Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wants to save Floridians about $1,000 on their property tax bills over the next year, escalating a dispute with the House speaker over how to cut taxes this year. During a Monday news conference, DeSantis said he wanted the state to pick up the tab for a portion of property taxes for about 5 million homesteaded properties. The maneuver would save those homeowners about $1,000 on their property tax bills, he said. The proposal — which DeSantis did not include in his proposed budget for...

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposes a $1,000 tax break for homestead property owners instead of the $5 billion sales tax cut proposed by House Speaker Daniel Perez. • DeSantis argues that property tax relief directly benefits Florida residents, while sales tax cuts also benefit tourists. • DeSantis aims to eliminate the state's portion of property taxes used for public schools, known as the required local effort (RLE), and use state reserves to cover the cost for one year. Instead of a $5 billion cut in sales taxes as proposed...

Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to leverage property tax as a political issue, arguing that the funding mechanism reduces Floridians to being “wards of the local government.” But he doesn’t feel the same about a House proposal to cut sales taxes by 3/4 of a penny to 5.25%. During a press conference, the Governor again argued that property taxes have emboldened local governments at the expense of homeowners who may relocate for jobs. “We have a relatively mobile workforce. I mean, if you’re somebody that has a job in Tampa and...