And how many of those people will be property rich and cash poor? Just got back from a 3 month trip 10+ state trip. Worst traffic we saw was in Ocala. 7 mile back up because of a blown tire. Why change a system that is good?

Not Done Here
 

No, we still have a singular system in Sumter county and all get taxed the same. It certainly needs to be done. It’s obvious county services are used quite a bit more by the unincorporated sections of the county.

Owners of private homes are not the only ones paying property taxes. the breakdown is

- Homeowners 65.8%
- Businesses 18.1%
- Tourists 16.1%

(2022 numbers, floridaphoenix . com)

Those worried about the effects on law enforcement of this being cut should recognize the cash cow (actually a herd of cash cows) that we see and grumble about every day. People breaking traffic laws with almost no repercussions. Start TICKETING speeders, red-light runners, passing in no-passing zones, etc., and that shortfall could be made up pretty easily.

Win-win.

Exactly.

Positive? That's not a positive, its a negative.

So if Florida eliminates property tax for people that own their homes OUTRIGHT , this state will have a huge influx of people moving here….simply tack on a significant sales tax on their new home purchase….. they won’t like the initial added cost but most will pay it with the realization that going forward they won’t have to pay anymore taxes on that home. That idea alone would mostly take the place of OUR property taxes that are currently being collected yearly ……

I agree with enforcing speed limits on all Villages vehicles. That is what most Villagers would expect our employed police force to do. I’m sure there is reluctance by our police force to ticket people in a retirement community. Our elected commissioners should make it clear to our force that the MAJORITY of Villagers believe the Villages will be safer and our property more valuable if speed limits are enforced.

Property taxes
 

Property taxes take in 56 billion dollars in the state. How do you make that up.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

If the property tax is eliminated, the government will have to make up that shortfall somewhere else. Floridians have to pay...one way or the other!

So, let's not celebrate the elimination of one tax if the state then has to play whack-a-mole and hit us on something else.

I agree
 

I agree with you. The problem is that you are trying to convince the Me People that taxes can both benefit them directly and indirectly.

There are two types of people the Me People that believe that if the services don’t Directly benefit them they should not have to pay. If they don’t have a child in school why should they have to pay school taxes (etc. to all other taxes as well). Then there are the We People. They see the benefits of education has to our society. The We People care about others. The Me People couldn’t care less if it doesn’t help them directly.

It’s sad to say, but we seem to be in period of time when the Me People have taken control and society will suffer for it. Save your breath you are trying to convince people that only care about themselves. That will not change.

Snowbirds would pay property taxes
 

If you aren’t a resident, you pay property taxes. The exemption is only for single property owners who are residents of the state.

So here's how taxes work, since it isn't clear to you:

Property taxes are what you pay, to cover the expense of owning property in the town you're in. That means it covers the cost of paving the road that leads to your driveway. It covers the cost of the cop who shows up to arrest them thar illeguls who you mistakenly contracted to replace your roof. It covers the cost of the replacement of curbs. It covers the cost of the people who determine the laws and regulations, implement them, and oversee the general running of the community you live in. It covers the cost of the secretary who types up all this stuff and takes your phone call when you complain about a pothole at the corner of your road and the intersection. It covers the cost of the street lights and stop signs and road signs, the schools, the sidewalks on public property. It covers the cost of asphalt and bituminous concrete when needed to patch those sidewalks and roads. It covers the cost of the city engineer who has to sign off on all new construction or expansions of existing property. It covers the cost of the inland-wetland commission, who makes sure that someone isn't building a property in such a way that it'll dam the free flow of water and cause half the neighborhood to float away during the next big rainstorm.

That's why you pay property tax every year, and not just a sales tax once when you buy the house. These things happen every year. And so you pay every year.

Or
 

Or, have the state take care of it all.

There is no proposal for any exemption yet, just promises. It's far too early to be counting the chickens, much less naming them.

For me, the real issue isn't the paying of property taxes, its the normalization of the endless supply of tax dollars to fund pet projects.

Wildwood is the poster child for this with their parking garage, Millennium Park, and their forthcoming "The Railyard" and "Linnear Park". The "build it and they will come" is a foolish waste of tax dollars. Wildwood has real needs like the new water treatment plant but seems to be easily distracted by grandiose visions as a place that shoppers will flock to and spend hours enjoying Wildwood's natural setting.

