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WILL VAN SANTHomestead exemptions are tied to Social Security numbers to stop fraud, but one man is more concerned about identity theft.
BROOKSVILLE - David Hill is risking some big money, but principle is at stake.
Hill of Brooksville is among 117,000 county residents who were mailed notices by the Property Appraiser's Office earlier this month that detail home values and what people can expect to pay in taxes.
In its "truth in millage" or TRIM notices, the Appraiser's Office also asked some 46,000 residents who take advantage of the state's $25,000 homestead exemption to turn over their Social Security numbers.
Despite the possibility of losing his exemption, Hill, who is in the real estate business, won't comply.
"Once they get it, where is the control?" he asked. "There isn't any."
In 2000, the state Department of Revenue began requiring those using the homestead exemption to supply Social Security numbers as a way to combat fraud. By matching the numbers with multiple exemptions filed in different areas of Florida, the state can identify double dippers.
For his part, County Property Appraiser Alvin Mazourek said he included the Social Security number request with TRIM notices to help the state in its antifraud efforts, and to bring his own files up to date.
While not everyone is taking Hill's stand, other property owners are equally uncomfortable. "We had quite a few people calling or coming in," said Rose Casteel, the office's public service supervisor. "In this time with identity theft, I think people have just been nervous."
Mazourek said the Social Security numbers were kept under lock and key in his office and shared with nobody but the state. Due to exemptions in public records laws, the appraiser pointed out, Social Security numbers are confidential.
Even a nosy reporter can't get them.
But it's not Mazourek or reporters that worry Hill, it's what happens to the Social Security numbers when they get to Tallahassee.
Those same public records exemptions, Hill points out, allow state agencies to share Social Security numbers with employees, other branches of government and private contractors as long as they are engaged in "the normal course of business for legitimate business purposes."
That flexibility, said Hill, sets the stage for Social Security numbers to be flying about, just waiting to be snatched by a computer hacker or identity thief.
"I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill here," Hill said, "but I really think we ought to be cautious."
Dave Bruhns, a spokesman for the state Department of Revenue, said he has heard the concerns of those like Hill many times before and that they are groundless.
Other state statutes are controlling when it comes to release of Social Security numbers, Bruhns said, and his office takes its lead from them.
"We are rather manic about confidentiality," he said. "There is no problem here."
Mazourek is not neutral in the debate. He wants people to fill out the forms and turn over the numbers.
"It really is super important," he said. "We have the authority to revoke the exemptions if we don't get the Social Security numbers."
- Will Van Sant can be reached at 754-6127. Send e-mail to vansant@sptimes.com