For more than a year, Tallahassee politicians have been yapping about how Floridians deserve a property tax break.

But you know what they haven’t done? Actually given you one.

When Big Business lobbyists ask for tax breaks to help pad their profit margins, these guys will sandwich accommodating language into a bill faster than you can say: “Thank you for the dark-money campaign contribution.”

But when it comes to providing real relief to working-class Floridians, it’s often just a bunch of chest thumping. Republican leaders have yet to agree upon a plan. And Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to float a detailed proposal himself, suggested one might not pass this session.

That’s probably not a bad thing. The House proposal that would go before voters would decimate the budgets of cities and counties. It would not only “Defund the Police” on the largest scale ever proposed in Florida, but also defund everything from garbage collection to sidewalk construction.

Just as importantly, for people like me who truly want tax relief for all working-class Floridians, this idea misses on a lot of levels. It wouldn’t provide a nickel’s relief to renters, which make up a third of Florida’s population. To the contrary, it would likely drive up their housing costs even further and also send taxes on businesses soaring, as local governments would almost certainly jack up taxes on non-homesteaded properties to make up the difference.

The idea is also the height of irresponsible buck-passing — state lawmakers trying to dictate local policy.

All that said, I believe property tax relief is truly needed. Not for me. And frankly, not for many of the wealthy Floridians who gripe about taxes. It’s needed for the new homeowners who’ve bought houses in recent years and pay double and triple the taxes on homes that are worth a fraction of what mine is.

See, Florida has a well-intentioned policy in place to protect homeowners from massive tax increases but which brutally punishes those who didn’t buy a home decades ago. It’s the “Save Our Homes” constitutional amendment passed by voters that says the taxable value of a homesteaded home (one that’s an owner’s primary residence) can’t increase by more than 3% a year. That’s a laudable idea in a booming real estate market like Florida’s. No one should be taxed out of a home they can otherwise afford.

The problem with “Save Our Homes” is that it breeds wicked disparity. The law most benefits people who’ve owned their homes for decades  — so much so that someone who buys a $250,000 house today can pay more in taxes than someone who, years ago, bought a house now worth $1 million.

That example isn’t theoretical. Last year, I wrote a column about Central Florida’s chronically low wages and full-time workers struggling to make ends meet. And when I talked to one hard-working father — a full-time cook at an Epcot restaurant who also drives for Uber — I was blown away by his tax bill.

Maxwell: Orlando now ranks 49th out of 50 in wages

He said he pays about $8,500 in taxes each year on a modest home in far-flung Polk County valued at only $257,000. That seemed so ridiculously high, it was hard to believe. But he was dead-on.

His home is in a subdivision of full new homes, largely purchased by first-time homebuyers who don’t have any “Save Our Homes” exemptions locked in. Plus, Polk County allowed the developers to tack on extra “development district” taxes. (Paging DOGE.)

The county’s property appraiser’s office confirmed that a typical house in that neighborhood with a $260,000 value has an $8,500 tax bill. That’s nuts. People who live in cheap houses in Polk County shouldn’t pay higher taxes than some who’ve lived in $1 million homes near downtown Orlando for years.

As the saying goes: It’s expensive to be poor.

And pity the younger generation trying to buy their first homes. The American Dream is dying on the vine in Florida, thanks to an escalating housing market, sky-high insurance premiums and a tax structure that punishes anyone who didn’t buy long ago.

Many Florida homeowners couldn’t afford to buy their own home if they had to do so again today.

So yeah, I believe relief is needed. But proposals that target only homesteaded properties won’t provide any relief to many Floridians, even though they would decimate local budgets. (Some lawmakers have estimated that 100 Florida cities would have to shutter their police departments altogether.)

Florida House backs plan to slash homestead property taxes

What’s needed is something Tallahassee lawmakers rarely try — a comprehensive, research-based approach to policy. No more panels full of ideologues and special interests with foregone conclusions or obvious agendas. We need people who will look for ways to provide housing-cost relief to all full-time residents. And for ways to drive down insurance costs and other pricey costs-of-living.

Right now, less than 5% of Florida corporations pay any corporate taxes while Florida residents face above-average sales taxes, high gas taxes and the most miles of tolled roads of any state in America. The tax burden is out of whack.

Former Republican State Sen. Jeff Brandes, a serious policymaker, has suggested housing-cost relief that includes everyone, including credits for renters. We need more ideas like that.

Reform and relief is needed. But we’re not going to get there with a poorly thought-out plan that wreaks havoc on local budgets while providing no relief to millions who need it most.

Maxwell: Don’t overtax Floridians while giving corporations a pass

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/02/24/florida-property-taxes-repeal-desantis/