Florida Republicans moved forward four proposals to reduce property taxes in the state, in spite of growing fears of funding impacts to local and emergency services.
The House State Affairs Committee approved four proposed constitutional amendments this week, CBS News reported. Among them is HJR 201, which would eliminate non-school homestead property taxes and could cut local government revenue by $14.1 billion in the first year it is implemented, and up to $18 billion in later years, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
In addition to HJR 201, Republicans voted on party lines to pass HJR 205, which would do away with non-school property taxes for homestead properties whose owners are 65 and older; HJR 209, which would eliminate non-school property taxes for homestead properties with insurance coverage; and HJR 211, which would remove the $500,000 limit on transferring the property tax benefit to a new homestead.
All four amendments require approval by 60 percent of voters to become law, although it’s unclear if and which of the bills will appear on ballots next November.
Republican lawmakers started work on these proposals after Gov. Ron DeSantis started calling to completely abolish property taxes, skewering them as “rent to the government.”
An analysis by listings site Realtor.com’s senior economist Joel Berner shows an outright elimination of property taxes would immediately increase property values between 7 and 9 percent. The aggregate value of Florida’s owner-occupied housing stock would spike from $200 billion to $250 billion, the report showed. But the benefits would be uneven, Berner said.
“It would be a boon to existing property owners,” he told Realtor.com. “But this measure would disproportionately benefit wealthy Floridians at the expense of those who don’t own homes, and would make it even harder to break into homeownership because of the increased prices.”
Opponents of the cuts also say it could induce a fiscal crisis for local governments, and leave crucial services like EMS, fire departments and road maintenance underfunded. Local leaders, including the Florida Association of Counties, Florida League of Cities, and Florida Fire Chiefs Association, have all raised fears about the consequences of billions lost in funding.
“This is the biggest, ‘bro, just trust me,’ that I have ever seen in my life,” State Rep. Ashley Gantt, a Miami Democrat, told the State Affairs Committee, according to published reports. “How many firefighters are dispensable? That’s the question.”–– Kate Hinsche
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