Potentially throwing a wrench into the budget process, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday threatened to veto a plan that would include lowering the state sales tax rate as he continues to feud with House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami.
DeSantis has proposed providing one-time, $1,000 property-tax rebates this year to homeowners as a prelude to asking voters in 2026 to cut property taxes.
DeSantis argued Wednesday that a House plan to reduce the sales-tax rate is something “nobody is asking for” and would “effectively kill any opportunity to do property-tax reform.” He also has repeatedly said cutting sales taxes would benefit visitors to Florida, while property tax reductions would help homeowners.
“I look forward to working with the Senate and relevant House members to have a good Florida-first tax package,” DeSantis said during an appearance in Tampa. “But I can tell you, any Florida-last tax package is going to be dead on arrival. We are not going to kneecap our ability to provide you property-tax relief just so we can give a little bit of a benefit to Canadian tourists.”
Perez defends sales-tax cut, criticizes DeSantis’ plan
Indicating DeSantis might be “confused,” Perez said the state can cut the sales tax rate and ask voters to reduce property taxes in 2026.
“I give the governor credit for starting this debate, but he’s had months to produce an actual plan to lower property-tax rates, and we’re still waiting. An imaginary plan can’t cut real taxes,” Perez said in a statement.
“The governor’s team would like to respond that they do have a plan: send $1,000 checks from the state treasury as a fake refund for local property taxes. In fairness, it is consistent with the governor’s record,” Perez continued. “He likes these (California Gov. Gavin) Newsome-style ‘free’ money giveaways. Giving away $1,000 checks in a way that doesn’t actually lower property taxes isn’t a Band-Aid, much less a solution.”
The House approved a proposed tax package that would reduce the sales tax rate from 6% to 5.25%, but the Senate did not sign off on the idea.
The House and Senate did not finish the annual legislative session as scheduled Friday because of the lack of agreement on the budget. Lawmakers are expected to return to Tallahassee next week if House and Senate leaders can agree on “allocations,” which are overall amounts of money that go to various areas of the budget, such as education and health care. Conference committees then would negotiate details of the spending plan.
With lawmakers considering a permanent reduction in the sales-tax rate and a cut in a commercial-lease tax, Perez projected that more than $30 billion would be returned to the economy over the next decade.
“If the governor wants to veto that, he’s welcome to explain to the voters why he thinks they do not deserve actual and meaningful tax relief,” Perez said in the statement. “Maybe the truth is he just wants to spend all of it and be the only one who decides how.”
Perez said Friday that a sales-tax reduction is included in a budget “framework” that would be considered during the extended session.
Reducing the sales tax rate from 6% to 5.25% would total about $5 billion, but the size of the cut is expected to shrink during negotiations. Perez said leaders are looking to provide about $2.8 billion in tax reductions, with $1.6 billion likely going to the sales-tax rate cut.
Senate and House at odds, budget delays persist
DeSantis was joined in Tampa by Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, and Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, who backed the call for property-tax cuts.
“Almost everyone we talk to in the Legislature would rather have property-tax relief than sales-tax relief,” Ingoglia said.
The Senate has proposed providing a sales-tax exemption on purchases of clothes and shoes valued at $75 or less, rather than an overall cut in the sales-tax rate. A Senate tax package also included sales-tax “holidays” and trimming the commercial-lease tax.
Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, in recent weeks pointed to “philosophical differences” with the House, as he expressed concerns about approving recurring tax cuts amid unsettled national economic forecasts. He raised the possibility that deep cuts could force lawmakers to address financial shortfalls in future years.
Perez has appointed a House select committee to look at ways to cut property taxes and make recommendations that could go on the 2026 ballot. But during an appearance Tuesday, DeSantis ridiculed the House panel as a “dog and pony” show.
In announcing the creation of the select committee, Perez called DeSantis’ ideas about eliminating property taxes “exciting.” But Perez said the governor hadn’t provided specifics, while questions have swirled about potential effects of such a move on the ability of local governments to pay for police, fire-rescue, infrastructure and other services.
DeSantis and Perez have clashed this year on a number of issues, such as immigration enforcement, university and college presidential searches and oversight of Hope Florida, an economic-assistance program closely tied to First Lady Casey DeSantis.
