Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has railed against property taxes, which fund local governments and the services they provide — law enforcement, fire, EMS, disaster preparation and mosquito control, among many others — equating them to a form of modern-day feudalism where homeowners must “pony up money to the government just for the courtesy of using your own property.”
To end this, DeSantis is pushing Amendment 3, a ballot measure crafted by his Republican statehouse allies that will be put to voters in the midterm election next month.
If passed, Florida “homesteaders,” as permanent residents are called, will see a dramatic increase in an existing property tax exemption.
Any Floridian with a primary residence valued at $250,000 US or less — about 60 per cent of all homesteaders, according to the governor’s office, although that figure has been questioned — would pay nothing and those with a home worth more than that would pay much less than they do now. The measure also calls on the state to eliminate homesteader property taxes entirely over time.
This constitutional amendment requires a 60 per cent supermajority, and at least one recent poll suggests it will easily clear that hurdle.
State economists project such a move will cost about $12 billion US annually, forcing local and county governments that depend on these taxes to make deep cuts, find new revenue elsewhere or both.
That’s where things could get more expensive for the Canadians who own an estimated $60 billion US worth of property in the Sunshine State. DeSantis has explicitly described them as a resource to tap to close expected budget gaps.
Listen, nobody loves paying property taxes, but you know what’s worse? Your house burning down and nobody is there to put it out. There’s a reason everyone pays taxes.
No you don’t get it. If you don’t pay taxes you can pay twice as much when you need emergency services. That way you’ll be super free.
Boomers want everything on a coin op model.
Private sector fire departments.
Would this be a subscription model? Something similar to property taxes?
It’s happened in the past. If you don’t pay their exorbitant fees they let your house burn down.
Basic - $9.99 a month, if your house is on fire they bring a garden hose and use your water well.
Medium - $19.99 a month, they bring a garden hose and a tank of water.
High - $29.99 a month, they bring more than one hose and person.
Extreme - $99.99 a month, they bring a truck.
If you miss a payment you need to resubscribe with a $1000 basic beginner fee.
The ad-free version is an extra $15.99 add on. Otherwise they stop every few minutes to tell you about Nord VPN.
Yeah and no ad blockers.
When capitalism wins you lose!
“Fire has spread to the third floor, would you like to upgrade for $2,299 a month?”
This is the history of fire departments in the US.
But but but, you got to think of the insurance companies. If a house burns down how are the insurance companies to bend the home owner further over the barrel?
Capitalism you have to keep that in mind!
What the fuck are Canadians doing still going to Floridia?
Get out of Florida, they hate Canadians there.
Canada hates the Canadians who go to Florida. They only live there long enough to not lose healthcare but they feed the Florida economy. Assholes.
“We’re gonna fill the potholes and make Canada pay for it!” - hmm, sounds familiar…
Not really, no. This post is about how there are large areas of Canadians living in florida. Vast swaths of them. Maple Leaf flags down every street in some places.
It’s pretty funny.
The problem for Floridian homeowners isn’t the property taxes, it’s the insurance. The property taxes are there for a reason - to fund schools, fire, police, etc, and everybody is cool with that, although some are so greedy, they’ll STILL vote to abolish property taxes, even if it means there’s nobody to vacuum up the tweakers and crackheads breaking into your taxless home.
The homeowners insurance problem is keeping people from buying houses, even if they could afford it. There is already a lot of excess inventory on the market in Florida, and there’s expected to be a LOT more over the next year, so prices aren’t going to be the problem, the thing that going to keep people from buying is the inability to find reasonably priced insurance.
David Jolly, Democratic candidate for governor has a plan, but the MAGA did their own study, in which they characterize his plan as a tax, and now they’re running ads, claiming that a "recent study’ (without calling their own) called it a tax, and so now they have the rationalization to claim that Jolly wants to raise your taxes. No he doesn’t, he wants to figure out a solution to the serious homeowners insurance problem in Florida, something the MAGAs stubbornly refuse to even acknowledge, no less try to fix it. They just want to shit on the only plan that anyone is proposing.
