Florida lawmakers to consider ordering study on impacts of eliminating property taxes

A Senate Republican on Tuesday filed a proposal that would lead to studying the possibility of eliminating property taxes in Florida.

Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed the bill (SB 852) for consideration during the legislative session that will start March 4.

Last year, a lawmaker proposed a similar bill to study the impact of eliminating property taxes by replacing them with a sales tax. That proposal died in committee.

Property taxes have traditionally played a major role in funding Florida schools and local governments.

Martin’s bill would direct the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research to “conduct a study to establish a framework to eliminate property taxes … and to replace property tax revenues through budget reductions, sales-based consumption taxes and locally determined consumption taxes authorized by the Legislature.”

Among other things, the analysis would have to look at the effect of eliminating property taxes on “public services, including education, infrastructure and emergency services” and evaluate whether a shift to “consumption-based taxes would make Florida more attractive to businesses compared to other states.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis has voiced support for reducing or ditching property taxes.

RELATED: DeSantis begins push to lower Florida property taxes, wants constitutional amendment to increase homestead exemption

Within the last week, he posted on X saying:

“Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them… We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60%… I agree that taxing land/property is the more oppressive and ineffective form of taxation.”