Ron DeSantis caught Democrats in one trap about property taxes that exposed their real agenda

Property taxes have been crushing Florida families for years.

Homeowners watched their bills skyrocket even when they never moved or improved their homes.

And Ron DeSantis just caught Democrats in one trap about property taxes that exposed their real agenda.

Florida families getting hammered by the property tax scam

Governor Ron DeSantis has been sounding the alarm about a massive scam that’s been bleeding Florida families dry for years.

Property assessments keep climbing higher and higher, forcing homeowners to pay more taxes on “unrealized gains” they never actually received.

“What happens is your property gets assessed higher and higher. It’s an unrealized gain. You haven’t sold it for that much; they’re just telling you it’s worth that much,” DeSantis explained during an August 12 event in Tampa.¹

Here’s the real kicker that has homeowners seeing red.

When the housing market inevitably corrects and home values drop, do the tax assessors rush in to lower those assessments and give families relief?

Not a chance.

“And guess what happens when the market corrects – which it inevitably does? Do they rush in to assess your property at a lower level? Not that I’m aware of. So it’s a one way ratchet, and you basically get stuck paying higher taxes,” DeSantis stated.¹

https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1955595702375178359

It’s a rigged game where the government wins and families lose every single time.

Even when local governments keep their tax rates exactly the same, homeowners still get slammed with bigger bills because their property values went up on paper.

The governor has been so fed up with this highway robbery that he’s deployed his Department of Government Efficiency to review spending by cities and counties across Florida.

They’re hunting for waste, fraud, and abuse that’s causing these local governments to bloat their budgets on the backs of hardworking families.

DeSantis exposes the Democrat double standard

But here’s where it gets really interesting – and where DeSantis just caught Democrats in their own trap.

The same leftist politicians who are now criticizing DeSantis for wanting to cut property taxes have been perfectly fine watching him sign state budgets that benefit from increased property tax revenue.

When DeSantis first took office, the state budget included $7.9 billion from property taxes earmarked for K-12 schools through something called the “required local effort.”

The current budget? A whopping $10.9 billion – that’s $3 billion more coming straight out of homeowners’ pockets.²

Now the Democrat machine is scrambling because DeSantis wants to put a major property tax cut on the November 2026 ballot.

Senator Shevrin Jones, a Miami Democrat, got caught red-handed trying to have it both ways.

“The state cannot say ‘rules for thee and not for me,’” Jones complained.² “You’re telling the cities and counties to be responsible with Floridians’ money and we’re not doing that.”

Wait just a minute there, Senator.

Where was all this concern about “responsibility with Floridians’ money” when Democrats were perfectly happy watching property tax collections climb year after year?

Jones and his fellow Democrats never said a peep when families were getting crushed by rising assessments.

But the moment DeSantis proposes actually giving that money back to the people who earned it, suddenly Democrats are worried about “gutting” budgets.

Democrats panic over losing their cash cow

The real panic from Democrats isn’t about services – it’s about losing their favorite piggy bank.

Jones warned that even limiting tax cuts to homestead properties “It will still gut school budgets” and “It will still slash public safety funding.”²

But here’s what he’s not telling you.

Most of this revenue growth has been coming from new construction and development, not from jacking up taxes on existing homeowners.

Winter Haven City Manager Michael Stavres admitted that most of their property tax revenue growth “comes from new development rather than higher bills for existing residents.”³

So if new development is generating revenue, why are existing families getting hammered with higher bills on homes they’ve owned for years?

That’s the question Democrats don’t want to answer.

DeSantis proposed a brilliant solution back in March that would have provided an average of $1,000 rebates to homestead owners while using state money to backfill school funding.

The plan went nowhere because the political establishment – both Republicans and Democrats – didn’t want to give up their easy money.

But DeSantis isn’t backing down.

The governor has a plan to protect rural communities

Senate President Ben Albritton revealed that DeSantis “completely gets” the concern about protecting rural counties that depend heavily on property tax revenue.

The governor told Albritton they should “backfill” the 31 fiscally constrained counties in the state.

“We ought to be able to do this. There are 31 fiscally constrained counties. Let’s just backfill there. We have the resources, we have the money. So let’s just backfill those. Let’s make sure that rural Florida doesn’t come under some unusual strain, when they already exist that way every single day,” DeSantis said.⁴

This isn’t some reckless plan to destroy local government.

It’s a targeted approach to give families relief while protecting the communities that need help the most.

Albritton, who represents a largely rural district, expressed confidence in finding the right balance.

“I think there’s a way to give tax relief on property taxes and, at the same time, be able to conserve and protect our core function of local government. I believe there is. That’s the discussion we’re going to be having,” he explained.⁴

Florida leads the nation in property tax reform

What DeSantis is proposing isn’t radical – it’s common sense that other states are already implementing.

Florida joins Illinois, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee in considering major property tax reforms.

Some states like North Dakota are looking at eliminating property taxes entirely using oil revenue.

Idaho already passed $100 million in property tax relief for families.

Montana shifted the tax burden from homeowners to wealthy out-of-state vacation home owners.⁵

The movement is spreading because families across America have reached their breaking point.

Property taxes nationwide have jumped almost 30 percent over the past five years, according to Redfin, pushing the median monthly payment to $250.⁵

In places like Boston, homeowners are facing a $1 billion tax burden shift as commercial real estate values collapse.

Florida has the chance to lead the nation by putting families first instead of protecting government revenue streams.

The real fight is just beginning

DeSantis has made it clear he’s willing to go big on this issue.

The governor is now pushing for a large property tax cut to be placed on the November 2026 ballot, raising serious concerns among Democrats about losing their favorite revenue stream.

The details will be hammered out during the legislative session that starts in January.

But one thing is crystal clear: Democrats have been caught in their own trap.

They can’t criticize DeSantis for signing budgets that rely on property tax revenue while simultaneously opposing efforts to give that money back to families.

The choice for Florida voters in 2026 will be simple.

Do they want to keep the current system that forces families to pay higher taxes on unrealized gains they never received?

Or do they want to join the growing movement of states that are putting taxpayers first?

DeSantis has shown he’s willing to fight for families against the entire political establishment.

The question is whether Florida voters will back him up when it matters most.

¹ Gray Rohrer, “Florida property tax debate heats up as DeSantis eyes big cuts,” USA TODAY Network – Florida, August 18, 2025.

² Ibid.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Mathew Abraham, “DeSantis’ Property Tax Cuts Threaten Rural Towns in Florida, Warns Senate President,” NPR, August 15, 2025.

⁵ Opinion, “Property Tax Repeals Are Planned in Eight States—Does It Change the Math For These Markets?” August 13, 2025.