Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed a bill that would have allocated $1 million to study the potential impacts of eliminating the property tax.
The study would have been conducted through the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, with a deadline scheduled for Nov. 1. FloridaPolitics.com reports DeSantis told a news conference “we don’t need to give a bureaucracy money to study this.” He added the state would benefit from a ballot measure to terminate ad valorem taxes on homesteaded property.
“We know what needs to be done, so let’s just do it,” said DeSantis. “And we will do it.”
However, not everyone in Florida shares the governor’s enthusiasm for ending property tax. Florida TaxWatch recently released a study that found the $55 billion raised through property taxes was “by far the biggest tax source” for the state. And earlier this year, the Florida Policy Institute released a study that determined the state would need to double its sales tax to 12% to compensate for lost revenue.
“Our tax code is already the most upside-down in the nation,” said Sadaf Knight, the Institute’s CEO. “Eliminating property taxes and enacting a sales tax hike in its place would only exacerbate this issue, adding to inflation and benefiting those with the most to gain while making it even harder for Floridians with low income to make ends meet and put food on the table.”
Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons
I love what the guys doing and It would be nice if it worked. Reality is these studies do not go anywhere. That is the classic move and we will never see or hear again where that studies results go. The million will be kept by some shell company.
Florida taxes are too high, they are higher than taxes in California. Eliminating taxes may not be the answer, but certainly lowering them would be very beneficial to most people and still bring in revenue for the state. There needs to be some sort of safeguards for home owners.
Higher than California? I own property in Florida and wouldn’t touch California property. Our friend pays $60,000 per year in property taxes on a $3.2m home. Another home we looked at was listed for $1.9m. Property taxes are $24,000 per year. Add to that a 13% state income tax, plus city income taxes in LA and SF. No income tax in Florida. Gas taxes in California make it over $5.50/gallon. Florida gas prices are under $3.
Public school math?
a million dollar house in Anaheim is about 10k property taxes. You get to 10k in Orlando area for about 600k. A 300k house in Orlando is over 5k in property taxes. Comparison Arizona is about 2k.
Also there is no city tax in LA. Florida is higher in property taxes.
Lowering taxes by 50% would really make a big change for the good.
“Let’s just do it” Our Governor is most progressive and the least bureaucratic one. Viva Mr. Governor!
Any homeowner over the age of 60 pays no/is exempt from paying any ad valorem taxes. That would make Florida the richest retirement Mecca in the USA.
Taxes on our owned properties are illegal
When is everyone going to realize that!
Do you realize that taxes make you a slave to the system…
It’s not about being a “ black slave” like the media likes to push.. (look here not what’s right in front of your faces) every property owner is a slave to the system where you will own nothing and be happy.
You miss a tax payment they come and take your property..
Theft is what it is…
We have been so dumbed down!
So grandpa who bought his land for 10,000
Spent another 10,000 to build a home..
Is today being taxed 5-10,000 or more per year for taxes…
Help me make sense of this!
ZERO COMMON SENSE
All these govt jobs were supposed to be unpaid volunteers…
Who meet twice a year..
People need to relook up history and why the constitution was signed..
For no one adheres to it anymore
For me, we are being double-taxed because we pay taxes when we purchase the property, and then we keep paying taxes based on the property value. I purchased my property for $165,000 in 2018 (a foreclosure), and my taxes based on the assessment value of $260,000 are $2,300. Money paid for taxes cannot be recovered ever. They can lower the taxes on homeowners based on their age and income, among other considerations, and it will not be so drastically against the state revenues.
Way to go Governor, we are all behind you. Do not listen to these public burocrates living off the back of the seniors’ property tax.
@Dennis
He is correct. There is a city tax in LA. They just hide it. The minimum combined sales tax rate in Los Angeles, California is currently 9.75% – The state base tax is 6% then add for LA 9.75% and each city has on top of that! It is CRAZY