'I don’t want to give (tourists) a tax cut,' the governor said.
Instead of a $5 billion cut in
sales taxes as proposed by House Speaker Daniel Perez, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said he wants to provide a $1,000 tax break to all
homestead property owners in the state. “People are not clamoring for sales tax: They’re clamoring for property tax relief. There’s no property tax relief in that proposal,” DeSantis said at a conference of the
Florida Realtors in Orlando. Sales tax cuts also would help tourists who visit and spend in Florida, not just Florida residents, something that a cut aimed at homestead property owners would achieve, he added. “I want Canadian tourists and Brazilian tourists subsidizing the state and making it so Florida residents pay less taxes,” DeSantis said. “I don’t want to give Canadians a tax cut.” Last week, Perez, R-Miami, said his chamber will move forward with a plan to cut Florida’s sales tax from 6% to 5.25%, saving consumers collectively about $5 billion per year. The bill isn’t yet public, but the $113 billion House budget released Friday is built around that plan. That measure isn’t part of the Senate’s spending plan, which is $117.4 billion, or $4.4 billion more than the House’s plan. The two chambers will pass their respective budgets off the floor next week before entering negotiations on a final spending plan. The sides must reach a deal before May 2, the last day of the legislative session, to avoid a special session. In a memo sent to senators Monday, Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said he’s open to both proposals but cautioned that cutting taxes too drastically could hurt the state’s ability to respond to an economic downturn in future years. State economists project a $2 billion surplus for the next fiscal year, but in two years that could turn into a nearly $7 billion shortfall if current spending trends continue. “I’m not comfortable passing a budget that is balanced for this year, but likely creates major shortfalls down the road,” Albritton wrote. “Cutting waste and inefficiency plays an important role in responsible spending; however, there is a cost associated with maintaining our transportation, clean water, and health care infrastructure, ensuring universal school choice for every family, hurricane response and recovery, and of course public safety. We owe it to taxpayers to get this right.”
DeSantis pushing for tax break to go on ballot
Such a large sales tax cut could preclude DeSantis’ push for a large tax cut directed at homesteaded properties to be placed on the 2026 ballot. DeSantis said he wouldn’t veto a sales tax cut, but insists on property taxes being reduced. One of the main differences between the two plans is the Legislature can reduce the sales tax on its own, while main methods to cut property taxes – either through an increase in the homestead exemption or imposing stricter caps on annual assessment increases – can only be done by changing the state's constitution. Bills to put large property tax cuts on the 2026 ballot, however, haven’t advanced in the Legislature. A measure (
SB 1018 ) from Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, to increase the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $75,000 and a bill (
HB 357 ) from Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview, to create a $100,000 exemption on all properties in the state haven’t received a hearing. Even if the bills were to pass, the proposal would require 60% of voter approval in November 2026, and wouldn’t take effect until 2027. To provide more immediate property tax relief, DeSantis wants to eliminate the state portion that contributes to property taxes: The piece that goes to public schools, known as the
required local effort (RLE ). Under DeSantis’ plan, state reserves would be used to backfill the elimination of the RLE for one year, and lawmakers would be required to provide a $1,000 cut to homestead property owners. DeSantis said the proposal was just the “opening salvo” in the push to get a greater property tax cut on the 2026 ballot. Democrats, stuck in superminority status in both chambers of the Florida Legislature, are tentatively supportive of the cut in sales taxes but want to see more specifics before committing support to Perez’s plan. “Our caucus has probably forever talked about the sales tax as a very regressive policy,” House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa told reporters last week. “We understand that we don’t have a state income tax and we need to hear more details about where he plans to make up this $5 billion in revenue that we’re cutting.”
(This story was updated to add new information.) Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at . Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer .
