As Gov. Ron DeSantis tries to land one of his final acts in office — nearly eliminating property taxes for Florida homeowners — he intends to use millions of dollars in state money alerting voters about his proposal.
On Monday, Florida lawmakers will return to Tallahassee to debate and ultimately vote on DeSantis’ property tax plan, which would initially raise the homestead exemption to $150,000 and compel the Legislature to create a schedule for “full elimination” of property taxes.
But they’ll also vote on a related proposal from DeSantis’ office to spend $5.5 million in taxpayer dollars to have property appraisers send mailers to property owners about the amendment. The mailers would point homeowners to a state-run website showing them how much they could save if voters approve the amendment in November.
“I don’t recall that happening before,” said Paul Polk, president of the Property Appraisers’ Association of Florida.
Totally insane for a state that doesn’t have income tax to start
How will this proposal work exactly… With fewer funds for local governments to use for things like school, roads, infra, government, and safety … what is this revenue being replaced with? Is this a means to attract more billionaires and companies to Florida?
The entire state is now coin operated.
Welcome to the endgoal of neoliberal privatization.
Reading how these property taxes are allocated, it looks like public schooling will take the largest hit. Something like 40-60% of their finding comes from statewide property taxes. If we’re talking primary resident taxes, it is less of a hit but still substantial. When there’s a meme about “Florida man” then you’re already not producing the best education so why not send that money to charter schools instead. What a tool
The mailers should show how much the special assessments to support fire police and schools will be but hey, no taxes.
