Crist gives nod to drywall tax break

Gov. Charlie Crist approved a bill late Tuesday night creating a
property tax break for homeowners affected by problematic Chinese
drywall. The law will apply to the year 2010 and future assessments,
meaning tax assessments for homes with drywall will be reduced in
accordance with the homes’ loss of value. The burden still lies with homeowners to prove that a “significant negative impact” was caused by
the drywall on the value of the home, and that they bought the home
without any knowledge of the dangerous condition. South Florida
property appraisers have already been making cuts in assessments
because of drywall, with Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Gary
Nikolits leading the region in cutting values of drywall-affected homes
by 70 percent. According to Nikolits, the new law says if the building
can’t be used for its intended purpose, the value of the building must
be placed at $0. [Palm Beach Post]