The Sun Would Shine All Year In the Sunshine State

Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, has done a pretty decent job during his time. He is term-limited and, therefore, cannot run again. But he is endeavoring to leave his mark on the state.

 

He has proposed a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the state real estate tax, and instead, have tourists make up the shortfall. He believes that as a state which sells its tourist attractions, homeowners should not be paying for the tourists’ vacations.

He stated, “The thing is, it’s possible in Florida. So why would we not take that opportunity to do that?”

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

Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Pennsylvania are also considering the elimination of property taxes, which significantly affect homeowners.

DeSantis plans to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot, requiring 60% voter approval. He proposed $1,000 in immediate tax relief for homeowners to ease financial pressures until the referendum can be voted on.

DeSantis said, “We’re trying to get a stopgap cut this year, about $1,000 on average per household. But the main event is going on the ballot, because ultimately under Florida constitution the property taxes are a power of local government, so you would need a constitutional referendum. We need 60 percent of the vote for that.”

The homeowners who would benefit would be year-round residents, which are eligible for the homestead allowance discount, not those who own a vacation home in Florida.

DeSantis views property taxes as oppressive and ineffective. He urged a reevaluation of local government budgets to maintain essential services without relying on these taxes.

DeSantis said, “These local governments have gotten bloated over the last five or six years. So, they’ll say, if you do property tax, they’re not going to have money for services. But the reality is, if they just reduced their budgets to where they were five years ago, that would be most of the way we would need to go anyway on this.”

It is an interesting concept with which many Florida residents seem to agree. After all, your land, in his mind, is like a television set, private property. You buy it, pay tax on it one time and never pay tax again. You should not pay taxes on something you own, year after year.

The Legislature would need to get this done now in order to avoid being called in during the summer for a special emergency session. The Governor is adamant to get this done.

The next steps are up to the Legislature to enact the immediate tax cut BEFORE tax assessments are completed for next year. Basically, it has the summer to vote on it and send it to the Governor for his signature no later than mid-September.

It would be a first in the nation, that is for sure.