Florida homeowners have been drowning in property tax increases for years.
Governor Ron DeSantis promised to fix it.
But Ron DeSantis just told Republicans who oppose eliminating property taxes to get out of his way.
DeSantis goes to war with his own party
Property taxes in Florida have become a crisis.
Homeowners watched their tax bills explode as property values surged during the pandemic boom.
Many retirees living on fixed incomes suddenly couldn't afford the homes they'd owned for decades.
DeSantis saw the problem and came up with a solution: eliminate property taxes on homestead properties entirely.
The proposal would make Florida the first state in the nation with no income tax and no property tax on primary residences.
That's real relief for families getting crushed by rising costs.
But House Speaker Daniel Perez and his fellow Republicans decided to play games instead.
They rolled out eight different property tax proposals — giving voters a "menu" of options instead of one clear path to relief.
DeSantis torched the approach on social media.
"Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes," he wrote on X. "It's a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people."¹
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1981194783013167322?s=20
The Governor's not wrong.
Voters don't want to study eight different constitutional amendments.
They want their property taxes gone.
House Republicans smuggle leftism into GOP majorities
This isn't the first time DeSantis and Perez have gone to war this year.
During the 2025 legislative session, DeSantis accused House Republicans of "smuggling leftism" into the party by accepting Democrat party-switchers who still vote liberal.²
The Governor specifically called out the fact that with a 3:1 Republican majority, House members tried to deep-six immigration enforcement in January.
"You have people who are smuggling their leftism into the Republican Party," DeSantis said at a May press conference.³
"They have an 'R' by their name, but they're not governing as Rs."
The property tax fight is just the latest chapter in this civil war.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1924969760233500997?s=20
DeSantis proposed $1,000 property tax rebates as immediate relief while working toward full elimination.
Perez countered with a $5 billion plan to cut sales taxes instead — something DeSantis derided as "a tax cut for tourists and Canadians."⁴
When Perez created a select committee to study property tax reform, DeSantis called it a "dog and pony show."⁵
The Governor even threatened to veto any budget package that included sales tax cuts, warning it would "effectively kill any opportunity to do property-tax reform."⁶
Democrats accidentally side with DeSantis
Here's where things get interesting.
House Democrats joined DeSantis in opposing the Republican proposals.
All eight measures passed their first committee votes along party lines, with Democrats voting no.
Local government officials also lined up against the House plans.
They warned that eliminating property taxes would gut funding for police, firefighters, and emergency services.
In Tampa, every dollar of the city's $380 million in property tax revenue goes to police and fire services.⁷
Port St. Lucie Vice Mayor Jolien Caraballo testified that under some proposals, her city would be left with just $13.7 million to fund every department after paying law enforcement.⁸
That's not sustainable.
DeSantis has an answer for that.
The Governor pointed to Florida's budget surpluses and said the state could backfill revenue for rural counties that would struggle.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1929597756902883436?s=20
"We have 32 fiscally constrained counties," he explained on Fox & Friends.
"I'm putting in my budget the revenue to totally backfill every one of those rural counties, so they're not going to miss a single thing."⁹
The Governor also noted that homestead properties only account for about 30% of property tax revenue.
The other 70% comes from vacation homes, rental properties, and commercial real estate — which would still be taxed.¹⁰
"So much of our taxes are paid by people that visit," DeSantis said.
Perez fires back with personal attacks
House Speaker Perez didn't take DeSantis's criticism lying down.
"The Governor has not produced a plan on property taxes. Period. It's unclear what he wants to do," Perez shot back in a statement.¹¹
"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."
That's rich coming from someone who just dumped eight half-baked proposals on voters and called it leadership.
Perez also took a shot at DeSantis's proposed rebates, dismissing them as "fake refunds."¹²
But at least DeSantis is trying to put money back in homeowners' pockets immediately while fighting for long-term reform.
The Speaker defended his multi-proposal approach by arguing voters should decide what kind of tax relief they want.
"If we have faith in the voters to elect us, we should not be afraid to let them be a part of the conversation," Perez wrote in a memo to House members.¹³
That sounds good until you realize putting multiple competing amendments on the same ballot is a recipe for confusion and failure.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1906767606192754977?s=20
Voters will see eight options, get overwhelmed, and vote no on all of them.
Which is probably what Perez and the establishment Republicans want.
The stakes couldn't be higher
Property taxes generate roughly $55 billion annually in Florida.
They fund schools, police, fire departments, roads, and other local services.¹⁴
Eliminating them requires a constitutional amendment that needs 60% voter approval.
DeSantis confirmed he hasn't spoken with Perez about property taxes and doesn't sound like he plans to anytime soon.¹⁵
The two Republicans have been feuding since before the 2025 legislative session even started over issues like immigration enforcement, university searches, and control of the Hope Florida program tied to First Lady Casey DeSantis.
The Legislature convenes January 13 for its regular 60-day session.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1999826605032517684?s=20
House Republicans will try to pass their slate of proposals and put them on the November 2026 ballot.
But first they need a 60% supermajority in both chambers to approve each amendment.
Then voters need to approve them with 60% support.
That's a high bar.
No presidential candidate has cleared 60% in Florida in recent memory.
And Republicans in the House are making it harder by flooding the ballot with options that will confuse and divide support.
Florida homeowners deserve better than political games.
They need real relief from crushing property taxes that treat them like renters in their own homes.
DeSantis gets it. House Republicans don't.
The Governor's message to Perez and his caucus is clear: stop sabotaging property tax reform or get out of the way.
¹ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis dismisses House proposals on property tax reduction in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 23, 2025.
² Mitch Perry, "DeSantis derides House panel studying a property tax cut as 'dog & pony show'," Florida Phoenix, May 6, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Mitch Perry, "DeSantis says he wants just one constitutional amendment on property taxes in 2026," Florida Phoenix, October 30, 2025.
⁵ Perry, "DeSantis derides House panel."
⁶ Jim Turner, "DeSantis threatens to veto plan to cut sales-tax rate amid feud with House Speaker Perez," WLRN, May 8, 2025.
⁷ Perry, "DeSantis dismisses House proposals."
⁸ Liv Caputo, "Democrats join DeSantis in opposing House Republicans' slate of property tax proposals," Florida Phoenix, November 20, 2025.
⁹ "DeSantis details phased approach to eliminate Florida property taxes," Fox Business, November 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Perry, "DeSantis dismisses House proposals."
¹² Turner, "DeSantis threatens to veto plan."
¹³ Jim Turner, "Gov. Ron DeSantis has dismissed the Florida House's property tax proposals," WFSU News, October 24, 2025.
¹⁴ "DeSantis details phased approach," Fox Business.
¹⁵ Perry, "DeSantis says he wants just one constitutional amendment."
