- June 2, 2026
I’ve reviewed the ongoing debate around property tax reform in Florida carefully, and these questions demand serious answers before we move forward.
I’ll also add this: we have a genuine affordability crisis in our state — one driven largely by out-of-state buyers who have pushed home values, and consequently property taxes, to unsustainable levels. That root cause deserves equal attention.
Here are 10 questions every Floridian should be asking:
1. If this is real tax reform, what replaces it?
Florida built local government around property taxes because we have no state income tax. You can dislike the system, but you cannot remove the load-bearing wall without explaining what keeps the roof from collapsing.
2. Is this a tax cut — or just a tax costume change?
Homesteaded homeowners may see upfront savings, but governments still need revenue. Does this simply reappear through rent, insurance, utility bills, assessments, fees, and higher costs on businesses and apartments? Taxes rarely disappear. They usually come back wearing a different name tag.
3. Who pays the debt already backed by property taxes?
Florida communities have borrowed billions for roads, drainage, water systems, and public safety infrastructure. Bond payments don’t disappear because politicians change the math.
4. What exactly counts as a “core service”?
Police and fire are easy answers. After that, the politics begin. Is drainage a core service in a hurricane state? Stormwater? Road maintenance? Parks? Libraries? Transit? The real fight won’t be over taxes — it will be over who decides what government is allowed to do.
5. Who actually controls your city budget after this?
If Tallahassee defines core services, spending limits, and allowable revenue, then local government becomes government by permission slip.
Your city or the Volusia County Council may still hold meetings, but real budget power moves to Tallahassee
6. What happens during the first recession?
Property taxes are stable. Sales taxes and tourism revenues are not. What happens when the economy slows, tourism drops, state revenues fall, and demand for local services spikes simultaneously? A system designed only for boom years isn’t reform — it’s a fair-weather theory.
7. What funds the trust fund when Florida is already projecting multi-billion-dollar deficits?
Florida’s own long-range forecasts project structural deficits beginning in fiscal year 2027–28. A trust fund without recurring revenue isn’t reform. It’s delayed instability with a press release.
8. What happens to Florida’s special districts?
If cities and counties lose flexibility, does growth simply shift into more off-book financing and special assessments? Taxpayers don’t care which government entity sends the invoice. They care that the invoice still arrives.
9. Are we trying to solve a housing crisis entirely through the tax code?
Florida’s affordability crisis isn’t just taxes. It’s missing starter homes, restrictive zoning, rising insurance, and years of making housing harder to build. You cannot tax-cut your way out of a starter home shortage.
10. Does this reduce the cost of government or simply change the collection mechanism?
Nothing prevents governments from shifting to utility fees, stormwater charges, mobility fees, and special assessments. If the total taxpayer burden remains roughly the same, this isn’t smaller government — it’s a different billing system.
Julio David Sosa
Deltona
Editor's note: Sosa is a candidate for Volusia County Council, running to represent District 5.
