Is Desantis Talk Of Eliminating Property Taxes Serious And Possible? Or Is It Political Hot Air?

If the latest attention-getting gambit from Gov. Ron DeSantis — eliminating property taxes — ever gets enacted, it would have enormous consequences and could be the most enduring legacy of his time in office.

DeSantis has been touting the notion all over Florida in recent weeks. “Taxpayers need relief,” he declared in his March 4 State of the State address. “I want to get as bold of relief for taxpayers as possible,” he added later that day.

Two days later, he continued the message: “Let’s stand on the side of taxpayers.”

Sometimes he talks at length about the idea, asserting that the requirement to pay property taxes is unfair and means people never truly own their own homes.

One thing DeSantis has avoided so far: the details of how eliminating property taxes would even work. Options include doubling the sales tax or slashing county, school district, city, town and village budgets, including the money that pays for police and fire-rescue.

“It’s a terrible idea,” state Rep. Kelly Skidmore, a Palm Beach County Democrat, said at a recent gathering of Democratic and Republican legislators and county commissioners.

State Sen. Tina Polsky, a Democrat who represents northwest Broward and southeastern Palm Beach counties, said she’s concerned that the idea of eliminating property taxes might sound so appealing, like a free lunch, that it could develop unstoppable momentum.

“If people see it and say, ‘Oh, I can lower my property tax or get rid of it,’  of course they’re going to vote for it, so we’re going to have to do a lot of education if it does get that far,” Polsky said.

Big money

To pay for programs, the federal government relies largely on the personal income tax, Florida state government relies largely on the sales tax, and local governments — cities, towns, villages, school districts and counties — rely heavily on property taxes, said Todd Bonlarron, an assistant Palm Beach County administrator.

In Florida’s 2024-25 fiscal year, non-school property tax levies total $33.7 billion and school levies total $21.5 billion, Azhar Khan, staff director of the state Senate Finance and Tax Committee, told senators at a hearing last week.

The actual amount collected is somewhat less, he said, because some people take advantage of a discount to pay early and some don’t pay their taxes. So the total shortfall from eliminating property taxes would be less than the combined total of $55.2 billion, Khan said.

State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Crestview, posed a key question at the hearing: “If we were to eliminate property taxes, where would you get $50 billion?” State Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, had a similar inquiry, trying to glean the impact of eliminating the property tax.

Khan’s answer: “We don’t know.”

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Shortfall

The most often cited way to make up the shortfall is increasing the Florida sales tax.

An analysis by the left-leaning Florida Policy Institute estimated if the state doubled its 6% sales tax to 12% it would generate roughly $40.2 billion — assuming demand didn’t fall because of the higher prices.

Some communities already have local sales taxes, which is why people pay 7% on their purchases in Broward and Palm Beach counties. A 12% state sales tax would be the highest in the nation, the report said.

A sales tax is regressive, falling disproportionately on people with lower incomes, said Polsky and Aubrey Jewett, a University of Central Florida political scientist who’s studied state and local politics and policy for 30 years. Lower-income people spend a higher share of their incomes on taxable products than higher-income people.

“If we required higher sales taxes or consumption taxes, it’s going to be very regressive in nature,” Polsky said. “It’s just going to hurt the most vulnerable among us.”

Though DeSantis said details of a plan to eliminate property taxes need to be worked out, he has ruled out one thing. He has said he’d never sign an increase in state sales taxes into law to cover the cost of services currently paid for by the property tax.

That promise could mislead some people. If property tax elimination moves forward, it would happen via a referendum to change the state Constitution in November 2026, when DeSantis’ successor will be elected. DeSantis, who is term-limited, won’t even be in office when the government would have to make decisions about what taxes to raise or services to cut to make up for eliminating property taxes.

Timing

The DeSantis proposal comes as the governor faces new political challenges.

During President Joe Biden’s four years in office, the governor routinely captured attention by using the occupant of the White House as a foil. With President Donald Trump now in charge, DeSantis no longer has an easy political target.

Once the undisputed king of Tallahassee, who could get the Legislature to do whatever he wanted, DeSantis has seen his influence decline.

Republican legislators who have chafed for six years at being expected to fall in line have shown signs of independence. He still wields enormous power and influence, but it lessened after his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential failed as the 2026 election for a successor approaches.

