TALHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Property tax debate is a central stage in the state capitol, pushing leaders to cut or potentially eliminate them entirely.
Lawmakers spent the summer meetings with constituents and local governments to figure out how Tallahassee could provide relief.
Tampa Bay women sold for sex by their mothers seek accountability
“These are really tough decisions people have to start making,” said co-chair Vicki Lopez (R-Miami). “Our job is to come up with what I think is a fair and fair proposal to be placed on the vote. And it’s up to the voters.”
After the final meeting in May, state legislators did their homework, went back to the district and found their next step to cut property taxes. However, lawmakers are still in the data collection stage and have not yet decided on a proposal.
How did you get here?
In the last session, Gov. Ron Desantis introduced the idea of reducing and ultimately eliminating the state’s property tax. This summer, Chief Financial Officer Blaze Ingoglia began his own mission. He toured the state to encourage local governments to cut waste and reduce property taxes.
Now, state legislators are covering discussions that sort out the impacts that could affect education, financially constrained counties and the role local government can play in this fight for relief.
“As Americans, we all need to tighten our belts a bit. I think local governments and municipalities must learn to do the same,” state legislator Juan Carlos Polas (R-Miami).
So far, many suggestions have come to mind, replacing school property taxes with statewide sales taxes, and even prioritizing relief for seniors, as they return to property tax levels in the past few years.
There are some concerns that come from Democrats who fear the possible negative impacts, especially at the local level.
“The majority of property taxes fund public safety, so when we look at the important services provided by local governments and see that they are OK, the relief sounds great and great, but we are trying to find out what the relief looks like so we can avoid hurting ourselves.
House members want a final property tax proposal, or proposal, that will be ready for November or December of this year.
