Ron DeSantis thought he found an ally in the fight for property tax relief.
But he walked right into an ambush.
And Ron DeSantis destroyed Daniel Perez with two words after this nasty betrayal.
Governor Ron DeSantis made property tax relief one of his final priorities before leaving office in 2026.
He proposed eliminating property taxes entirely for Florida homeowners with homestead exemptions – his vision to let residents "own their home without having to pay rent to the government."¹
House Speaker Daniel Perez appeared to support the Governor’s push when he formed a select committee earlier this year to study property tax reform options.
But Perez just revealed what he was really up to the whole time.
Florida House dumps eight property tax measures on voters
On October 16, Perez announced eight separate property tax proposals the House plans to place on the November 2026 ballot.²
The bills range from eliminating all non-school property taxes immediately to phasing them out over 10 years to only cutting taxes for seniors over 65.³
Perez claimed this shotgun approach gives voters maximum choice.
"It is our position that the House does not need to limit itself in presenting one single plan, but instead allow the people of Florida the ability to choose some, all, or none of the proposals on the 2026 ballot," Perez wrote in a memo to House members.⁴
Translation: Confuse voters with so many options that none of them pass.
Constitutional amendments in Florida require 60% voter approval – an already high bar.⁵
Now imagine explaining eight different property tax plans to voters in a 30-second TV spot.
DeSantis saw through Perez’s strategy immediately.
DeSantis calls out the House Speaker’s sabotage scheme
The Governor didn’t mince words when he responded to Perez’s announcement late Tuesday night.
"Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes," DeSantis wrote on X. "It’s a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people."⁶
Those two words – "political game" – cut right to the heart of what Perez is doing.
DeSantis has been pushing for property tax elimination since March 2025, when he proposed giving homeowners an average $1,000 rebate as an immediate first step.⁷
The Governor traveled across Florida making the case that property taxes force homeowners to keep paying the government just to live in houses they already own.
Perez formed his select committee in April and spent months holding hearings that appeared to take the issue seriously.⁸
But the eight-proposal strategy shows Perez was running out the clock the entire time.
The clash between DeSantis and Perez has been brewing for months over this exact issue.
Back in May, DeSantis threatened to veto Perez’s preferred sales tax cut because it would benefit tourists instead of Florida homeowners.⁹
Perez shot back that DeSantis was "confused" and hadn’t provided detailed plans for property tax elimination.¹⁰
The Governor refused to testify before Perez’s property tax committee, calling it a "dog and pony show" that didn’t require leadership.¹¹
Now we see why DeSantis dismissed the committee as theater.
Perez never intended to put forward a serious property tax elimination plan that could actually pass.
The brutal reality behind the ballot confusion strategy
Here’s what political insiders know about ballot measures: voter confusion kills amendments.
When Florida voters face multiple competing proposals on the same topic, they tend to vote no on all of them rather than risk picking the wrong one.
It’s why smart campaigns push for a single, clear ballot measure with simple language.
Perez knows this. He’s been in the Legislature since 2017 and served as House Speaker since 2024.¹²
But DeSantis made property tax elimination so popular with Florida voters that Perez couldn’t just ignore it.
The solution? Flood the ballot with options and watch them all fail at the 60% threshold.
Then Perez can tell constituents, "Hey, we tried. Voters rejected property tax relief."
Meanwhile, he protects the local government revenue streams that fund everything from county programs to city services.
Cities and counties have been sounding alarms about property tax cuts for months, warning they’d have to slash police, fire departments, and infrastructure if taxes disappeared.¹³
House Democrat Leader Fentrice Driskell accused Republicans of pushing "politically motivated" plans that would force small rural counties into becoming "welfare states" dependent on larger counties.¹⁴
Perez clearly listened to those warnings and decided protecting local government budgets mattered more than delivering the property tax relief DeSantis promised voters.
The tension between DeSantis and Perez extends beyond taxes.
They’ve clashed on immigration enforcement, university presidential searches, and oversight of First Lady Casey DeSantis’s Hope Florida program.¹⁵
This property tax fight appears to be Perez’s final middle finger to a governor heading into his lame duck year.
DeSantis has options if the Legislature betrays his property tax push.
He threatened back in October to call a special session during summer 2026 if lawmakers don’t deliver real relief.¹⁶
The Governor could also make property tax elimination a central issue for whoever runs to replace him, ensuring the next governor campaigns on finishing what DeSantis started.
Florida voters will decide in 2026 whether they want meaningful property tax relief or the confusing mess of options the House just served up.
¹ USA TODAY Network – Florida, "Governor Ron DeSantis Proposes $1,000 Property Tax Rebates for Florida Homeowners," flgov.com, March 31, 2025.
² USA TODAY Network – Florida, "’Political game’: DeSantis slams Florida House property tax plans," October 23, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Property Exemption, "Florida Property Tax Elimination: DeSantis Plan Explained for Homeowners," propertyexemption.com, October 2025.
⁶ USA TODAY Network – Florida, "’Political game’: DeSantis slams Florida House property tax plans," October 23, 2025.
⁷ USA TODAY Network – Florida, "Governor Ron DeSantis Proposes $1,000 Property Tax Rebates," flgov.com, March 31, 2025.
⁸ Florida Phoenix, "House Speaker Daniel Perez announces select committee on property taxes," April 29, 2025.
⁹ WUSF, "Gov. DeSantis threatens to veto plan including sales tax cut amid feud with House Speaker Perez," May 7, 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ WUSF, "DeSantis rejects Florida House request to appear at property tax hearing," May 15, 2025.
¹² Florida Phoenix, "House Speaker Daniel Perez announces select committee on property taxes," April 29, 2025.
¹³ WPTV, "Florida House rolls out sweeping slate of property tax proposals for 2026 ballot," October 2025.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ WUSF, "Gov. DeSantis threatens to veto plan including sales tax cut amid feud with House Speaker Perez," May 7, 2025.
¹⁶ Florida Phoenix, "Florida House members file a slate of property tax reduction proposals," October 16, 2025.