If he champions a referendum to eliminate property taxes in Florida, and it succeeds, it gives DeSantis a credential to present to Republican primary voters if, as is widely expected, he again seeks his party’s presidential nomination.

State Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, D-Parkland, is skeptical about the sincerity of the proposal.

“It’s all about what can I do to get a headline so that I’m the most popular person in the room and I can give you a link to my (political) fundraising team and you’re gonna give me (campaign) money because I’m beating my chest to save you money without having thoughtful serious conversations about the impacts of this,” she said.

State Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, said the public is concerned about affordability.

“Affordability is the No. 1 issue,” LaMarca said.

A University of North Florida Poll released Feb. 18 found 34% cited “housing costs/property insurance” as the most important problem in the state, far ahead of any other issue.

Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo, who represents eastern Broward and northeastern Miami-Dade County, said talking about property taxes avoids what he said is a much greater concern for most people: “Why has my property insurance tripled the last 3 years?”

Concern

Without property taxes, “There’s no way that we could function. And I don’t mean only us. I mean all of our municipalities. Everybody. Nobody could function,” said Broward County Commissioner Nan Rich, a former Florida Senate Democratic leader.

“It will be devastating for cities,” said Mayor Felicia Brunson of West Park, president of the Broward League of Cities.

And Davie Town Councilwoman Susan Starkey said it would “affect everything.”

The Florida Policy Institute report said the property tax makes up 18% of county revenue, 17% of city, town and village revenue and 50% to 60% of school district revenue.

That doesn’t demonstrate the full importance of the property tax because the overall budgets include things like the international airports in Broward and Palm Beach counties and Port Everglades in Broward, which bring in money that pays for their operations, not overall county services.

Adam Reichbach, assistant city manager in Hollywood, representing the Broward County City Managers Association, told state lawmakers that city general fund budgets rely on property taxes, and reductions would produce a “large impact to public safety.”

Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker had a similar message for state legislators who represent her county.

The “bulk of our revenue from property taxes” pays for law enforcement, fire rescue and emergency management, Baker said. “It’s an easy thing to say, cut property taxes, cut property taxes. But our residents demand us to provide them safety and responses in a timely manner from fire rescue as well as law enforcement.”

“It scares the heck out of me,” said state Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, a former member of the Broward School Board said at the last gathering of the county’s lawmakers before the start of the annual session in Tallahassee.

Jewett said people like the things paid for by property taxes.

“They’re providing the things that really affect people’s day-to-day quality of life like roads, sidewalks, transportation, first responders, criminal justice like police, firefighters and EMTs. Parks and recreation,” he said. “Most people, even most conservative Republicans, do want those basic services and money has to come from somewhere,” Jewett said.

Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa said the governor likes to talk about eliminating property taxes. “But he never talks about what services he would cut if we move forward with that proposal.”

“Which teacher would the governor fire?” Driskell asked. “Which law enforcement officer would be told to go home? Does he not want trash like garbage picked up in a timely manner in these neighborhoods?”

It’s not just government administrators and Democratic politicians who are concerned.

Palm Beach County Mayor Maria Marino, a Republican, said at a late February meeting among county commissioners and state legislators of both parties that, “I don’t think anybody in this room wants to get rid of property taxes because the impact of getting rid of property taxes in Palm Beach County or in any county” would be dire. “Our counties will be bankrupt and out of business,” Marino said.

LaMarca, a former Lighthouse Point city commissioner and former Broward County commissioner, said he needs to see detailed numbers.

“There’s always an appetite to look at ways to save people money, but here’s the real question. … Who’s going to backfill and make sure that you have an adequate fire station, police station, resources (to pay for) the essentials.”

State Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican whose district includes northern Palm Beach County, said local and county governments should marshal their arguments.

“Getting those numbers together and showing exactly what you are spending, where you’re spending it, and how you’re spending it will be key,” she said. “This is a discussion. I don’t want everybody to get totally bent out of shape that this is moving forward.”

Options

So far, DeSantis has said he wants to eliminate property taxes, a move that would require amending the state Constitution.

Other proposals would increase the homestead exemption, which exempts from taxes $25,000 from the value of an owner-occupied home for school taxes and exempts $50,000 of taxable value for all other property taxes.

