Hate property taxes? This new Florida bill may consider getting rid of them

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – If you’re a homeowner in the Sunshine State, this might just come as welcome news — or maybe not.

Over the past month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has voiced his support for lowering or eliminating property taxes statewide, putting the issue squarely in his crosshairs.

On Tuesday, a bill (SB 852) was filed by state Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-33, which would look into doing exactly that.

The new bill would require the state to conduct a study into the potential impacts of eliminating property taxes, as well as replacing them with funding sources from state budget cuts, sales taxes, and local consumption taxes.

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According to the bill, such a study would have to consider all of the following elements:

• An analysis of the potential impacts on public services, including education and emergency services
• An assessment of any possible housing market fluctuations, such as changes in homeownership rates and emergency services
• An evaluation of whether such a shift would improve the state’s business climate
• An examination of the potential impacts on “overall economic stability, consumer behavior, and long-term economic growth”

Under this bill, researchers would have until Oct. 1 to submit a report detailing the findings to lawmakers.

Meanwhile, DeSantis hasn’t been shy about his stance on property taxes, engaging with users on X last week who complained about the issue.

For Florida homeowners, lowering or outright removing property taxes could greatly cut down on their expenses. As a state, Florida ranks around the middle of the pack when it comes to real-estate property tax rates, WalletHub reports.

Proponents of property taxes often assert that they’re a vital part of collecting revenue for local government functions, such as public schools and police stations.

As the bill notes, eliminating property taxes would likely require another source of funding to make up for that lost revenue, or else the state and local governments might need to consider cutting out unnecessary expenses.

But on the flip side, property taxes are a relatively unpopular form of taxation — the second-most unpopular behind federal income taxes, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Opponents argue that property taxes unfairly target homeowners, who have already taken on all of the other burdens that come with homeownership. Worse yet, tax incidence means that the cost of these taxes could even end up falling downstream to lower-income renters who make use of these properties.

Regardless, the question remains: could the state of Florida actually get rid of property taxes?

The short answer is: not easily.

Local governments are the ones that levy property taxes — not the state — so it would require a constitutional amendment to eradicate them statewide.

DeSantis addressed this fact himself shortly after he put out his message above on Wednesday afternoon, clarifying that he would indeed support their elimination.

But before voters can even decide on such a motion, an amendment would first have to be proposed via one of the following methods:

• A joint resolution of the Florida Legislature
• A citizens’ initiative
• A proposal from the Constitution Revision Commission
• A proposal from the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission

So far, there have been no citizens’ initiatives regarding the elimination of property taxes, nor have lawmakers proposed any such legislation. And even if they did, the amendment would still likely not go before voters until 2026 at the earliest.

Earlier this month, DeSantis directly addressed the subject during a news conference in Jacksonville, according to News 6 partner WJXT.

At the time, he pointed to rising home prices — sparked by a combination of demand spikes and inflation — though he said he plans to work with the Legislature before his term ends in 2027 to potentially get a constitutional amendment on the ballot to address issues like the homestead exemption.

“We can’t control private markets, but we can control how much they can tax you. So we’re going to be working over the next year and a half to see what we can present for voters to be able to vote in the next election for some major, major property tax limitations and reliefs,” DeSantis said.

News 6 spoke with Seminole County Tax Collector J.R. Kroll on Wednesday, who claimed that property taxes “are a necessary evil.” He explained that the county collected $759 million in property tax revenue just last year.

“If we eliminated property tax, I say, ‘Where do we get $759 million to pay?’” he stated.

But Dr. Sean Snaith, director of UCF’s Institute for Economic Forecasting, said that an increase in sales taxes would be the “most obvious” replacement to generate lost revenue.

“There’s an added benefit because of Florida’s tourism economy,” Snaith said. “We’ve got 150 million people coming in from out of the state. They would help contribute and help pay some of those sales taxes.”

Snaith said, though, that it may take multiple sources of revenue to replace lost revenue from property taxes.

He and Kroll both told News 6 that local governments can rely on property taxes because they are not typically sensitive to fluctuations in the economy.

News 6 reached out to DeSantis’ office last week for more information about possible plans for such a proposal.

“For property taxes, as the governor said, that will take a constitutional amendment. So his tweet speaks for itself,” said the governor’s press secretary, Jeremy Redfern. “But stay tuned.”

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