TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In the latest move surrounding property taxes in the state, Florida lawmakers are making another push to tamp down on them.
On Thursday, Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez announced that lawmakers are forming a Select Committee on Property Taxes to review the current state of property taxes in Florida and develop potential reforms.
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“The cost of homeownership continues to rise, putting pressure on Florida families, seniors, and communities,” Perez said. “Through this Select Committee, we are committed to identifying bold solutions that preserve the dream of homeownership and give voters a direct voice in determining the future of property taxation in our state.”
Under the Florida Constitution, property taxes are an issue handled locally, so any direct policies aimed at eliminating or reducing them would require a constitutional amendment approved by at least 60% of Florida voters in the next general election.
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Despite that hurdle, Perez said the committee is going to draft legislation for voters to consider.
“Floridians should have the chance to decide on real, lasting property tax reforms,” said state Rep. Vicki Lopez (R-Miami), who is serving as co-chair on the committee. “Our committee will bring forward ideas that protect homeowners and reflect the realities and needs facing homeowners today.”
More specifically, Perez said that the committee will explore the following five reforms, among others:
- Referendums: Requiring every city, county and special district to hold a referendum on the question of eliminating property taxes on homestead properties
- Homestead Exemptions: Creating a new $500,000 homestead exemption, as well as a $1 million homestead exemption for properties owned by Floridians aged 65 and older, or who have had a homestead for 30 years
- Applicable to all non-school taxes
- Lawmaking Power: Authorizing the Legislature to increase the homestead exemption to any value by general law
- Property Assessments: Modifying the assessment-increase limitations on property values
- For homestead properties — Changing the cap from 10% annually to 15% over any three-year period for all taxes
- For non-homestead properties — Changing the cap from 10% annually to 15% over any three-year period for all non-school taxes
- Foreclosures: Eliminating the ability to foreclose on a homestead property due to a property tax lien
Property taxes have become a hot-button issue for many state leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, who publicly voiced his support for eliminating them earlier this year.
“We can’t control private markets, but we can control how much they can tax you,” DeSantis declared back in February. “So we’re going to be working over the next year and a half to see what we can present for voters to be able to vote in the next election for some major, major property tax limitations and reliefs.”
Since then, several lawmakers have filed bills aiming to amend the Florida Constitution, pushing for policies like higher homestead exemptions and assessed value freezes for seniors in the state.
While none of these proposals has managed to become law yet, Perez has also pushed to lower Florida’s sales tax rate down to 5.25%.
“Of course, the special interests will say that the sky is falling and the world is ending,” Perez joked last month. “But it won’t. And it’s not. They have lost sight of the difference between our state’s needs and their wants. We cannot spend our way out of a spending problem. We must remove the temptation to spend.”
In the meantime, the committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Thursday, May 1.