Rep. Ryan Chamberlin[1] has unveiled a proposal to eliminate property taxes[2] by replacing them with special fees on real estate transactions, a new sales tax, and surcharges targeting tourists.
“Florida’s already known as the freest state in the country. We’ve been named the top state in the economy in the nation. If we do this, no one’s going to be able to touch us,” the Belleview Republican told reporters about the importance of phasing out property taxes as he detailed his plan, dubbed Freedom 123: Florida’s Property Tax Replacement Plan.
“We will be the first state in the country to take a dramatic step toward eliminating the most hated tax in America.”
But he also acknowledged the political risk of unveiling detailed policy that would be open for criticism and would require strong support of lawmakers and the public to move forward.
First, Chamberlin called for a rollback on property taxes, which he said would not require a constitutional amendment approved by voters.
Chamberlin suggested rolling back the county non-school property taxes, levying $21.58 billion across Florida, down to $17.41 billion. He would also drop county school property taxes from $21.45 billion to $17.05 billion.
Chamberlin said he plans to file legislation to address the rollback this upcoming Session.
But a more challenging effort to get passed is a method to raise additional revenue that requires supermajority approval from voters. Chamberlin proposed creating a new 5% transaction fee on all real estate sales, which he estimated would generate the first $12 billion for non-school taxes.
“If someone were to buy a $300,000 home, they may need to finance or pay an extra $15,000 at closing,” he said. “So this could be included in the finance. But this 5% one-time fee is in lieu of someone paying $3,000 a year the rest of their life.”
To fund public safety, Chamberlin is proposing a 5% safety surcharge as tourists book hotel rooms, rental cars and theme park tickets to cover the strain of tourists on communities that property owners pay.
“This 5% relatively will be small to them added to their transactions, but it will do a big thing across the state of Florida to help us become property tax-free,” Chamberlin said, estimating it would generate $3.8 billion.
Chamberlin also proposed a 3-cent school “sales fee” that would help fund schools with at least $20 billion.
“We could give every district the option of levying up to 1 cent more to cover any gaps,” Chamberlin said.
Chamberlin acknowledged the political risk he was taking by being the first to introduce a more detailed plan but hoped it would spur debate.
“It’s easy to talk about doing something about property taxes without ever getting specific about doing anything about it,” he said. “But I’m convinced that we must have a starting point. We must have an initial plan.”
He also added he was not speaking on behalf of Gov. Ron DeSantis[3], House Speaker Danny Perez[4] or the House’s property tax committee[5].
“I firmly believe that now is the time to put Florida on the path to eliminating property taxes forever. And many would argue that this can’t be done, that there’s no way we can do it and still be able to fund our schools, public safety, and roads,” Chamberlin said. “This is just not true.”
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References
- ^ Ryan Chamberlin (flhouse.gov)
- ^ property taxes (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ Ron DeSantis (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ Danny Perez (www.flhouse.gov)
- ^ property tax committee (floridapolitics.com)