- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis supports abolishing property tax in the state. His support comes as a state senator introduced a bill to examine the impacts of getting rid of the tax.
- Florida is home to three of the five U.S. metros where property taxes have increased the most since 2019, according to Redfin.
- Eliminating the property tax would require a constitutional amendment. A Florida-based think tank said the state would need to double the sales tax to replace lost revenue.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, doubled down on his criticism of property taxes on Monday, Feb. 25. But abolishing the levy is a “risky proposition,” according to a Florida-based think tank.
“You bought the land. You’ve been taxed many times. It’s like, is it your property or not?” DeSantis said at an event laying out DOGE-like initiatives in Florida. “Just for being on your property, you [have] to write a check to the government every year, so you’re basically paying rent to the government to live on your own property.”
Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them…
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 13, 2025
We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that… https://t.co/WpOQmjNl0X
Earlier this month, DeSantis said he would support a constitutional amendment to rid Florida of property taxes.
“Property taxes are local, not state,” DeSantis wrote on X on Feb. 13. “So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them. We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60%.”
Florida State Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Meyers, introduced a bill last week to explore the impact of eliminating property tax in the state.
Florida is seeing some of the highest property tax increases
Florida ranks around the middle of the country when it comes to the property tax burden. But when it comes to increases in property taxes, it sits near the top.
“We’ve been cutting taxes, but people have seen their property tax liability go up over these last years because the property is being assessed higher and higher,” DeSantis said Monday.
Florida is home to three of the five U.S. metros where property taxes have increased the most since 2019, according to Redfin. Property taxes in Jacksonville and Tampa increased nearly 60% over five years.
How would Florida make up the lost revenue?
Florida doesn’t have a state income tax. Ridding the state of property taxes would shift the tax burden elsewhere.
The Florida Policy Institute said if lawmakers replace property taxes with a consumption tax, it would double the state’s sales tax rate to 12%. InfluenceWatch rates FPI left of center due to its funding sources.
A 12% sales tax “would make Florida’s general sales tax the highest in the nation, disproportionately and negatively impacting households with low to moderate incomes in addition to businesses (who contribute 20 percent of all sales tax revenue in the state) and tourists (who contribute 14 percent).”
“If policymakers wanted to eliminate property taxes, they would need to raise $43 billion (or $2,015 per capita) to maintain public services currently funded with property tax revenue,” FPI’s report said.
Across the United States, local governments get three-fourths of their tax revenue for public education, infrastructure and public health from property taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
FPI called the state’s property tax “the most important source of revenue in local governments primarily because of its stability.”