Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pledged to put forth a “concrete proposal” that will either end or severely slash his state’s property taxes.
Newsweek reports the governor made his promise during a press conference, where he vowed to have his proposal on the ballot for the 2026 election.
“I think that property taxes have pinched a lot of people, and I think we got to do something about it,” DeSantis said. “All I will say to that is, stay tuned. I’m already working with folks, we are crunching numbers, we’re doing all these different things. But you are going to have an opportunity to get this done in November 2026,” he added.
Property tax reform has gained momentum in recent months at state and municipal levels across the country, but DeSantis is the first governor to speak about eliminating these taxes – he said that action would put “a thumb on the scale in favor of traditional homeownership.” However, that would require a constitutional amendment approved by 60% of voters.
In the interim, DeSantis touted efforts by the state’s Department of Government Efficiency to audit spending by local governments with the goal of bringing down local taxes.
“These local governments…their budgets go up 60%,” he added. “You ask yourself, why? Because people buy homes, it’s a gusher of revenue going into the coffers. Rather than return that money to the taxpayers, they spend it. What I think taxpayers want from local governments is—we want education, 100%. We want law enforcement, fire and other first respondents. 100%. But we don’t need some of this stuff that’s been spent money on.”
Photo courtesy of Gov. DeSantis’ Facebook page
First of all i think your great!
A great idea your very trustworthy the people know that!
Appreciate you Best Govenor we ever Had!!
Ron DeSantis is putting on a “clinic” of how to be a good governor! This is a “common sense” idea. They made an effort to replace the property tax with a sales tax in 2006, under then Speaker Rubio’s direction. Unfortunately, a “Rino infested” Senate threw up roadblocks. The Rino Governor, Charlie Crist came up with a “token” idea that ultimately passed. It looked like Rubio had found a compromise with Ken Prewitt and Crist. But an activist judge killed that make sense solution. Meanwhile, the property taxes remained too high. Today is a different legislative landscape in Florida. I am betting on Governor DeSantis. He gets things done!
There is very little chance property taxes will be slashed and zero chance they will be done away with. The state has no income tax nor tax on food. If property taxes are done away with, where will the revenue come from to replace that revenue? His term ends next year so he can suggest anything. Why have property taxes steadily increased during his two terms? Florida needs a change and definitely not another DeSantis nor Donalds!
I believe the property taxes went up because the home values skyrocketed. DeSantis had nothing to do with Home Values increasing. Furthermore, Florida has had so many homes and developments being built that the infrastructure had to increase to support all that growth. That takes more revenue.
Fully agree, we need a change, and hopefully an administration, that doesn’t foolows DeSantis nor Donalds narratives
The state doesn’t calculate the property taxes, the county appraisers and local municipalities dictate that.
Food is not completely sales tax free in Florida. Junk food, sodas, restaurant food, vendor foods, and prepared food are all taxable.
Revenue will likely come through increased local sales usage taxes, but what would be better is for some of the cities and counties in Florida to throwing money away like it grows on trees. As someone who has worked on public sector projects and with government entities, there is a ton of waste on their end. In one city near me commissioners get outrageous raises every year and they votes themselves a huge monthly car allowance. By the standard reimbursement rate per mile they’d have to spend most of the month driving every street in the city to even get the amount that they get.
We all had this conversation years ago when they added a double homestead exemption, it was doom and gloom that the emergencies services would go away, your water and sewer would not be maintained, it would be like Mad Max. Yeah, never happened. Life went on and commissioners had to tighten their budgets and stop giving themselves and their friends perks.
THANK GOD FOR DESANTIS AND DONALDS. BEST GOVERNOR WE HAVE EVER HAD!!!
Democrats – BIG JOKE-BIDEN / HARRIS and all the other Left wing liberal anti American crooks!! LOSERS-
GO TRUMP!!!
lol. this is a re-election ploy. look at every state In the country and you’ll understand that you have property taxes, sales taxes and income taxes. Pick two to be relatively high. Every state works that way. Sales taxes and service fees would have to be astronomical to make up for the revenue, and then the lack of a consistent tax base will see the entire education system crumble. Without enough revenue, you won’t get all those public services funded. Your parks will be left to die off. Florida won’t have money to pay for disasters and emergencies which happen all the time. good luck. Florida being florida.
Umm, he can’t run next year. Your hate makes things blurry.
I think everything after the re-election comment can be ignored as equally uninformed.
Removing or slashing property taxes will be a huge benefit to Florida property owners. And eliminate the corruption of property taxes being spent on political BS. The loss in that revenue can easily be made up with a small sales tax increase, tax Those who don’t own but rent and slight increase in tourism fees.
Nebraska has tried to find a solution for years to our reliance on property taxes to no avail. If you lower one tax, you have to increase or create another. You can’t slash enough spending to make a meaningful difference without adversely affecting the quality of services. California tried limiting property tax growth once and found themselves in financial trouble when revenues from other sources declined. I believe most people want their government to work. If it doesn’t, what ever tax dollars are being spent on it are being wasted. For those folks living in Florida, take solace in knowing that we pay about 1.65% of assessed value each year in property taxes.
Interesting. Property taxes go to schools, road repairs, utilities, water management, sewers, etc.. I guess you don’t need those things in Florida. You expect others, those that don’t own property to supply you with your needs. Sounds selfish. Everything goes up in price. I pay taxes, wish I didn’t but glad I do because it keeps my city clean, roads good, parks nice, good police and firefighters, I could go on but you get the point. Wasn’t it Kansas years ago that got rid of property taxes and that state sunk in disrepair and became billions of dollars in the hole and had ti reinstate property taxes. I guess people don’t read and keep up with even the recent history of our country. Good luck down the road if this happens, I’ll feel bad for you but if that’s what you want..
Eliminate ad valorem taxes for all seniors 65 and older. Create a solid mathematical formula to calculate ad valorem taxes (the same formula for all counties throughout Florida), so it treats all taxpayers (under the age of 65) equally. Also, a maximum cap of $3,000 per homestead/primary residence would be appropriate.
Everyone seems to forget that not ALL property tax will go away, only homesteaded residents.
Which means, all commercial properties will pay taxes. That’s strip malls, office buildings, apartment complexes, etc.
All investor owned properties will pay taxes. If you own five condos you rent out, you’re paying property tax. If you’re Airbnb-ing your property, you’re paying taxes. If you own a seasonal/vacation home, you’re paying taxes.
A 2 or 3 cent additional state wide sales tax will be more than adequate to replace the revenue from the eliminated Home Owner Occupied Property tax. Also with the elimination of Home Owner Occupied Property Tax there will be more sales generating a doc stamp windfall for Counties. America’s FAVORITE Governor, Governor Ron DeSantis 🇺🇲