Ron DeSantis has been making headlines with his aggressive push to eliminate property taxes.
But even his own Republican Party is pushing back.
And Ron DeSantis dropped one bombshell about property taxes that left Florida lawmakers stunned.
DeSantis fights to end property tax tyranny once and for all
Governor Ron DeSantis showed up at a Kissimmee rally for the Osceola County Republican Executive Committee ready to fight for Florida homeowners.
The Florida House rolled out six different constitutional amendments aimed at tinkering around the edges of property taxes – and DeSantis called out the charade for what it is.
"If you put six measures on the ballot, you are killing any chance of passing," DeSantis told the crowd. "That's not the way it works. You will not pass any of them. You need one. I want one big, bold amendment."¹
The Governor's right.
House Republicans are playing it safe with weak half-measures instead of delivering the bold relief Florida homeowners desperately need.
Property taxes in Florida brought in $55.2 billion last year to fund bloated government budgets.² That's a 108% increase from what was collected in 2014.²
Local governments got fat and happy on the property tax gravy train while homeowners struggled to make ends meet.
DeSantis isn't interested in preserving the status quo.
He wants to end the scam where Floridians pay rent to their own government just to live in homes they already own.
"Honestly, if I was starting a society from scratch, I would not tax the property at all, but we are where we are," DeSantis said. "Florida residents should be able to own their home with a homestead exemption against all property taxes."¹
The Governor's proposing something revolutionary – let people actually own their property free and clear instead of treating homeownership as a lifetime rental agreement with local bureaucrats.
Local government bureaucrats cry poverty
Kissimmee City Manager Mike Steigerwald laid out the numbers during Monday's Osceola County legislative delegation meeting.
The city's police budget runs $40.6 million and fire services cost $31.2 million – but the entire city only collects $31.3 million in property taxes.³
The argument is that without property taxes, essential services disappear.
But that ignores the elephant in the room – where did the other $28.1 billion in Florida property tax collections go?
Local governments have been on a spending spree for years.
Property tax collections doubled since 2014 while the cost of police and fire services didn't come close to doubling.²
Mayor Ken Schneier of Longboat Key complained: "All of our fire, all of our police. It's just crazy talk."⁴
What's actually crazy is expecting homeowners to keep funding runaway government spending.
Winter Park Budget Director Peter Moore said he's losing sleep over DeSantis' proposals.⁵
Maybe he should lose sleep over how his city's property tax collections jumped 41% in just three years while the tax rate stayed flat.⁵
That windfall came from skyrocketing home values – and local governments spent every penny instead of giving relief to struggling homeowners.
Tampa's Mayor Jane Castor claimed that every single dollar of the city's $380 million in property tax revenue goes straight to police and fire services.⁶
That's either a lie or an admission that Tampa has been catastrophically mismanaging its budget for decades.
If police and fire really ate up 100% of property taxes, what paid for all the other government services Tampa provides? Where did the money come from?
The truth is local governments have plenty of other revenue sources – fees, special assessments, state funding, federal grants.
They just don't want to make tough choices about priorities or cut the waste that Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia keeps finding in his audits across the state.
DeSantis pointed out that Ingoglia documented "$200 million, right next door in Orange County" in excessive local government spending.¹
These aren't slush funds for pet projects anymore – they're entrenched bureaucracies fighting to protect their turf.
https://twitter.com/FarmGirlCarrie/status/1981108412844036478
Perez protects the swamp instead of Florida families
DeSantis and House Speaker Daniel Perez have been battling all year over who actually represents Florida taxpayers.
The answer became crystal clear with the property tax fight.
When DeSantis pushed for real property tax relief during the 2025 legislative session, Perez countered with a $5 billion plan to slash sales taxes instead.⁸
That would have given Canadian tourists and Brazilian visitors a tax cut while Florida homeowners kept paying rent to local governments.
DeSantis called it exactly what it was – "a tax cut for tourists and Canadians" – and threatened to veto it.⁹
The Governor wants voters to eliminate property taxes on homesteaded residences through a 2026 constitutional amendment requiring 60% approval.
Perez keeps demanding DeSantis provide details on replacing $43 billion in lost revenue.
But that's backwards.
The question shouldn't be "how do we maintain bloated government budgets?"
It should be "how much government do Florida taxpayers actually want to pay for?"
"I give the governor credit for starting this debate, but he's had months to produce an actual plan to lower property-tax rates, and we're still waiting. An imaginary plan can't cut real taxes," Perez said.⁹
Translation: Perez wants to preserve the status quo and protect local government spending.
The House released seven different property tax amendment proposals in October – everything from raising homestead exemptions to phasing out some taxes.¹⁰
Not one of them actually eliminates property taxes.
DeSantis called them out on social media for the political cover they are.
"Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes," DeSantis posted. "It's a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people."¹¹
He's absolutely right. Multiple confusing ballot measures ensure none of them pass.
Perez knows this. House Republicans know this. They're counting on it.
"Either he's being small and petty, or he has just revealed something significant today about his mysterious property tax plan," Perez shot back.¹²
The Speaker tried to spin DeSantis' criticism as proof the Governor wants to eliminate school taxes too.¹²
That's a scare tactic designed to terrify voters away from real reform.
Osceola Republicans stuck between taxpayers and bureaucrats
Osceola County's Republican legislators are trying to figure out whether they represent homeowners or government employees.
Rep. Paula Stark sits on the committee with one of the six amendment sponsors.
She said she'd be "going through the proposals" but acknowledged "we know the Governor isn't supporting any of them, so we also know things will change."¹³
Rep. Erika Booth said she needed to hear from constituents at Monday's delegation meeting before taking a position back to Tallahassee.¹³
That's politician-speak for "I'm waiting to see which way the wind blows."
The Democrats on Osceola's delegation aren't even pretending to care about taxpayers.
Senator Kristen Arrington said she doesn't want any changes made – period. Local services should be paid for by local collections no matter how high property taxes go.¹³
Rep. Jose Alvarez tried the emotional blackmail approach: "I don't sleep at night thinking someone calls 911 because their house is broken into or on fire, and no one is available to respond and something happens."¹³
That's a insult to Florida homeowners.
Cutting property taxes doesn't mean eliminating police and fire departments.
It means forcing local governments to prioritize essential services instead of wasting money on bureaucratic bloat.
DeSantis pointed to his partnership with Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Florida's version of DOGE to root out wasteful local government spending.
"He has been able to document billions of dollars of local government overspending, like $200 million, right next door in Orange County," DeSantis told the Kissimmee crowd.¹
Those DOGE audits are exposing the truth local bureaucrats don't want voters to see.
Government spending skyrocketed while they blamed rising property values for homeowners' pain.
Winter Park's budget tells the real story – property tax collections jumped 41% in three years, and the city spent every penny instead of cutting rates.⁵
That's theft, not good government.
Local officials whine that their costs increased too.
Winter Park's police budget went from $16.3 million in 2022 to $21.9 million today because they had to raise salaries to compete for officers.⁵
But whose fault is that? Years of mismanagement created the problem. Now they want homeowners to keep paying for it forever.
The 2026 legislative session starts in January.
DeSantis has until January 2027 when he leaves office to deliver property tax elimination.
He's called it "the Big Kahuna" of his final year as Governor – and he's right.
This is the fight that matters.
Not tinkering around the edges with exemptions and credits. Not playing political games with multiple ballot measures designed to fail.
One amendment. One clear choice.
Do Florida homeowners actually own their property or do they rent it from local governments forever?
DeSantis made his position crystal clear in Kissimmee: he's fighting for homeowners, not bureaucrats.
He wants one big vote to end property taxes on primary residences.
House Republicans can either get on board or explain to voters why they're protecting government revenue instead of family budgets.
The establishment will scream about chaos and collapsing services.
They always do when someone threatens their gravy train.
But Floridians deserve the chance to decide for themselves whether they want to actually own their homes or keep paying rent to politicians who never met a tax increase they didn't love.
¹ Ken Jackson, "Osceola's legislators—and the Governor— weigh in on property tax reform," Osceola News Gazette, October 30, 2025.
² John Kennedy, "Property tax overhaul could give state more muscle over cities and counties," Florida Today, October 30, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Heather Chapin, "Mayor says Longboat Key will suffer without property taxes," Your Observer, September 15, 2025.
⁵ Ryan Gillespie, "Fearing property tax cuts by state, Winter Park opts against giving extra to nonprofits," CF Public, October 28, 2025.
⁶ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis dismisses House proposals on property tax reduction in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 23, 2025.
⁷ Florida Policy Institute, "A Risky Proposition: Weakening Local Governments by Eliminating Property Tax Revenue," February 24, 2025.
⁸ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis says he wants just one constitutional amendment on property taxes in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 29, 2025.
⁹ Jim Rosica, "Gov. DeSantis threatens to veto plan including sales tax cut amid feud with House Speaker Perez," WUSF, May 7, 2025.
¹⁰ Dara Kam, "Gov. Ron DeSantis has dismissed the Florida House's property tax proposals," WFSU News, October 24, 2025.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Mitch Perry, "DeSantis says he wants just one constitutional amendment on property taxes in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 29, 2025.
¹³ Ken Jackson, "Osceola's legislators—and the Governor— weigh in on property tax reform," Osceola News Gazette, October 30, 2025.
¹⁴ John Kennedy, "Property tax overhaul could give state more muscle over cities and counties," Florida Today, October 30, 2025.
