DeSantis backs getting rid of Florida’s property tax. What would that look like?

Ron DeSantis:

Just for being on your property, you got to write a check to the government every year, so you’re basically paying rent to the government to live on your own property.

Simone Del Rosario:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis doubled down on his criticism of state property taxes as he talked about the state’s own DOGE-like initiatives Monday. But getting rid of property taxes is a “risky proposition,” according to a Florida-based think tank.

Ron DeSantis:

It’s like you buy a home, you buy land, maybe you buy the home outright, but maybe you pay off a mortgage over 30 years, and then, okay, you’ve paid off the mortgage. You bought the land. You’ve been taxed many times. It’s like you is it your property or not?

Simone Del Rosario:

Earlier this month DeSantis outright said he supported getting rid of property taxes in the state. Florida ranks in the middle of the country when it comes to property tax burdens.

As for how to get rid of the tax, on X, he wrote,

“Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them…

We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60%…”

Ron DeSantis:

We’ve been cutting taxes, but people have seen their property tax, property tax liability go up over these last years because the property is being assessed higher and higher. And the reality is is you don’t really know how much your home is worth until someone offers you money and is willing to pull the trigger on a sale. That’s how a market works. You can say it’s worth this much, but if no one’s no one’s willing to come and offer you that much, then why should you pay taxes on that amount?

Simone Del Rosario:

The idea is more than lip service.

Republican State Sen. Jonathan Martin, representing Fort Meyers, introduced a bill last week to explore the impact of eliminating property taxes in the state.

Ron DeSantis:

If you buy a home for $300,000 and you know, there’s certain tax well, then what? 10 years later, they say it’s worth 700,000.

I know we’re going to be really looking at ways to bring people relief from that because I think it’s been really something that’s pinching a lot of homeowners particularly seniors on fixed income.

Simone Del Rosario:

But in a state that already has no income tax, getting rid of property taxes would shift the tax burden elsewhere.

The Florida Policy Institute says if lawmakers replaced property taxes with a consumption tax, it would double the state’s sales tax rate to 12%. InfluenceWatch rates FPI left of center.

FPI says the spike “would make Florida’s general sales tax the highest in the nation, disproportionately and negatively impacting households with low to moderate incomes in addition to businesses (who contribute 20 percent of all sales tax revenue in the state) and tourists (who contribute 14 percent).”

The report adds, “If policymakers wanted to eliminate property taxes, they would need to raise $43 billion (or $2,015 per capita) to maintain public services currently funded with property tax revenue.”

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says across the U.S., local governments get three-fourths of their tax revenue for education, infrastructure and public health from property taxes.

FPI says, “It survives as the most important source of revenue in local governments primarily because of its stability.”

A 2024 Redfin report reveals that Florida is home to three of the five U.S. metros where property taxes have increased the most since 2019.

In Jacksonville and Tampa, that’s a nearly 60% increase in five years.