Florida TaxWatch, an influential government watchdog organization that has monitored state taxation and spending for 47 years, released a sharp analysis warning against Gov. Ron DeSantis's property tax cut proposal being decided in a special session. The organization called for the issue to be taken up instead by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, a constitutionally mandated group that Florida TaxWatch helped establish.
The analysis examined DeSantis's proposal to increase the state's homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028. While Florida TaxWatch praised the conversation about lowering property taxes and agreed that significant relief is warranted, the report warned that the government cannot solve affordability by simply addressing property tax increases. The organization noted that guardrails are needed to curb local government spending, which it said has far exceeded the growth in population and inflation over the last 10 years.
The TaxWatch analysis drew criticism from former lawmaker Bob Rommel, Florida State Chair of the America First Policy Institute, who questioned on social media where the organization had been for the last seven years while local government spending increased 300 percent above inflation. The analysis itself pointed to Florida TaxWatch's ongoing work on ensuring state and local governments are good stewards of taxpayer dollars, including a report titled Save Our Taxpayers that called for property tax relief to be accomplished equitably.
Billed as an independent and nonpartisan research institute, Florida TaxWatch is often considered a conservative think tank because of its hard-line approach to taxation. The organization regularly produces a list of budget turkeys cautioning against government spending excess and provides information to residents and public officials about local government taxation, expenditures, policies and programs.