Rise in commercial property values causes tax hikes for small business owners NBC 6 South Florida [Video]

Black and white photos show a rundown service station in terrible condition in 1996 in Miami. That is how Domingo Llerandi says he found it when he bought it for $85,000 that year.

“The whole family chipped in,” Llerandi said. “The goal was to make the dream of owning their own business a reality.”

Over the next 20 years, the family fixed up the place until it ended up looking like it does today. And like everything else, the value of the property increased gradually, but this past year, the market value doubled, from $864,071 to $1,737,144.

“I know they have to go up, but no more than 10 percent,” Llerandi said.

That ten percent that Domingo Llerandi refers to is the tax assessed value of the property, which by law, can only increase 10 percent a year on commercial …