FOR A YEAR Blaise Ingoglia, Florida’s chief financial officer(首席财务官), has been crossing the state on a “FAFO” speaking tour. The acronym(首字母缩略词), best known as a warning about pushing your luck(得寸进尺，冒险), also stands for the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight. At a press conference in Palm Beach in June, Mr Ingoglia told taxpayers that the county “has been spending your money like drunken sailors(像醉汉一样挥霍钱财)”. Then he got into a row(发生争吵) with the county administrator over whether $443m had indeed been misspent(被滥用的，浪费的). Mr Ingoglia sees this as part of a worrying trend. “Governments are wasting money left and right(到处，大量地), crying poor(哭穷) and continue to want more, more and more,” he said. His remedy(补救办法，对策)? A massive property-tax cut designed to choke off(掐断，抑制) their revenue.
过去一年，佛罗里达州首席财务官布莱斯·因戈利亚一直在全州进行“FAFO”巡回演讲。这个缩写最广为人知的含义是警告别人别自找麻烦，但它同时也代表佛罗里达财政监督局。今年6月在棕榈滩的一场记者会上，因戈利亚对纳税人说，该县“一直像喝醉的水手一样挥霍你们的钱”。随后，他就4.43亿美元是否确实被滥用与县行政长官发生争执。因戈利亚认为这是一种令人担忧的趋势。“政府到处浪费钱，哭穷，却还想要更多、更多、更多，”他说。他的对策是什么？一项大规模房产税削减，旨在掐断政府的收入来源。
In November voters in Florida will decide whether to make that tax cut part of the state’s constitution. Ron DeSantis, the outgoing(即将离任的) Republican governor, drafted(起草) the measure, and the Republican-controlled legislature tweaked(稍作修改) it before putting it before voters. The final version calls on(要求，呼吁) state politicians to devise(设计，想出) a way eventually to abolish(废除，取消) nearly all property taxes on primary residences(主要住所，自住房), much as Florida prohibited state income taxes a century ago. It is an extraordinarily bold attempt to rein in(控制，约束) government spending and cut costs for struggling Floridian families. But if it passes, it may well backfire(适得其反).
今年11月，佛罗里达州选民将决定是否将这项减税方案写入州宪法。即将卸任的共和党州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯起草了该议案，由共和党控制的州议会稍作修改后提交选民表决。最终版本要求州议员设法最终取消几乎所有自住房产税，就像佛罗里达在一个世纪前禁止州所得税一样。这是一次极其大胆的尝试，旨在控制政府开支、为苦苦挣扎的佛州家庭削减成本。但如果获得通过，很可能适得其反。
A surge(激增，涌入) of pandemic-era newcomers sent home prices in Florida soaring(飙升), pushing up property-tax bills and swelling local-government coffers(金库，资金). Statewide property-tax levies(征收额，税款) rose by nearly 40% in the three years to January. The new rule—known as Amendment 3—would raise the property-tax exemption on primary residences from $50,000 to $250,000 by 2028, meaning that, for most local property taxes, a home assessed at $400,000 would be taxed as if it were worth $150,000.(这项被称为“第三号修正案”的新规将在2028年前把自住房的房产税免税额从5万美元提高到25万美元，这意味着对大多数地方房产税而言，一套评估价为40万美元的房屋将按15万美元的价值征税。)
疫情期间大量新移民涌入，推动佛罗里达房价飙升，进而推高房产税账单，充实了地方政府的金库。截至今年1月的三年间，全州房产税征收额上涨了近40%。这项被称为“第三号修正案”的新规将在2028年前把自住房的房产税免税额从5万美元提高到25万美元，这意味着对大多数地方房产税而言，一套评估价为40万美元的房屋将按15万美元的价值征税。
Cutting dissent
削减异议