Ron DeSantis is taking on the political establishment in Florida.
The Governor isn’t backing down from this fight.
And Ron DeSantis utterly humiliated House Speaker Perez when he exposed this infuriating tax scheme.
DeSantis slams House’s property tax committee as a “dog and pony show”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and House Speaker Daniel Perez are locked in an increasingly bitter feud over tax cuts that has now spilled into the public arena.
DeSantis has made property tax relief his top priority, arguing it directly helps Florida residents struggling with rising housing costs.
“I want a Florida-first tax policy. I don’t want a Canadian-first tax policy,” DeSantis declared at a Miami event on May 6.
The Governor didn’t mince words when criticizing Perez’s preference for sales tax cuts, pointingly noting such cuts primarily benefit “the tourists, the Canadians, the snowbirds” rather than Florida homeowners feeling the pinch of property taxes.
But the battle took an explosive turn when Perez formed a massive 37-member committee to study property tax relief options – a move DeSantis immediately recognized as a delay tactic rather than a serious effort.
“If you have a legislative body that is creating a 37-member committee, they’re not doing that because they want to give you property tax relief. They’re doing that to try to kill property tax relief,” DeSantis fired back. “This is a total dog and pony show. This is not anything that’s credible.”
Perez pushes sales tax cuts over property tax relief
The Miami Republican has made slashing the state sales tax his signature priority, initially proposing to reduce it from 6% to 5.25%, which would save consumers about $5 billion annually.
However, the Senate rejected this plan, leading to a budget stalemate that forced an extended legislative session.
A compromise “framework” to cut sales tax by $1.6 billion was eventually reached, with lawmakers scheduled to return May 12 to finalize budget negotiations.
Only after weeks of pressure from DeSantis did Perez finally create the special committee on April 29 to review property tax relief options.
But even then, Perez couldn’t resist taking a shot at the Governor.
“Unfortunately, as the weeks have gone by, the Governor has not yet come forward with any specific answers to those questions or with a specific plan or with actual bill language,” Perez complained.
DeSantis quickly dismissed this deflection, emphasizing his preference for action over endless committee meetings.
“When I want something done I do it, I don’t put a committee of 37 people together where they’re not going to be able to agree on anything,” he said.
DeSantis also hammers House on delayed condo relief
The property tax dispute is just one of several flash points between DeSantis and House leadership.
At the same Miami event, DeSantis criticized the House for dragging its feet on condo safety legislation, which only passed in the final days of the regular session on April 30.
“I was not supportive of the House bill. I would have vetoed that and called them in for a Special Session,” DeSantis stated bluntly. “And don’t forget, I did the Special Session in January. In that Special Session I called for the condo relief to be done then. There’s no reason the bill that was passed couldn’t have been passed in January.”
The Governor’s frustration was palpable as he noted the unnecessary delay.
“Had they taken up the condo issue earlier this year, lawmakers would have given people peace of mind,” he said. “It would have averted some of the assessments that have come back in the intervening months. It would have given more time to be able to work this out. It should have been done in January.”
Political observers note that this growing rift between DeSantis and Perez signals deeper divisions within Florida’s Republican leadership that could impact legislative priorities well into the next session.
Perez has directed his committee to study five specific property tax ideas and return with a plan for the 2026 legislative session – a timeline that virtually guarantees no property tax relief for Florida homeowners in the immediate future.
