Rep. Chamberlin Outlines Plan to Eliminate Property Taxes in Florida

Rep. Ryan Chamberlin is taking charge to get rid eliminate something many Floridians hate: property taxes. The Belleview Republican laid out a three-point plan to get rid of the pesky tax during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

“I firmly believe that now is the time to put Florida on the path to eliminating property taxes forever,” Chamberlin said a statement. “Many would argue that this can’t be done–that there’s no way we can do it and still be able to fund our schools, public safety, and roads. But this is just not true. But I am convinced that we must have a starting point. We must have an initial plan that can be debated if we are ever going to get something done.”

Rep. Chamberlin detailed that his plan, named FREEDOM 1-2-3, would incorporate three phases in an effort to replace property taxes in the state. They include one rollback, two transaction fees, and a 3-cent school funding fee on all transactions.

“Florida is already known as the freest state in the country, and we’ve been named as the top state economy in the nation," Chamberlin said. "If we do this, no one will be able to touch us. And we will be the first state in the country to take a dramatic step toward eliminating the most hated tax in America."

Gov. Ron DeSantis has also indicated support for eliminating property taxes during a press conference earlier this month.

Specifics of Chamberlin's plan are detailed below:

1. Rollback: According to Chamberlin, through data from the Florida Department of Revenue, property taxes imposed on Floridians during the 2024-2025 totaled $55.05 billion. That included $21.58 billion in county non-school property tax levies, $21.45 billion in county school property tax, $8.52 billion in municipal property tax, and special district property tax.

Specifically, Chamberlin emphasized that his main goal was removing the state's $43 billion in county non-school and school property tax levies on residents.

He also indicated that there were "alternative" ways to fund special districts, including fees on bottled water for water management districts, as well as other taxes for community development, fire control, park districts, and port and inlet districts throughout the state.

Chamberlin did, however, rule out replacing municipal property tax levies for the time being. Overall, the representative hoped his plan would revert the state legislatively back to the 2022-2023 year, instead of where they are currently.

"The counties were not expecting this kind of increase, yet they’ve managed to spend it all. I am not trying to diminish inflation, but quadruple inflation on property tax is just out of control," Chamberlin said. "We’ve raised our property taxes by an average of 45% just in the last 4 years.”

Chamberlin indicated the change would result in county non-school property tax levies of $17.41 and county school property tax of $17.05, according to his analysis

2. Transaction fees: Chamberlin's second part of his property tax extinction includes a 5% transaction fee for all real estate sales. In doing so, Chamberlin noted the fee would produce $12 billion needed for non-school taxes and collected at closing.

“This one fee will lower the monthly payments for most homeowners by hundreds of dollars per month," Chamberlin detailed.

In addition, Chamberlin's plan includes a 5% public safety transaction, which he says would cover travel and tourism items like ride shares, hotel rooms, hospitality venues, and amusement parks.

The plan would create $3.8 billion in property tax relief, according to Chamberlin. He also floated a 5% charge on sales of alcohol, tobacco, and medical marijuana to recover any shortfalls in the plan.

3) Cent school sales fee: Lastly, Chamberlin indicated the fee would generate $20 billion to entirely replace school property taxes. He included a 2-cent statewide funding fee, in which schools could raise another cent to cover any deficiencies in funding.

“This is not just a traditional increase State Sales Tax since it does not go to general revenue," Chamberlin said. "This is a replacement of what now is on the backs of homeowners. And we get the added benefit of the visitors coming into our state, helping us fund it.”