ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Monday morning to call for immediate property tax relief for homeowners.
During the news conference, DeSantis called on the Legislature to direct $5 billion to reduce property taxes for homeowners. He said, if approved, his proposal would result in approximately $1,000 in property tax cuts for every homesteaded Floridian.
“Part of the reason we’re able to do this, although property taxes are local, there is a portion of that that is required local effort for state, for schools. We have a massive surplus. We can cover that through our normal budget reserves,” DeSantis said.
Press play above to watch the news conference
According to DeSantis, the House of Representatives came up with a proposal to allocate $5 billion for tax relief, including reducing the state sales tax by three-quarters of a penny.
However, while DeSantis applauded the legislators’ efforts to provide tax relief, he said the immediate need is for property taxes, which are not included in the proposal from the House of Representatives.
“The issue with that is people want, [they] are not clamoring for sales tax, but they’re clamoring for property tax relief,” DeSantis said.
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Retired homeowner Bill Hyde said paying property taxes on the house he paid off years ago feels like he’s still paying an annual bill to the state of Florida. He said the high price of his property taxes is taking its toll.
“We’re retired, lived on a fixed income, but property tax takes a huge bit out of our budget,” Hyde said.
DeSantis said his proposal would not only help homeowners like Hyde but would also stimulate the real estate market.
″Every single day that we are meeting with homeowners or prospective homeowners, we are talking to Floridians about the concerns and costs of homeownership,” Tim Weisheyer with Florida Realtors said.
DeSantis said he also wants a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot to protect homeowners and property taxes.
“When you’re doing proposals, whether it’s working with the Legislature, whether it’s putting something on the ballot, to me, the threshold question is the tax relief needs to be Florida first. We need to focus on our Florida residents,” DeSantis said.
