Why anti-tax advocates are against DeSantis' property tax plan

Lawrence Mower, Tampa Bay Times on Jun 11, 2026

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to slash property taxes on Floridians’ primary homes has attracted an unlikely coalition of opponents: anti-tax advocates.

After DeSantis revealed his proposed amendment two weeks ago, the right-leaning Florida TaxWatch said it was flawed and “unnecessary.” Former GOP Sen. Jeff Brandes, a longtime anti-tax libertarian, rails about it online almost daily. And on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board called DeSantis a “disappointment” on taxes and questioned his motives on the amendment.

“It’s a shame that Gov. Ron DeSantis is using his final months in office to push a poorly designed measure on the November ballot that would put his state on the slippery slope of a progressive property tax regime,” it wrote.

DeSantis anticipated a chorus of opposition from Democrats and local officials, who have warned the dramatic shortfall in revenue will cut services. But he and his staffers have publicly bristled at the criticism from the right. A spokesperson called the paper’s editorial “incredibly lazy” and “embarrassing” on X.

When former Republican Rep. Bob Rommel accused TaxWatch of ignoring the increase in local government spending in the last seven years, DeSantis chimed in on X in support of Rommel’s comments: “Good one, Bob!”

The amendment would triple the state’s homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and to $250,000 in 2028, with future increases matching the annual inflation rate. It also lowers the cap on annual assessment increases for non-homestead property, such as stores or rental homes, from the current 10% to 5%.

If approved by 60% of voters, millions of Floridians could save thousands on their property tax bills each year. But some conservatives and anti-tax groups are opposed primarily because it does nothing to stop local governments from increasing other taxes and fees.

“Homeowners might pay less in tax, but renters, snow birds and businesses would end up paying more,” the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board wrote.

“The political goal looks to be to drive Republican voter turnout in November and give Mr. DeSantis another victory before he leaves office,” it added.

The Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank, warned that the amendment “would shift property tax burdens in highly distortionary ways and make Florida’s tax code far less stable and competitive.” Local officials might raise their sales taxes to make up lost revenue, prompting residents in higher-tax counties to shift their purchasing to lower-tax ones — or to neighboring Georgia and Alabama, the organization speculated.

Conservative opponents have also criticized what Florida TaxWatch called the “hurried evaluation and adoption of this proposal” in the Legislature. Lawmakers approved the amendment in less than 24 hours last week after receiving it from DeSantis a few days earlier.

TaxWatch opined that it would have been more appropriate to leave proposed changes to a 25-member state tax commission set to meet in January for the first time in decades.

“Rather than force this issue to be decided in a hastily called Special Session it would be far better to have this issue taken up by the constitutionally mandated group Florida TaxWatch helped establish — the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission," the organization wrote.

Brandes has blasted the Legislature for approving the amendment without conducting any analysis, and he’s warned that it would force cities and counties to beg Tallahassee for money to make up drastic revenue shortfalls.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, a longtime DeSantis ally, warned of the amendment’s “unintended consequences.”

“I fear the proposal will devastate counties’ and cities’ ability to deliver vital services, including emergency services, to our citizens,” he said in a statement to WFLA.

DeSantis’ office referred comment to a post on X by spokesperson Alex Lanfranconi, who called the criticism a “progressive argument to prevent any form of tax relief.”

“Local governments can afford to cut spending,” he wrote.

DeSantis accused the Wall Street Journal on X of “defending bloated local budgets and opposing property tax relief for Florida homeowners.”

“Florida hasn‘t raised the homestead exemption outright since 1980 and the last partial exemption increase was enacted almost 20 years ago,” he wrote. “Both times people made similar arguments against property tax relief.”

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