Q&A of the Day – Should Florida End Property Taxes?
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
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Today’s Entry: @brianmuddradio How would this work if a constitutional amendment is passed to eliminate property taxes? Where would local governments get the additional revenue other than raising sales tax? Would this be a good deal for Florida residents?
Bottom Line: Sure enough... Last Friday Governor DeSantis responded to a person on X who said this: @GovRonDeSantis, we really need to abolish property taxes here in Florida. What do we need to do to make this happen? DeSantis’ response was this... 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… We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60%… I agree that taxing land/property is the more oppressive and ineffective form of taxation… Clearly the governor knew what he was doing by choosing to publicly address this question and to express support for an end to property taxation. The timing behind the governor’s note is important too.
As the governor noted, if Florida were to pursue an end to property taxation it would have to come through a proposed constitutional amendment. With the state’s 60-day legislative session set to begin in under two weeks, timing is key if this is to become a reality during the DeSantis administration. The next opportunity for voters to consider proposed constitutional amendments is in November of 2026, during the midterm elections. In order for a proposed constitutional amendment to make the ballot, Florida’s legislature would need to pass legislation placing the proposal on our ballots. So, if there’s going to be momentum behind this proposal, the next couple of weeks could be key. With that said, any effort to attempt this is likely to be met with fierce backlash by many local governments.
As DeSantis noted, property taxes are assessed locally and collected locally with most of the revenue collected going to local taxing authorities. Those taxing authorities include school districts, law enforcement agencies, fire districts, roads, waste and recycling programs and operating expenses for county and municipal governments. Palm Beach County has a total of 77 taxing authorities and 11 special tax districts that currently receive property tax revenue. Obviously, those authorities would be concerned about where they’d get their money. As of now DeSantis hasn’t offered up his thoughts/ recommendations for how that should/would happen. In Palm Beach County alone over $5 billion is collected annually in property taxes.
If property taxes were eliminated, revenue options for local governments/districts seeking to replace the lost revenue could include raising sales tax rates, implementing user fees for services, surcharges for services, etc. The median property tax bill in Florida in 2024 was $3,101. In Palm Beach County, one of the most expensive in the state, that number now tops $5,000. There's no doubt that an absence of property taxes would significantly aid in easing housing affordability. There’s also no doubt that it would lead to higher costs in other avenues.
In the event property taxes were eliminated, sales tax increases would almost certainly be the most common offset sought by communities seeking to replace the lost revenue. So, about that...here’s an idea of what that might look like.
Florida’s sales tax rate is currently 6%. The average local sales tax rate adds an additional 1% - for a total 7% sales tax rate. An analysis shows that in order for a full revenue offset, sales tax rates would need to effectively double. That would mean likely sales tax rates of between 12% - 14%. Now the case could be made that perhaps not all property tax revenue would need to be accounted for. For example, in just the past four years total property tax collections have increased by 20% in Palm Beach County. Is that entirely necessary?
Many local governments have taken advantage of the rapid increase in property values in recent years to add to their spending as opposed to lowering property tax mileage rates. Nevertheless, you can bet that most local governments would seek to replace as much of the revenue as they could. For that reason, you can ask yourself if you’d be willing to potentially pay twice the sales tax rate to avoid paying property taxes.
As for my thoughts... I’m a strong advocate for the elimination of property taxes. For me it’s a philosophical thing. Do you ever really own your property if a local government can take it away from you if you don’t or can’t pay property taxes annually? Property taxes are inherently anti-American. Many states, including Florida previously, have flirted with the idea of ending property taxes – though no state has actually done it. If Florida pursues this, it will be a first, but it's a first worth pursuing.