PROPERTY TAXES
As House and Senate property tax negotiators continued to parley on how much should be cut, Gov. Charlie Crist proposed a plan Wednesday that would basically split the difference. However, Crist’s plan doesn’t include any sort of proposal to increase sales taxes in exchange for reducing and potentially eliminating property taxes.

SUBPRIME MORTGAGES
The help promised by several lenders and financing groups for some homeowners with subprime mortgages could come too late for many to save their houses; others may not qualify for the loan bailouts.

PROPERTY TAXES
Senate negotiators don’t want to trade homeowner property tax relief for higher sales taxes. Instead, they offered a revised plan to roll back and cap property taxes, which could take effect without going on the ballot.

Property taxes will keep rising across the nation even as house prices are falling in many parts of the country, according to a USA TODAY analysis of government data. A key reason is that despite the downturn, the market value of millions of homes still exceeds the assessed value used for tax purposes.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN FLORIDA 
Pessimism about the housing downturn and rising gas prices balanced by optimism about a strong stock market caused consumer confidence in Florida to remain steady in April at 86 after falling six points in March, according to a University of Florida study.