Florida Republicans thought they finally had a plan to cut property taxes.
Then their own Governor torpedoed it.
And Ron DeSantis turned on Republicans with one move that put property tax reform in jeopardy.
DeSantis declares war on his own party's property tax proposals
Gov. Ron DeSantis spent most of 2025 barnstorming Florida demanding property tax relief for homeowners.¹
He called it the "Big Kahuna" and promised voters they'd get their shot in 2026.²
But when the Florida House rolled out seven different constitutional amendments to slash property taxes, DeSantis torched every single one.³
"Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes," DeSantis posted on X.⁴ "It's a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people."
House Speaker Daniel Perez fired back within hours.⁵
The Miami Republican pointed out what everyone in Tallahassee already knew — DeSantis hasn't released his own plan despite months of grandstanding.⁶
"The Governor has not produced a plan on property taxes. Period. It's unclear what he wants to do," Perez said in a statement.⁷
"I've personally reached out to share with him the House's proposals and he has, so far, not wanted to engage in a conversation."
The seven House proposals range from eliminating property taxes outright to phasing them out over a decade to exempting seniors completely.⁸
All would protect school funding and prevent cuts to law enforcement.⁹
DeSantis called them "milquetoast" and "half-measures."¹⁰
Florida DOGE tour sets up political battle over local spending
DeSantis partnered with Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia on a Florida version of DOGE to blast local governments for wasteful spending.¹¹
They've hit a dozen cities and counties — mostly Democrat strongholds — claiming to find billions in bloated budgets.¹²
"He has been able to document billions of dollars of local government overspending, like $200 million, right next door in Orange County," DeSantis said at a recent Kissimmee rally.¹³
The Governor argued that cutting these budgets means cities and counties can survive without property tax revenue.¹⁴
But local officials aren't buying it.
Kissimmee City Manager Mike Steigerwald told the Osceola County legislative delegation his police budget runs $40.6 million and fire runs $31.2 million — but the city only collects $31.3 million in property taxes.¹⁵
That math doesn't work if property taxes disappear.
Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse warned that small rural counties could become "wards of the state" under DeSantis' plan.¹⁶
The 32 fiscally constrained counties would have to come to Tallahassee every year begging for handouts to replace lost property tax revenue.¹⁷
"When the state controls the purse, flexibility is gone," one tax policy expert said.¹⁸
Property tax battle exposes DeSantis-Perez feud that's been brewing all year
This property tax fight is just the latest explosion in a year-long war between DeSantis and Perez.¹⁹
The pair clashed over immigration enforcement, with Perez stripping the Governor of immigration powers and giving them to the Agriculture Commissioner instead.²⁰
They feuded over DeSantis threatening to veto a sales tax cut that Perez wanted.²¹
The Legislature even overrode DeSantis' veto of their own operating budget — a historic rebuke showing Republicans finally have the spine to stand up to the Governor.²²
Rep. Anna Eskamani said the override "shows that the Florida House and Senate is willing to stand up to Gov. Ron DeSantis."²³
"In my now six years of being in the Legislature, we've never once done this."
The property tax standoff puts pressure on GOP gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, who Trump endorsed to replace DeSantis.²⁴
Donalds told conservative radio he supports eliminating property taxes but warned it could force Florida to double the sales tax from 6% to 12%.²⁵
"Would I love to eliminate property taxes? Yes," Donalds said.²⁶ "If we eliminate property taxes in the state of Florida, we'd have to double the sales tax."
He offered a middle ground — raising the homestead exemption from $50,000 to between $300,000 and $400,000.²⁷
That's a far cry from DeSantis' all-or-nothing approach.
Voters split on eliminating property taxes as 2026 ballot battle looms
A University of North Florida poll dropped this week showing Florida voters are divided on ditching property taxes completely.²⁸
Just 49% support elimination with 43% opposed — nowhere close to the 60% threshold required for constitutional amendments to pass.²⁹
Property taxes generate $55 billion annually for cities, counties, and schools.³⁰
Even homeowners with paid-off houses recognize those taxes fund police, fire departments, and road maintenance.³¹
DeSantis has no veto power over what the Legislature puts on the ballot.³²
That means Perez and the House could bypass the Governor entirely and let voters decide on multiple property tax proposals next November.³³
The problem is Perez might be playing right into DeSantis' hands.