One proposal would increase the exemption to $75,000 for all kinds of taxes and add an annual inflation increase. Another would increase the exemption to $100,000.

And some lawmakers have floated the idea of increasing the discount people can take off their tax bill if they pay it early. Currently it maxes out at 4% for people who pay their tax bills in November.

DOGE

As DeSantis touts the idea of eliminating property taxes, he said he wants to spend a year or so “to DOGE local governments.”

DOGE is the widely used acronym for the program authorized by Trump and run by billionaire Elon Musk to end federal programs and fire employees that they call the Department of Government Efficiency.

“What people see is these budgets have gone up dramatically, way, way in excess of the population increases, and look, some of it’s inflation, we’ve seen that in Florida,” he said, suggesting that DOGE will come up with evidence of profligate spending. “We need to show that, and then I think we’re going to be at a great spot to say, OK, what can we get (property tax elimination) on the ballot.”

DeSantis has used isolated examples to support broader policy aims before.

Last summer, after DeSantis vetoed $32 million of arts and culture grants to more than 600 organizations, he pointed to one event, a “fringe festival” put on by one grant recipient that was in line for $7,369 as the reason.

Rising values

DeSantis has repeatedly stated that people who bought homes long ago are suffering because soaring housing prices have resulted in people paying taxes on homes that suddenly have higher values.

“You buy your house for $300,000 seven years ago, now all of a sudden they’re telling you it’s worth $900,000 and then they tax you more for that,” DeSantis said, giving the impression that a homeowner is forced to pay taxes on that $600,000 of added value.

That isn’t the way the homestead exemption works. Floridians who own and live in their own homes are protected from paying dramatically higher taxes as their home values increase.

Under the Save Our Homes provision of the Florida Constitution, the taxable value of a homesteaded property can’t increase any more than 3% a year — even if home values skyrocket.

“Basically the Save Our Homes amendment has worked as advertised. It has limited the increase in property values for tax purposes. And thus has limited how much your property taxes go up,” Jewett said.

Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper said there’s another taxpayer protection. The local government tax rate is already capped at a maximum of $10 for every $1,000 of taxable property value.

Unfair

DeSantis said he thinks the concept of property taxes is unfair.

“Is it private property or not? Because if they can just keep taxing you when you own the home, own the land free and clear, and they’re just taxing you, then really you’re paying rent to the government. And, and I think a lot of people think that that’s wrong,” the governor.

That’s an argument he’s made repeatedly in recent public appearances.

LaMarca was skeptical of the idea that the obligation to pay property taxes means someone doesn’t own their own home, suggesting that theory could apply to all home-related expenses, including insurance and more.

“Pool guy’s not coming for free. Landscapers aren’t coming for free. You’ve got to maintain it. You’ve got to put money into it. Your house is going to cost you money until you sell it to somebody else, and quite honestly wherever you live is going to cost you money until you’re no longer with us,” LaMarca said.

Old idea, different outcome?

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wanted to swap property taxes on homes for an increase in the sales tax when he was speaker of the Florida House of Representatives in the late 2000s.

“His philosophy was you never really own your home, you know, the American Dream is to be able to own your own home and you never really own it because as long as you pay property taxes, the government can take it away from you if you don’t pay your taxes, and that was his passion,” said former state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, who was part of Rubio’s leadership team in the Florida House at that time.

“(Rubio’s) answer was a sales tax. Everybody called it ‘regressive’ but we were of the opinion that if you don’t tax food and you don’t tax medicine, it’s really not as regressive as people would say because the essentials are not being taxed,” she said.

Skidmore, who was in the House when Rubio was speaker, was out of office for 10 years, and was elected again starting in 2020, said she is hoping for the same outcome.

“This was his idea, to eliminate property tax and increase the sales tax,” Skidmore said. “It did not go well for him, and it’s not going to go well, hopefully, for the governor.”

State Rep. Marie Woodson, D-Hollywood, chair of the Broward Legislative Delegation, said she doesn’t think eliminating property taxes is feasible, but she said it might pass anyway.

“I don’t see how we can do away with property taxes. How are we going to function because so much depends on the property taxes that we collect,” she said. “I don’t see this one coming to reality, but here again, we are in the state of Florida.”

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.