Study on the Elimination of Property Taxes:
SB 852 directs the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research to conduct a study on how Florida could eliminate property taxes under chapters 192 through 196, Florida Statutes, and replace the lost revenue with a combination of budget reductions, sales-based consumption taxes, and locally determined consumption taxes authorized by the Legislature. The bill does not itself repeal property taxes; instead, it creates a research mandate to develop a framework for doing so.
The required study must examine several policy areas, including the effect of eliminating property taxes on public services such as education, infrastructure, and emergency services; possible changes in housing markets, homeownership rates, and property values; whether a consumption-tax shift would improve Florida’s business competitiveness; and broader effects on economic stability, consumer behavior, and long-term growth. The office must deliver a report to legislative leaders by October 1, 2025, and the act would take effect July 1, 2025.
If enacted, SB 852 would not immediately change tax law, but it would require the state’s economic research office to analyze a major restructuring of Florida’s property tax system and potential replacement revenue sources. The bill specifically references property tax provisions in chapters 192 through 196, Florida Statutes, and would inform future legislation affecting homeowners, local governments, public service funding, and the state tax structure.
The bill appears to have been part of a broader policy discussion about property tax elimination, but the available record shows no committee transcript or vote detail for SB 852 itself. Its final status indicates it died in the Senate Community Affairs Committee, while a companion measure advanced in the House, suggesting the concept had some legislative support but did not move forward in the Senate in this form.
The central point of contention is the feasibility and consequences of eliminating property taxes and replacing them with other revenue sources. Likely concerns include whether schools, emergency services, and infrastructure could be adequately funded, whether shifting to sales or consumption taxes would be regressive or volatile, and how such a change would affect housing affordability and local government finances. Supporters of the study likely viewed it as a way to explore tax relief and economic competitiveness, while skeptics likely questioned the fiscal risks and practical implementation of such a sweeping tax overhaul.