Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call to radically reshape Florida’s property taxes ignited a firestorm as the battle lines were defined during the weekend with municipalities claiming essential services will be cut while proponents saying the reform amounts to a tax on the rich championed by progressives.
DeSantis is beating the war drums, going on friendly media news sites and posting on social media about his “Save Our Homes” proposal. On Monday, he called Legislature back for another special session, wanting lawmakers to hammer out the ballot initiative that would raise the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 on Jan. 1 — and then scale it upward to $250,000 the following year.
Any constitutional amendment on the ballot in November would need 60% of voters to approve it to be enacted. DeSantis wants to use $5.5 million of taxpayer dollars to have property appraisers across Florida send mailers to property owners on the initiative, detailing how much homeowners would save.
LIVE UPDATES: Florida lawmakers weigh DeSantis property tax plan
“The Legislature should not be pressured into rubber-stamping a once-in-a-generation overhaul of Florida’s tax system on an artificial deadline with so many unanswered questions,” said Jeff Brandes, a former Republican lawmaker and director of the Florida Policy Project.
Brandes urged the Legislature to just gavel-in and gavel-out the special session without taking action, saying the governor’s plan raises “profound constitutional questions.” He said, at a minimum, any proposal should include a sunset provision that would allow voters to revisit the issue.
Where does Florida’s GOP stand on cutting property taxes?
But many of the GOP faithful are falling behind the governor.
State Sen. Don Gaetz said in a newsletter to his Panhandle constituents, “Property taxes are especially hard on families with fixed incomes. The soaring increase in assessed property values and, consequently, increased property taxes isn’t keeping up with pensions and Social Security.”
Municipalities for months have warned that such a proposal would mean cuts in services that residents take for granted. A graphic from the Leon County Board of Commissioners responding to a similar proposal by the Florida House, entitled “Tax reform that costs us all,” was making the rounds on social media. It envisions libraries shuttered, slower emergency response times, mosquito control eliminated, among a parade of horribles.
In nearby Parkland, where it is estimated a loss of $27 million annually if ad valorem taxes were eliminated, the city has posted an information “tax talk” webpage. “Eliminating local property taxes will not eliminate costs, it just shifts them,” Parkland government tells the residents. “It means higher sales taxes, new fees, or cuts to local services. And it re-routes decision-making from local communities to Tallahassee.”
As bills and joint resolutions were filed on Monday on DeSantis’ proposal, though there were tweaks to protect schools, small businesses and possibly curtail the governor’s plan to promote his cause. Still, the reaction came swiftly from local leaders.
Which Florida services would be affected most by property tax reform?
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava said she supports “meaningful” tax relief for Florida families, “but that any proposal to eliminate or significantly reduce property taxes deserves a full and honest conversations about the impact on services residents rely on every day.” She sent a letter on Monday to legislative leaders outlining her concerns.
Gainesville Commissioner Bryan Eastman said he got the local property appraiser’s estimate that DeSantis’ plan would cut 35% of the tax base that pays for local law enforcement in Alachua County. “That’s defunding the police,” he said on X.
Boca Raton Mayor Andy Thomson — a city on the border of Broward and Palm Beach Counties — has previously said property tax reform in Florida was akin to a war on local government. Businesses and renters would bear the brunt of costs, he said, with apartment complexes, rental and second homes and commercial buildings would see an increase in their property tax.
What is also lost in the reform debate is that about a dozen special districts that provide a vast array of children services would be severely impacted. A number of nonprofits would have to close down, said Cindy Arenberg Seltzer, the president and CEO of Children’s Services Council of Broward County.
“The impact on some of these non-profits would not be ‘Oh, my God, we lost some dollars and this program goes away.’ It could actually put a lot of these nonprofit organizations out of business,” she said.
The Florida Policy Institute — not to be confused with Brandes’ group — has published a map showing just how much money each county and school district stands to lose.
“The proposal would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest families in the state, who already pay less in state and local taxes as a share of household income than families struggling to get by here on low wages,” FPI said in a statement.
Yet, DeSantis and proponents of property tax reform say that it would be the wealthiest who would pay under the proposal because many own second homes in Florida or do not live here fulltime to qualify for a homestead exemption.
“In Palm Beach, they are sitting on a gold mine. They’ve got all these people who live there three months of the year and they buy $25 million homes. That should be your tax base,” the governor said at a news conference on Wednesday.
In Manalapan in Palm Beach County, for instance, multimillion-dollar mansions dot the waterfront — including billionaire Larry Ellison’s record-setting $173 million estate.
“This isn’t only a burden on the rich, it’s a burden on everybody. Even the people who think they’re getting the savings in property taxes are going to have to pay for that somewhere else,” said Manalapan Town Manager Eric Marmer. “And instead of calling their local city hall, they are going to have call the state to deal with some local issues.”
Where does Florida rank in terms of property tax money?
According to Rocket Mortgage, Florida ranked 28th in 2025 in the amount of property tax burden, with an effective rate of 0.79 percent. Compare that to the 2.23 percent rate paid by the nation’s leading property tax state, New Jersey.
State Rep. Rob Long, D-Boynton Beach, says many Republicans in Tallahassee don’t really believe that voters will pass a referendum to defund cities, but feel that it will help get the GOP base to the polls where some big races could be competitive. “It’s a political game. It’s a turnout mechanism,” he said.
John Pacenti is the Government Impact Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY at https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida cities vehemently pushing back against DeSantis’ property tax plan
Reporting by John Pacenti, USA Today Network-Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