Two constitutional amendments failed on the 2024 ballot after the Legislature loaded them up with confusing language.³⁴
DeSantis warned that putting seven different property tax proposals before voters guarantees they all crash and burn.³⁵
"You will not pass any of them," DeSantis said at the Kissimmee rally.³⁶ "You need one. I want one big, bold amendment."
For once, the Governor might actually be right about the politics.
Florida homeowners are begging for property tax relief after values skyrocketed coming out of the pandemic.³⁷
But asking voters to sort through seven different constitutional amendments is asking for disaster.³⁸
The 2026 legislative session starts in January, giving Republicans three months to either unite behind one strong proposal or watch the entire property tax reform effort implode.³⁹
DeSantis confirmed he hasn't spoken with Perez about property taxes "and didn't sound like he intended to anytime soon."⁴⁰
That's a problem when the clock is ticking and Florida homeowners are waiting for relief.⁴¹
¹ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis says he wants just one constitutional amendment on property taxes in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 29, 2025.
² Kate Payne, "Florida lawmakers defy Gov. Ron DeSantis in rift over state budget," WUSF, March 27, 2025.
³ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis dismisses House proposals on property tax reduction in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 23, 2025.
⁴ – ⁷ Ibid.
⁸ "Florida House Details Series of Property Tax Proposals for 2026 Ballot," The Floridian, October 2025.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis dismisses House proposals on property tax reduction in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 23, 2025.
¹¹ Ken Jackson, "Osceola's legislators—and the Governor— weigh in on property tax reform," Osceola News Gazette, October 30, 2025.
¹² Anthony Man, "Push is on to cut Florida property taxes. Who's helped and who's hurt?" South Florida Sun Sentinel, September 27, 2025.
¹³ Ken Jackson, "Osceola's legislators—and the Governor— weigh in on property tax reform," Osceola News Gazette, October 30, 2025.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ John Kennedy, "Property tax overhaul could give state more muscle over cities and counties," Florida Today, USA TODAY NETWORK, October 2025.
¹⁷ Ibid.
¹⁸ Ibid.
¹⁹ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis says he wants just one constitutional amendment on property taxes in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 29, 2025.
²⁰ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis, GOP legislative leaders in feud over who will enforce immigration laws," Florida Phoenix, January 28, 2025.
²¹ "Gov. DeSantis threatens to veto plan including sales tax cut amid feud with House Speaker Perez," WUSF, May 7, 2025.
²² Kate Payne, "Florida lawmakers defy Gov. Ron DeSantis in rift over state budget," WUSF, March 27, 2025.
²³ Ibid.
²⁴ A.G. Gancarski, "Byron Donalds is 'supportive' of Gov. DeSantis' desire to cut property taxes, wants more details," Florida Politics, October 29, 2025.
²⁵ Mitch Perry, "Byron Donalds gets specific on education, property taxes in Tampa campaign stop," Florida Phoenix, September 20, 2025.
²⁶ Ibid.
²⁷ Ibid.
²⁸ "Floridians split on plan to eliminate property taxes, UNF poll finds," WLRN, October 28, 2025.
²⁹ Ibid.
³⁰ "The Great Florida Property Tax Relief Debate of 2025," Kiplinger, September 2025.
³¹ Ken Jackson, "Osceola's legislators—and the Governor— weigh in on property tax reform," Osceola News Gazette, October 30, 2025.
³² Mitch Perry, "DeSantis says he wants just one constitutional amendment on property taxes in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 29, 2025.
³³ Ibid.
³⁴ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis says he wants just one constitutional amendment on property taxes in 2026," WLRN, October 30, 2025.
³⁵ Ken Jackson, "Osceola's legislators—and the Governor— weigh in on property tax reform," Osceola News Gazette, October 30, 2025.
³⁶ Ibid.
³⁷ "Florida Property Tax Elimination: DeSantis Plan Explained for Homeowners (2025)," PropertyExemption.com, October 2025.
³⁸ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis dismisses House proposals on property tax reduction in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 23, 2025.
³⁹ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis says he wants just one constitutional amendment on property taxes in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 29, 2025.
⁴⁰ Ibid.
⁴¹ Ibid.
