Property Taxes in Florida have plummeted $2.28 billion in the last three years due to declining real estate values as well as tax cutting measures. In 2007, a new law and an amendment to “roll back and cap property taxes” passed as Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced that he wanted taxes to “drop like a rock”…and that they have.

Officials are unable to determine what percentage of the tax deduction is due to the new law, and what percentage is due to the depressed real estate market, however taxable values for school purposes had declined under 1%, leading officials to believe that the new law and amendment are mostly responsible.

According to Sterling Ivey, Gov. Crist’s spokesman, “Any reduction in property tax is good news, there’s more money in people’s pockets. That’s the bottom line.”