By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
Thanks to a Lake County lobbyist for sending this article to us. We wonder if the State of Ohio has any real leaders to make this change in Ohio?
https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2025/02/28/florida-property-taxes-desantis-good-business
Gov. DeSantis is right. Let’s eliminate Florida’s property taxes
The move would require voters to pass a constitutional amendment.
Published Feb. 28|Updated Feb. 28
There are good ideas and great ideas. The greatest idea I’ve heard in years is one that Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed on Feb. 13: Eliminating property taxes. Not only would this make the state even more appealing to families and job creators, but it would end a tax that’s so awful it’s evil.
I say this as someone who bought a house in Florida after decades of paying exorbitant property taxes in Illinois. In the Land of Lincoln, this tax is one of the worst ways that government has shackled its citizens. Sky-high property taxes drive up the cost of owning a home, especially for first-time homebuyers and people on fixed incomes. Even when property taxes are lower, like they are in Florida, they still do the most harm to those who can least afford it. There’s something fundamentally unjust about the idea that even if you’ve paid off your home, you have to keep paying the government for the right to live there.
Property taxes are just as destructive for entrepreneurs. In Illinois, I ran a retail store, and in less than five years, my property tax bill went from $22,000 to $100,000. Every penny in tax hikes made it harder to pay my team, keep prices down and plan for the future. When I started, I wanted to open additional stores. The property tax made that impossible. Even when property taxes are lower, like in Florida, they still force job creators to spend a lot of money on something that doesn’t help them create jobs. They inherently stifle your ability to grow and give back to your community.
DeSantis agrees with me, saying that “taxing land/property is the more oppressive and ineffective form of taxation.” Property taxes are harder than most taxes to understand, because you only encounter them once or twice a year. Compare that to sales taxes, which are listed on every transaction you make. The best taxes are clear, consistent and hard to raise because everyone’s watching them like a hawk. While politicians justify the current system by saying, “don’t worry, it’s for the kids,” taxpayers should ask if there’s a better way to fund local services like public schools.
If Florida ended property taxes, virtually everyone in the state would feel immediate relief. Homeowners would have an average $2,400 in higher disposable income. Renters would likely see their rents fall or at least stop rising. They’d also find it easier to buy a home, because low or no property taxes make homeownership easier to afford. And businesses would be able to give wage hikes and grow, while a new generation of entrepreneurs would find it easier to get off the ground. My home state of Illinois might move to Florida en masse, to say nothing of property-tax hellholes like New Jersey.
And to be clear, states could find other ways to keep paying for schools, police and other public needs. The state sales tax rates would likely have to increase, though not as much as the naysayers are screaming. That’s because local governments would finally have to prioritize. Even the most fiscally prudent city council wastes money, and a lot of it. It’s the nature of government, which faces no real competition. But eliminating property taxes would create a sort of competition, forcing politicians to recognize what really matters — and what really doesn’t.
To be sure, Florida is a long way off from ending property taxes. As the governor pointed out when calling for change, we need a constitutional amendment to make it happen, requiring support from 60% or more of voters. A state lawmaker has now introduced a bill to study the issue, which is the best next step. We need to determine what’s feasible before putting this issue before the voters.
But make no mistake: We should put eliminating property taxes before the people of Florida. This is the kind of forward-looking, big-thinking, life-changing idea we should demand to see from our political leaders. Kudos to DeSantis for wanting to make the greatest state in America even greater still.
John Tillman is CEO of the American Culture Project. He lives in Naples.
Categories: Contributors, Real Estate Taxes