Residential Real Estate News
Governor DeSantis Supports Ending Property Taxes in Florida
It would make Florida the first state in the country to take this step
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently voiced his support for eliminating property taxes in his state, a move that would make Florida the first state in the nation to do so if successful. However, critics argue that property taxes are a crucial funding source for local governments.
"Is it your property or not? You're basically paying rent to the government to live on your own property," DeSantis recently said
Property taxes help fund essential local services, including schools, roads, parks, and emergency services such as police and fire departments.
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell expressed concerns about the proposal, saying, "This is something else that sounds like a very sexy idea, but in practice, it would actually wreak havoc on our local communities."
After Gov. Ron DeSantis floated the idea, Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed a bill last week that would lead to studying the elimination of property taxes.
As of Tuesday, Florida Republicans have introduced two property tax-related proposals. One would commission a study to assess the impact of eliminating property taxes, while the other seeks to raise the state's homestead exemption from $50,000 to $75,000 annually.
"We have to have a balanced budget," said Esteban Leonardo Santis, a policy analyst at the Florida Policy Institute. "If you get rid of a key revenue source, you're either going to have to make cuts to account for that, or you're going to have to increase taxes elsewhere."
One potential alternative is increasing the state's sales tax. According to the Florida Policy Institute, Florida would need to replace approximately $43 billion in lost revenue if property taxes were eliminated.
Gov. DeSantis himself admitted it would take a constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes.
