Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says that property taxes are nonsense, in that you are essentially paying rent to the government in exchange for owning property.
“You should own your property free and clear,” DeSantis said at a recent roundtable in Jacksonville. “I think to say that someone that’s been in their house for 35 years just has to keep ponying up money — you don’t own your home, if that’s the case.”
He’s right, but at the same time, things like police, fire, and schools need to be funded. The thing that surprised me about this article was that the state’s tax on real property accounts for 18% of county revenue, 17% of municipal revenue and between 50% and 60% of school district funding.
So the elimination of property taxes would mean that counties would have to cut 18% of their expenditures. Using Orange County (where Orlando is located) as an example, they have an annual budget of $7.2 billion. (pdf alert) That would mean that the county needs to cut $1.3 billion from its annual budget. From their budget, they spend money on:
In this budget, we have purposefully allocated resources to address critical areas that are essential to ensuring the well-being of our residents by investing in affordable housing, preserving the environment, fueling economic development, strengthening public safety, improving transportation, expanding mental and behavioral health services, and enhancing children and family services programs. We will also develop a plan for expanding services to homeless people.
Orange county’s property tax proceeds total about $969 million of that budget. Can they make some cuts?
- $16.1 million is for affordable housing programs
- Neighborhood Centers for Families (NCF) $7.5 million for mental health, early childhood development, youth empowerment, family support, and youth recreation.
- The Citizens Review Panel (CRP) recommends grant funding for small and large nonprofit organizations that provide vital services to Orange County children, youth, and their families. CRP funding is budgeted at $4.1 million for the fiscal year 2025.
- resources to advance environmental initiatives $100 million per year
- Tourist Development Tax revenue budget for fiscal year 2025 is $345 million. Let businesses fund their own development.
Without even trying, I have found $472.7 million in cuts. That’s halfway to eliminating property taxes. It can be done. Government shouldn’t be an endless source of pork that is being used to buy votes. Government should stay out of our pockets and provide only essential services through taxes. They should ask for donations for any extra services.