Escambia County has lost the latest round to tax Pensacola Beach property owners. The Florida Supreme Court rejected the counties appeal, saying it was not legal for Escambia County to levy taxes on leases if they were not automatically renewable leases. Most residential lots on Pensacola Beach have automatically renewing leases that may not exempt them from paying property taxes on the land. Any improvement built on these lots is still subject to property taxation.
Starting in the current tax year, the County will not levy taxes on any lease that is not automatically renewable. Chris Jones, Escambia Counties Property Appraiser, has estimated that the ruling will cost the county $1.2 million of estimated revenues.
This ruling does not include taxes levied on twenty-six condo complexes located in Pensacola Beach. The Homeowner Associations of many beach condominiums have already started the process to litigate this issue, and most of the other complexes are expected to follow suit.
The Santa Rosa Island Authority cut lease fees last year to most of the leaseholders. The county has been assuming responsibility for many of the public works and public safety operations from the Island Authority. This new ruling could see the county raising lease fees to cover the revenue lost from this decision.
