Governor DeSantis proposes eliminating property taxes in Florida

DeSantis feuds with house speaker on tax cuts

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports on Governor Ron DeSantis's proposal to cut property taxes, not long after the Florida speaker of the house proposed slashing sales taxes.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing billions of dollars in property tax relief for homestead owners in Florida – and if he gets his way, that could be just the beginning.

At a news conference in Orlando on Monday, the governor mentioned a proposal in the Florida House to provide $5 billion per year in sales tax cuts. DeSantis says he wants legislators to instead focus that relief on property taxes for homeowners who live in the state.

What they're saying:

DeSantis says cutting property taxes would result in a nearly $1,000 tax break for homeowners.

Pictured: Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference in Orlando on March 31, 2025.

He says instead of benefiting out-of-towners, cutting property taxes would benefit the right people.

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"I want Canadian tourists and Brazilian tourists subsidizing the state and making it, so Florida residents pay less taxes," said DeSantis. "I don't want to give Canadians a tax cut."

The other side:

DeSantis says he's not against a sales tax cut in general, but the house speaker said last week cutting sales taxes would be the fastest way of helping more people.

"This year, we'll try a novel concept and make Florida more affordable by giving the people of Florida their own money back to them," said House Speaker Daniel Perez.

Pictured: Florida Speaker of the House Daniel Perez.

Democrats have likened the idea to living only on candy, saying the cost of these tax cuts, either on sales or property taxes, is fewer services like police, education and environmental protection.

Dig deeper:

A $5 billion cut would require a 4% dip in state spending.

"Whether I agree with him on everything is a different debate," said State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando). "But, I do appreciate the independent streak because I think it's important the legislature sets the agenda on policy, on budget."

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In a statement, the house speaker said he welcomed the governor's ideas.

The senate president took both sides, but said that any tax cut should be made without raising taxes in the future if the economy stumbles.

The governor says there is enough of a surplus where drastic cuts in services would not necessarily have to be made.

By the numbers:

According to a study by the Florida Policy Institute, local governments in Florida collect $42.7 billion in property taxes annually, or about $2,000 per person.

That's nearly one-fifth of all revenue for local governments and roughly half of the revenue for school districts.

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"You have to just keep writing a check to the government just for the privilege of using your own property," DeSantis said. "That's an anomaly. That's not the way good tax policy should be."

DeSantis said Monday that there are ways to help offset that lost revenue with lower impact on Florida residents – including the state's ongoing DOGE efforts – but it's not entirely clear how other taxes could be impacted.

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What's next:

This follows a long fight over immigration reform, in which DeSantis and the legislature eventually compromised, publicly promising that their relationship would smooth over.

Any immediate property tax relief would require support from the Florida Legislature, while the elimination of the tax requires an amendment to the Florida Constitution. Any constitutional amendment would require the support of 60% of Floridians to pass.

The Source: This story was written with information collected by FOX 13's Evan Axelbank, DeSantis' news conference on March 31, 2025 and previous FOX 13 News reports.

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