Property taxes are necessary to fund local governments and agencies but can be unfair to first-time homebuyers, a group of local Democrats argued Tuesday.
Six elected officials gathered Tuesday at a roundtable hosted by Rep. Anna Eskamani as debate continues across Florida on if and how to reform property taxes – which are top funders for everything from local police and fire departments to public schools.
“Instead of taking a chainsaw, I think it’s important we use a scalpel,” said Eskamani, D-Orlando, who sits on a 37-member task force studying the issue.
The push for property tax relief started when Gov. Ron DeSantis said earlier this year that Florida should ban the tax, assessed by local governments on property owners. He’d equated paying the tax as “renting your property from the government.”
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, convened a task force to study the issue, which is expected to consider numerous ideas, ranging from outright abolishing the levy, adding homestead exemptions to lower tax bills and requiring every municipality to hold their own referendum on whether or not to ban it.
DeSantis and others have argued that local governments have benefited from surging property values – even as most haven’t increased their tax rate. With a bigger pool of taxable value, the money has poured in, with Orange County’s budget growing by $1.7 billion over a five-year period, fueled in part by about a 40% increase in property tax collections in that same period.
Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph said that the state’s tax structure is designed to keep costs low for longtime Floridians, and in turn, hits first-time homebuyers with higher costs.
“If you’re an existing homeowner who has owned a home for 7 or 8 years, you don’t need a property tax break,” he said. “If Florida wants to attract young people, young professionals …they’ve got to fix this problem.”
But cities and counties, particularly in Central Florida, are grappling with growth. And growth requires infrastructure, law enforcement, fire protection and new schools to accommodate it.
Property tax revenue is a critical funding source for local governments accounting for about 52% of the Orange County public schools budget and about 48% of Orlando’s general fund.
A study by the Florida Policy Institute found that state leaders would need to double its sales tax to 12% to make up a chunk of the revenue lost from banning the tax. After its publication, DeSantis said he’d veto any such increase.
Sadaf Knight, the CEO of the Florida Policy Institute, said any tax relief should be targeted.
“I think whatever the solution is to make sure the tax relief is getting to the people who need it most,” she said.
rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com
