Jimmy Patronis warns property tax cuts could spike rents

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, who previously served as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, is offering a dire warning to lawmakers as they mull a variety of property tax cut proposals that could come before voters later this year.

Patronis told WPTV that slashing property taxes on homesteaded properties could shift the tax burden from homeowners to renters, and even possibly to businesses.

“This is what you’ll see if you exempt homestead: then you will have a massive shift in my opinion to assessing non-homestead (properties). Here’s the kicker: that means apartments and rents will spike. It will shift the expense, and arguably, maybe you could run some businesses off because now the new rent will be higher, and it will be too easy to just go virtual,” Patronis told the outlet.

While Patronis offered words of caution on the proposals currently under consideration — none of which would apply to the portion of property taxes that fund public schools — he also made clear he does believe homeowners deserve relief on their tax burdens as affordability issues continue. But he hopes members of the Legislature will find a more balanced approach.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for eliminating property taxes entirely, while the House has rolled out seven proposed constitutional amendments that would require voter approval in November. All of the proposals carve out the portion of property taxes used for school taxes and include language blocking cuts to law enforcement funding to accommodate what would be a huge ding to local government revenue.

While some of the measures initially moved in the House, none have made any progress since late January, and the Senate so far hasn’t shown an appetite for the measures.

Supporters of either rolling back or eliminating property taxes argue it’s a way to provide financial relief to Floridians facing affordability challenges. They say local governments have been too quick to increase spending, meaning they should be able to adjust budgets to operate within their means even with the loss of revenue.

But critics argue massive property tax cuts could impact the ability to fund law enforcement and would create major budget shortfalls for local governments, particularly those in smaller communities. Further, they say the proposed cuts would only benefit homeowners, while failing to address affordability for non-homeowners.

And Patronis’ words of caution follow similar sentiments from former state Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Libertarian-leaning Republican who is now the founder and President of The Florida Policy Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute.

“What we have is a bumper sticker, we have a slogan, but we don’t have a policy,” Brandes said, also according to WPTV. “We haven’t even seen the back-of-a-napkin that shows how this will work, let alone a full, responsible plan that lays out the intricacies of this. We also know it will bankrupt some cities and counties.”

In November, Brandes also warned that “renters will pay through higher rents” while “new buyers will pay through inflated prices,” should eliminating property taxes add to other tax-friendly policies in Florida to make it “the nation’s premier tax shelter.”

But while two well-connected Republicans are exercising caution, at least one is calling for full steam ahead. Former House Speaker Paul Renner, who now is a candidate for Governor, called on lawmakers to follow DeSantis’ limited guidance and eliminate homestead property taxes.

On Wednesday, he argued the “House has proposed conflicting plans that give only marginal relief,” adding that “every legislator and local elected official that lobbied against property tax cuts should be recalled or voted out of office.”

With less than four weeks left in the 2026 Legislative Session, time is running out for lawmakers to get something passed. Talk has already begun about a potential Special Session to address the issue.