Agree
 

Yes, they are the poster child for waste!

With all the development happening in Wildwood they should already have the customers, they just need to get on the ball and create the downtown destination. The parking garage made sense as the initial phase of the buildout but it's been open for nearly a year now with little or no progress on the rest of the plan.

I don't think this will ever happen, if it does I will move out of Florida before it happens. DeSantis and Republicans pander to their conservative base. Some state legislator from Miami wants to get rid of hoa's too. Florida state government is the one who needs to be audited. They built a detention camp in the Everglades that is being closed down that is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. They are parking a state trooper at the Dunkin Donuts next to the Pulse Nightclub to hassle people putting chalk on a sidewalk.

Former town taxes were FOUR times higher!
 

Nope. What about the "disabled" and "disabled vets" who pay zero taxes? Are all of these taxpayers really disabled?

How does Delaware do it ? Extremely low property taxes, and no sales tax....

Are you a FL native? If not, why would you move to a state that is run in a manner that you disagree with when there are presumably other places that do?

Hmmm. CT and FL. Why do you suppose that is?

Faulty crystal ball. No way of knowing what the future was going to bring.

They get a lot of revenue from being the state of record for many out of state corporations. And this is starting to change, as some of the rogue judges there have made some extremely business-unfriendly rulings recently, causing many corporations to rethink Delaware and use Texas or others instead.

Moving to Texas, Florida and Nevada
 

Many are fleeing to Texas , Florida and Nevada because of tax laws.
Leaving Delaware: Why Companies Are Moving to Texas, Florida, and Nevada

Why? People over 65 still use county/city roads, police fire and ambulance services, libraries, etc

7 years ago our house in Connecticut was taxed at around $2000. Our tax here in Florida is around $1700. Our taxes in Connecticut paid for a LOT more than our taxes pay for down here. Our property in CT was almost half an acre of wooded fenced land, with a full basement, in the suburbs. Our public education system was MUCH better than it is down here. The cost included snowplowing, which isn't needed here. Our town had its own Senior Center surrounded by independent living duplexes exclusively for seniors on a budget. We had free music in the summer, access to the high school olympic-sized swimming pool on weekends during school session and most days of the summer. We had our own police department and fire department, plus a volunteer fire department on top of that. We had our own EMS, beautiful well-kept and safe public parks, a low crime rate, and roads that were (mostly) kept in good condition (snow plows and asphalt don't make good friends). Compare to here, where we have 1/5 acre, no woods, no fence, no basement. Lady Lake doesn't have an actual Senior Center, and we can't use the school pool. Some Lady Lake roads aren't even paved, and some are just one-lane potholes surrounded by crumbling pieces of blacktop. Yeah we definitely got a better deal up north with regards to property tax.

And you're here why?

And how is it that Lillian (above) was paying $6000 in CT but you were paying only $2000? Unless your place was waaaay smaller. Hard to compare apples to apples unless you're looking at a similar sqft home on a similar lot.

governors' real-estate associates
 

Read an article about the governor and his real-estate associates wanting property taxes to be eliminated. The big real-estate companies will then increase buying up homes in Florida with no property taxes to pay! There is always a closet deal going on to line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy.

If Florida stays true to form, they will eliminate property taxes for homesteaded properties and make up for it by taxing the hell out of the properties owned by non-residents, as well as tourists.

Is anyone of you really looking at the big picture on taxes?? Explain to me how taxes are increasing every year greater than the inflation rate? Then they increase property taxes on an estimated value of your property? They say your property is worth $$$ so we are taxing you on that amount even though we haven't monetarily gain on that amount. That amount is only realized if we sell our property and make that profit. If you own your property and never sell it, you don't gain anything. These counties around here are making money hand over fist and using the tax money for their pet projects not for essential services.

Why is it too much to ask for posters to do some homework and have a clue what they are talking about before spewing so many words on these boards?

Contrary to what was asserted above, my taxes have *decreased* four of the last five years.

As our individual taxes have decreased, Sumter county revenue has increased due to an increase in the number of taxable properties. Simply put, there are more homes paying tax so the individual taxes is less. And where does that money go, what are the pet projects? Perhaps the poster can do *that* research but a guess would be the increased revenue was spent providing services to the increased number of homes - exactly what might be expect.

Govt can be wasteful and ours is likely no different but a little evidence would go a lot further than blind accusations.