1.7261 per $1,000 of assessed value in the current fiscal year. The city’s tax base has decreased by 7.5 percent as a result of recently enacted tax reform and the current real estate slump. Property values declined by $477 million as a result of the real estate downtown, and Amendment 1 — which mandated statewide property tax reform when voters passed it on January 29 — will cost the city another $247 million in taxable property values, according to City Manager Eric Soroka. Aventura added $555 million in new construction to the tax rolls in the past year, leaving a net decline of $169 million in taxable property values and a $279,000 total reduction in property tax revenue.