Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to end property taxes in his state.

During a press conference today, DeSantis proposed something big: a statewide DOGE task force to audit government spending in Florida.

As part of the initiative, the proposed task force would also look for ways to completely eliminate all Florida property taxes.

“Is it your property or not?” DeSantis asked, going to talk about the unfairness of property taxes,

“Just for being on your property, you’ve got to write a check to the government every year, so you’re basically paying rent to the government to live on your own property.”

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Listen to DeSantis’ full remarks here:

More details from Florida Voice:

DeSantis said that as part of the DOGE initiative, Florida will be looking at ways to end property taxes in the state.

He said Florida has been cutting taxes, but people have seen their property tax liability rise over the last few years because property is being assessed “higher and higher.”

The governor added that as part of the state DOGE initiative, the task force will look into and audit local government expenditures by utilizing publicly available county and municipal spending records so that information can be provided in a “digestible way” for Florida taxpayers.

“Just for being on your property, you’ve got to write a check to the government every year, so you’re basically paying rent to the government to live on your own property,” DeSantis said.

The governor said Florida’s homestead exemption is “not strong enough” to help people with high property taxes because “the property gets assessed so high.”

“There’s homestead stuff that helps protect you to a certain extent, but you’re paying more, and a lot of people can’t afford that, so I think that’s a big issue, and I know we’re going to be really looking at ways to bring people relief from that, because I think it’s been really something that’s pinching a lot of homeowners, particularly seniors on fixed incomes,” DeSantis said.

Last week, DeSantis also showed support for eliminating property taxes in a post on X, where he explained that, because property taxes are local, a constitutional amendment would be needed.

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Here’s that post:

 

A bill has already been introduced into the Florida Senate to eliminate property taxes.

Realtor reported on how this proposal could come to pass:

The Florida Legislature is considering a move to eliminate property taxes in the state, a radical step that has the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

If actually carried out, the proposal would make Florida the first state in the country without property taxes, a prospect that has already drawn strong reactions from both supporters and opponents.

A bill filed on Tuesday in the Florida Senate calls for a formal study of how eliminating real estate taxes could affect public services and the state’s economy and housing market.

Property taxes fund schools, parks, and emergency services. Florida has no income tax, and the proposed study would examine whether higher sales taxes could fill the funding gap if property taxes are eliminated.

This is a revolutionary idea.

If DeSantis succeeds in abolishing Florida property taxes, then this will set a precedent for other states to follow suit.

It could also lead to an economic boom as businesses flock to Florida to avoid paying taxes.

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Would you like to see property taxes eliminated in Florida? Nationwide?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments…

 

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