Loading ...Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just announced the effective ABOLISHMENT of most homeowner property taxes across the state, which will require a vote on the ballot this November
The amendment would also BLOCK local governments from wasting that portion of tax revenue, making sure it ONLY goes to services like police, fire, school, etc.
The plan PRIORITIZES young people and those with low-to-medium value homes, giving immediate zero taxes to 60% of Florida primary homeowners, later rising to 90% or more.
Property tax rates vary ENORMOUSLY by county around the state.
They are highest in the coastal urbanized areas.
When I lived there over recent winters, I saw the bills at the pool home I was renting.
Over 6k on a 350k home (not one I’d ever buy).
Upstate or inland, the mill rates were half that or better.
I suspect local sales taxes will go in to compensate.
But those can’t remotely reach 6k levels per household ordinarily.
Especially not for the multitudes of seasonal residents.
Keep in mind that local governments are rife with corruption, just like at the state and national levels. DeSantis is different in that he has dedicated people busily auditing ALL of the local governments. The corruption they’ve already unearthed is astonishing.
So there’s that.
We live in SW Florida – about a 20 minute drive from the beach. Just far enough inland and east of Highway 41 that we don’t get flooded by hurricanes. (So far!! – been here 5 years.) We’re homesteaded so we get a break on our (unconstitutional) property tax.
Talk is that they’ll “make up for the revenue loss” (as if taxes are fucking revenue/income – they are theft and nothing else) by raising some taxes on other things (including sales tax, the big one) but a lot is aimed at punishing the tourists. Who already fund a ton of what goes on here.
If we simply cut the corruption and government overreach eliminating the property tax wouldn’t even be noticed. But that will never happen. Will some of it get rooted out? yeah, a bit. About as much as gets rooted out at the congressional level, I suppose.
When taxes become a direct hit, like a sales tax, voters notice WAY more than a once-a-year property tax which is almost viewed as a given. I’ve always felt I was being robbed because I am. Americans get taken to the cleaners when they buy and sell a home. There is no way continued taxation on something I own is legal. Perhaps when voters begin to realize how we are being hosed they’ll vote for less shit from the government.
I just got hit with a $4300 assessement from the town I live in for hooking up to city sewage (we have our own sewage plant in our small community, grandfathered in when they built all around us. There was grant money available to reduce that substantially but the town fucked around for three years and missed out. Meanwhile, they are funding a “rails to trails” bike trail through the back of our community running 7 miles on old rail bed. They managed to “pay” for that without any assessments. And we had no say in the matter.
Until I die (coming soon to a theater near you) I will always believe the only way out of this mess is armed overthrow of the tyrants. Watch the movie “Battle of Athens” – free on youtube
One can only hope…it will be fun to see how it plays out.