In general, how do you feel about the movement to reduce or eliminate property taxes as a way of lowering costs associated with homeownership?

👍 Agree (44%) – "I like the idea. I think limiting the increase in property taxes makes sense, especially when we have crazy housing markets like we do now. It wouldn’t change how much someone could sell their house for, but I like the idea that it could limit how much my property taxes are tied to the market. More like how our mortgages get locked in at purchase. I think it’s worth vetting the idea."

• "I support lowering property taxes but not removing them all together. I think that too much reliance on one tax (like state income or sales) is a risky venture. But many states, like Illinois, have too much reliance on property taxes to pay for things like schools and this creates great disparity with quality of schools across the state. I am always a fan of a braided or blended approach to funding (through state income, property, and sales), which provides a better guardrail to financial security that can weather any economic instability."

"I think this is a really smart move by DeSantis. If you consider that at least 15% of homes in Florida are 2nd homes, and probably 50% are senior citizens, schools should be well-funded as the majority of homes are paying taxes, but not using school services. People are leaving Florida due to weather and property taxes, but this might just bring them back. Bold, effective move on the republican's part."

• "Some property taxes are good to pay for local services, but I don’t think it should be tied to property price which is out of people’s hands. In the UK we pay “council tax” to fund local services, and it’s based on the number of people living in a house (and thus using local services) - not the price if it which can spin wildly out of control at no fault of the person living there."

👎 Disagree (35%) – "Lowering property taxes sounds nice, but will increase other taxes like income or sales tax to recover the costs that government entities need. So, maybe the home will be cheaper, but disposable income will go down as other prices inflate."

• "Property taxes are used to fund public services in my state. Eliminating Property taxes could mean increased sales tax, state income tax, and fees for licensing everything from pets to vehicles to professionals. Since the funds would be removed from local control, public services could be curtailed in rural areas by lawmakers who want those funds for their densely populated urban districts. (I currently see this with infrastructure and other state funded projects)"

"I get the sentiment and in certain circumstances I wish the taxes were better managed. However, I also benefit immensely from the use of those property taxes through police and fire departments, libraries, parks, road maintenance, etc. The cost of living in a well-run and reasonably orderly community is, in fact, partly a monetary cost, and I haven't seen a better mechanism to fund those services than property taxes.

• "Eliminating property taxes would be devastating for most local governments. However, I would be in favor of reducing taxes for owner occupied properties and increasing them for non-owner occupied properties. Property in this country in increasingly concentrated in the hand of big corporations (BlackRock) and an elimination of property taxes would disproportionately benefit these corporations who are responsible for driving up home costs in the first place."

🤷 Unsure/other (21%) – "I'm torn - on one side, anything we can do to make housing more affordable has a positive impact on families and those trying to put down roots but can't afford the associated costs. However, those property taxes in most cases go toward funding schools, emergency services, etc. in the local community. That money has to come from somewhere; if it isn't from property tax, I'm sure they will come up with another creative way to siphon the money out of our paychecks."

• "As a local government employee working with finances, I am very aware of how crucial the tax structure is to providing not only necessary but also frequently requested and desirable services for residents. As a homeowner, any relief in the constant uptick of bills would be welcome. The balance is figuring out where you're willing to lose. Many of the things I enjoy about my City and neighborhood are at least partially funded or maintained by the City, and many are 'free' to me because the City pays for amenities in their entirety. Doing away with or minimizing property taxes would have to balance my savings with the cost of taking over responsibilities for the amenities and services the City would no longer be funded to provide."