One of the Florida Senate’s more senior leaders is endorsing a proposed revision of the state’s homestead exemption structure to be addressed during the Legislative Special Session this week.
Sen. Don Gaetz said he’s behind the proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis who is asking lawmakers to give the go ahead to raising the homestead exemption limit to $150,000 beginning Jan. 1 and increasing that to $250,000 the following year. If the Senate Joint Resolution (SJR 2-F) is approved, eventually the exemption would be phased out entirely.
“Property taxes are especially hard on families with fixed incomes,” the Seaside Republican said in a newsletter to his Panhandle constituents. “The soaring increase in assessed property values and, consequently, increased property taxes isn’t keeping up with pensions and Social Security, for example.”
The DeSantis proposal has already drawn criticism from many corners that see the elimination of the homestead taxes as depriving local governments of much needed revenue to fund municipal services. The Florida Policy Institute (FPI) Friday blasted the measure for cutting off billions of dollars from municipal governments and school districts if approved.
The nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank published an analysis that claims the measure would cost school districts an average of $5 billion annually — the revenue loss would increase to $8.59 billion annually if lawmakers eliminate homestead property taxes by (fiscal year) 2030-2031. Another $4.8 billion in tax revenue would be drained from local governments initially and that would likely double in fiscal year 2030-2031, according to the FPI analysis
Gaetz said he understands the skepticism of the DeSantis proposal. But he said it’s still a necessary, if not inevitable, step.
“I agree that there are more and different ways to reduce property taxes other than the Governor’s plan,” Gaetz said. “ But the fact is that neither the Senate nor the House has proposed a plan that could pass the Legislature and gain the support of the Governor and the voters.”
It will take 60% of the vote by both Senate and the House members to get approval.
People who move to Florida after the constitutional amendment passes would have to pay homestead taxes for five years, DeSantis said, a backstop that is intended to “mitigate” undue benefits for newcomers.
