To the Editor:
I would like to propose that the government of the state of Florida takes a good look at really helping out the senior population in this great state.
When a person reaches the age of retirement – say, 64 years old – the state should cancel out the requirement of collecting annual taxes on their homes. The reasons behind this are listed below.
Property values keep going up higher and higher, and seniors who are now retired should not be expected to keep coming up with thousands and thousands of dollars every year to pay the government.
Usually the government has already collected tens of thousands of dollars (and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars) from the taxes on these properties throughout the previous years.
When the senior owners of these properties pass away, the properties usually revert to a younger owner who can then begin paying taxes on the increased values of the properties.
If America can afford to actually give billions of dollars to other countries, why can’t the country afford to give some relief to its own older population, when the proposal is not calling for them to actually come up with any money? Why not consider cutting some of the money given to all other countries to help pay for this proposal?
After a long life of working, and in some cases giving service to the country, why not let the senior citizens spend the last 10 to 15 years of their life in peace instead of having to worry about finding hundreds and thousands of dollars every year just to remain in their homes.
Seems like a “win-win” situation to me.
William Lee
Ocala resident
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