State lawmakers continue debating proposals to eliminate property taxes.
Seven different House Joint Resolutions would get rid of non-school homestead property taxes in some way.
While this sounds like taxpayers could save money, some experts say the real cost is unlikely to change.
Florida Policy Institute Director of Research Esteban Santis said local governments are going to have to find other sources of income to make up for the loss.
"Floridians are going to be paying for the relief,” he said. “You're not getting savings out of nothing. You're paying for those savings by cutting services or by paying higher fees or by paying more taxes."
The Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research estimates this would result in a combined $18.3 billion annual loss in revenue for local governments.
Depending on which proposal passes, Miami-Dade County could lose as much as $2.3 billion a year.
In Hillsborough County, the loss could reach $1.2 billion.
Pinellas and Pasco are also among the ten counties with the biggest projected loss, as they could lose as much as $907 million and $480 million, respectively.
Manatee County did not make the top ten, but could also lose as much as $373 million.
Note on the above table: HJR 201 would exempt the state’s 5.1 million homesteaded properties (i.e., primary residences) from all property taxes other than school district collections. Other proposals, which can be found here, would result in smaller amounts of lost revenue for counties.
“If you don't find a revenue replacement, services are going to be cut, and those costs are going to spread out to Floridians beyond those who own homes,” Santis said. “So ultimately, the big question is, how are local governments going to balance their budgets?”
Ultimately, voters would have to decide if the proposals become state law.
If any proposal passes both chambers, it would then need the approval of 60% of the voters in November.
But according to a poll conducted by the FPI, this looks highly unlikely.
“Overwhelmingly, people said they did not support the idea,” Santis said. “49% opposed the idea of elimination. That should be a clue as to what Floridians want.”
