There are numerous legislative bills pending that propose to eliminate or greatly curtail the use of ad valorem (property) taxes to fund local government services in Florida. These proposals have quickly garnered interest and, on face value, would receive a broad endorsement from the tax-paying population. Certain legislative proposals endorse voter referenda to implement these measures.
However, there are many underlying issues that must be understood to make a fully informed decision on this topic. These include:
- The relative distribution of tax revenue among the various governmental units
- The various ad valorem taxes and how they were implemented
- Understanding how local government services are funded and their relative reliance on property taxes
- The reliability of ad valorem taxes and the impact on local government cash flow if taxes are curtailed or eliminated
- General obligation debt funded with property taxes
- The need to identify a substitute revenue source to fund local government services if property taxes were “eliminated”