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| QUESTIONS WE'RE ASKED..... |
| About Taxes and Our Office |
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| Can the tax collector lower my property taxes? |
| No. Because the tax collector does not set the amount of your property taxes. |
|
| Then who does set the amount of my taxes? |
| Taxes are set by the County Commission, School Board and other taxing authorities. |
|
| Is the tax collector an employee of Pasco County Government? |
| No. The office of county tax collector is mandated by the Florida Constitution. The tax |
| collector is an independent elected county official and special agent of the state of Florida. |
|
| What are the tax collector's duties? |
| The tax collector collects, invests and distributes monies for various state, regional and local |
| governmental agencies and taxing authorities. |
|
| What is the tax collector's primary duty throughout the year? |
| Serving as the local "DMV." In Florida, county tax collectors-acting as special agents for |
| the state-register motor vehicles and boats; and issue various licenses. |
|
| In Pasco County the tax collector has become the sole provider of driver licenses. |
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| These functions comprise the primary day-to-day activities of the office. |
|
| Then how is the tax collector involved with my property taxes? |
| After taxes are set by the County Commission, School Board and other taxing authorities, |
| the tax roll is sent to the tax collector, who-serving as agent for the county and taxing |
| authorities-mails your tax notice, receives your payment, and sends the monies collected |
| to the taxing authorities. |
|
| A list of taxing authorities and their telephone numbers is included with your tax notice. |
|
| How is the tax collector's office funded? |
| The tax collector's office is the only local office funded exclusively through fees and |
| commissions-not by a property tax levy. |
|
| The County Commission and most taxing authorities pay the tax collector a commission |
| based on the dollar amount of property taxes collected; motorists pay a service fee for |
| auto registrations and driver licenses. |
|
| I heard the tax collector's office operates at a profit. |
| Yes. Through efficient management, the tax collector earned Pasco County |
| taxpayers a profit of over 4 million dollars at the close of the 2009-2010 budget year. |
|
| What happens to this money? |
| It is turned over to the County Commission and other taxing authorities as directed by |
| state law. The County Commission receives about 90 percent of the tax collector's |
| earnings . |
|
| Rather than earn a profit, why not lower fees? |
| Tax collector fees and commissions are set by state law and must remain uniform statewide. |
|
| How many transactions did the tax collector's office process last year? |
|
| Nearly One Million... |
| Motor Vehicle - 580,000 /td> |
| Property Tax - 243,000 |
| Driver License - 104,000 |
| Mobile Home - 35,000 |
| Boat - 25,000 |
| Business License - 18,500 |
| Hunting / Fishing License - 6,000 |
|
| How much money was collected? |
| Nearly 500 million dollars. |
|
| And how many customers were served? |
| Last year our four offices served over one-half million lobby customers, plus mail and |
| internet. |
