‘DeSantis Aims for Final Political Win: Insights from UCF Professor on Property Taxes’

ORLANDO, Fla. – Governor Ron DeSantis has made it abundantly clear: if he had it his way, he would get rid of property taxes.

Of course, as the governor has acknowledged, reducing or eliminating property taxes would need to be approved through a constitutional amendment on a ballot before voters.

That has not stopped DeSantis from hammering home his vision for property tax relief.

“I’m not just doing this to just like go around and crow about property tax,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Jacksonville Wednesday. “I want to see something big enacted. That’s the whole goal.”

At the press conference, DeSantis and Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia railed against what they deemed “wasteful” and “excessive” spending by local governments throughout the state.

Since launching their audits of local jurisdictions through the state Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), DeSantis and Ingoglia have argued that cities and counties could cut spending without affecting core services that are funded by property taxes.

“(DeSantis) would like to have one last really major victory—political victory—before he heads out of office,” said Dr. Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political sciences at UCF.

Dr. Jewett noted that the governor has floated the idea of calling the Legislature into a special session focused on property taxes.

“I think the broad goal of the governor is to try to highlight what he considers wasteful spending so he has a better chance of selling the legislature on a plan to cut property taxes and then more broadly, selling it to the public,” Dr. Jewett noted.

In response to criticism that their attacks are political in nature, DeSantis and Ingoglia have emphasized that they are focused on scrutinizing spending throughout the state—not just counties and cities with Democratic control.

“I know that there are red areas that have spent way too much,” DeSantis said Wednesday. “It’s all about the taxpayer.”

Given the content of the attacks, like DEI and LGBTQ programs, Dr. Jewett said there is a political backdrop to press conferences like the one held Wednesday.

“We have seen Gov. DeSantis and the CFO attack these counties and cities over and over again, using political language,” Dr. Jewett said. “And so, yeah, it’s political.”