Ending Property tax -
Discussion among lawmakers

 By Tami Stevenson

Property taxes are on the minds of lawmakers this legislative session, as a number of states are considering the move towards ending property taxes. Many legislators are now writing and proposing bills that may or may not make it to the floor.     

     Governor DeSantis is onboard with removing property taxes in Florida as well, but this is a complicated issue. Where will the $50 billion come from to support schools, law enforcement, utilities, water management districts and more?

     In order fill that revenue void, they would need to find a way to make up that $50 billion.

     Along with hoping Governor DeSantis and his team can find enough bloat in Florida’s local governments to replace some of the loss in revenue, another path being considered is to raise sales tax in the state, but opposers argue that shifting the tax burden from property to sales taxes would disproportionately affect lower-income residents.

     Those in favor of no property taxes argue that we really do not own our own land, we are paying rent to the government through property taxes, so we never truly own our home. Thousands of homes are seized annually each year and auctioned off for failure to pay their property taxes.

     DeSantis said in a social media post that, “Property taxes are local, not state.  So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60 percent of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them…” He added, “We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60 percent…”

     Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview, sponsored a bill last year to require a study examining the impacts of phasing out property taxes. The bill didn’t pass but a similar version (SB 852) has been filed this year by Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers.

     And even if the study doesn’t move forward, Chamberlin has a bill (HB 357) that is still in committees, to install a $100,000 exemption on all properties – homesteaded and non-homesteaded – by putting the measure before voters in the 2026 election.

     Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, also has a bill (SB 1016) he filed in February to expand the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $75,000.

     Other states considering abolishing property taxes are Pennsylvania, Indiana and New Jersey, that we know of so far.

     According to a WSJ/NORC poll published on Fox Business, 89 percent of Americans say owning a home is important while only 10 percent feel like it’s attainable. And 96 percent of Americans believe financial security is important, but only 9 percent say it is fairly easy to achieve.

     Because of the many complexities surrounding this topic of abolishing or significantly diminishing property taxes, it may be studied for years before a plausible solution is reached.