By Gray Rohrer, The News Service of Florida
If voters approve the property tax cut on the November ballot, cities, counties and special taxing districts will lose nearly $5 billion the first year, and nearly $12 billion in the fifth year, according to projections developed by state economists Friday.
Homestead owners will be the initial beneficiaries of the amendment, but non-homestead owners, including businesses and those who own vacation homes and condos, will reap rewards as well in future years.
Under the estimates approved by the Legislative Office of Economic and Demographic Research, local governments will see a $5 billion hit in the 2027-2028 fiscal year, followed by a nearly $8.8 billion cut the next year.
In the third and fourth years after the approval of the amendment, local governments will get a $9.7 billion cut and $10.75 billion hit, respectively.
The amendment needs 60 percent support from voters to pass. Lawmakers took the measure drafted by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office and changed it to exempt school taxes from the hike in the homestead exemption, which rises from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then $250,000 in 2028.
Another piece of the proposal lowers the cap on annual assessment increases on non-homestead properties. The current cap is 10 percent and the amendment would lower it to 5 percent.
Also, to benefit from the jump in the homestead exemption, a person must be a resident of Florida as of Dec. 31, 2026. If someone moves to the Sunshine State after that date and buys a homestead, they’ll have to wait five years to get the higher exemption.
DeSantis has been the driving force for property tax cuts, stressing the need for relief for homeowners amid rising costs and surging home valuations that have sent tax bills soaring in the last six years.
“The proposal will increase constitutional protection against taxes for homestead properties and will be the biggest property tax cut in Florida history,” DeSantis posted on X earlier this month. “Floridians looking for help with affordability will have a great opportunity to vote for it.”
Local government officials, though, have warned the drastic cuts will impair their ability to provide basic services.
Lawmakers tried to address that concern by requiring property taxes to only be spent on “core services” such as public safety, education and environmental and infrastructure projects. But that provision doesn’t address the main worry of city and county officials – that there will be much less money to pay for those services.
Small, rural counties and towns with a large percentage of homestead properties in their tax base are especially concerned what the measure could do to their bottom line.
A lawsuit has been filed by an activist group and two former local elected officials against the state over the ballot measure, alleging it is misleading.
But even if the courts rule against the state, that wouldn’t automatically remove the measure from the ballot. Under state law, Attorney General James Uthmeier would be required to amend the ballot summary if it is found to be defective.
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