Report: Eliminating property taxes would have cost Miami-Dade $3.27 billion this year

Why it matters: Members of a state House select committee have been in Tallahassee this week debating how to cut property taxes, a top goal of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Threat level: Property taxes are collected by cities, counties and school districts and fund critical infrastructure and services, ranging from law enforcement and parks maintenance to social services and schools.

• "Without a stable and reliable source of revenue, localities will have to either cut services or find new ways to pay for them," the FPI report says, "such as through higher user fees or by turning services over to private entities."

Between the lines: Local governments are also facing more scrutiny from the state due to DeSantis' take on President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency.

• The state DOGE has requested scores of documents from city and county governments and sent auditors in person to some communities, including St. Petersburg and Miami.
• The results of those audits haven't been released yet.

The big picture: Doing away with property taxes would have cost local governments across the state a combined more than $50 billion in revenue this year, the report found.

• A narrower approach of eliminating property taxes for homesteaded properties would leave counties, cities and districts out approximately $18.5 billion.
• Homesteaded properties — in other words, a property owner's primary residence — are already eligible for property tax discounts.

Reality check: Taxes in the Sunshine State are some of the most regressive in the country, where the lowest-income households spend the greatest proportion of their income on state and local taxes.

Zoom in: Property taxes will generate more than $3.7 billion for Miami-Dade County Public Schools this year, while the more specific homesteaded properties tax generates about $977 million, the report found.

What they're saying: "Waste is in the eye of the beholder," Casey Cook, the Florida League of Cities' chief of legislative affairs, told lawmakers on Tuesday, per the Florida Phoenix. "Nobody likes paying taxes, but safe isn't free. Clean isn't free."

• "One person's community amenity could be the next person's biggest waste ever," Cook said, adding that tax allocations are subjective, the Phoenix reported. "And one person's exemption is another person's tax increase."

The other side: Rep. Juan Carlos Porras (R-Miami) said Americans "need to tighten our belts a little and I think local governments and municipalities are going to have to learn to do the same," News Channel 8 reported.

• Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's budget projects a $94 million deficit in 2027.

What's next: Any changes to the property tax structure would have to be approved by Floridians through a constitutional amendment.

• House committee co-chair Rep. Toby Overdork (R-Palm City) said he expects a final proposal for such a ballot initiative to be ready by November, according to Politico.
• The ballot plan will require House and Senate approval and the state Supreme Court to sign off on its language. Then, 60% of voters would have to approve it.