Florida's Sales Tax Could Skyrocket Under New Proposal

A stock image of a card transaction. Exactly how much sales tax would need to rise by will be determined by the outcome of the OPPAGA study.

A new proposal in Florida could see property taxes in the state eliminated—but not without potentially raising sales tax.

The proposal, filed by Republican Representative Ryan Chamberlin, outlines plans to get rid of property taxes, “replacing lost revenue with the establishment of a consumption tax.” Consumption tax is more commonly known as sales tax, which is collected when goods and services are sold.

As part of the bill, a study would need to be conducted to determine exactly how local governments would be able to recoup the funds from other sources.

“This bill is about one thing. It’s about starting down the road toward phasing out and eliminating Florida’s property tax,” Chamberlin said to the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this month.

He confirmed that the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) would be directed to conduct the necessary research. OPPAGA would be required to submit its findings by July 1, 2025. The House Ways and Means Committee voted 15-6 in favor of the bill.

Democrats in Florida disagreed with Chamberlin’s proposal. In discussion with Chamberlin, Representative Joe Casello said the resulting hike in sales taxes could be significant.

“So by eliminating the property tax which all municipalities count on, we could possibly have, would you say, one of the highest sales taxes in the nation to compensate for that loss?” Casello asked the committee.

Chamberlin responded: “I believe this is going to actually lower the overall taxes on most Floridians if we do it properly. But the truth is, there will be another tax to replace this property tax to eliminate us renting our property forever.”

Newsweek contacted Ryan Chamberlin for comment via email.

“This is not about how we take care of cities and municipalities. This is about fundamental fairness to Floridian taxpayers,” Republican Representative Webster Barnaby said, agreeing with Chamberlin. “Do you own your house? That’s the question, and I want to know that every Floridian who has finished paying their mortgage owns their house.”

Chamberlin has previously argued that homeowners in Florida never truly own their home because they continue having to pay taxes on it even after a mortgage is paid off.

“We all simply rent it from the state, and as long as we pay those rents, then we can use the property we hold a deed for,” Chamberlain said, according to the Pensacola News Journal. “This is not a tax; it is slavery.”

According to SmartAsset, a financial advice firm, the state has an effective property tax of 0.80 percent, lower than the national average of 0.99 percent. On a home worth $500,000, the annual property tax rate would be $4,300.

The current rate of sales tax in Florida is 6 percent. Exactly how much this rate may need to rise to cover the windfall is not yet known.

Florida residents don’t pay individual income tax – one of only seven states in the U.S. with such rules.

Do you live in Florida and are you unhappy with property tax rates? Would you be in favor or against a rise in sales tax? Email [email protected]

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