DeSantis says House Republicans playing ‘political game’ with tax-cut proposals
Gov. Ron DeSantis has spent much of the past year calling for property tax reductions and feuding with Republicans in the Florida House.
Those two efforts came together Wednesday night in a scorched-earth post to X blasting the Legislature’s efforts to offer a constitutional ballot referendum on property taxes.
“Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes,” DeSantis posted Wednesday. “It’s a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people.”
All summer, the Florida House, led by Speaker Daniel Perez of Miami — a core DeSantis antagonist — worked to craft a series of proposals to be voted on by Floridians in 2026. Any measure affecting property taxes would require a change to the Florida Constitution. Such changes need the approval of 60% of voters.
The proposals offered by the Florida House take a variety of approaches to property taxes, from eliminating non-school property taxes to exempting seniors from paying those taxes.
DeSantis’ preferred approach is to exempt all homesteaded properties from the taxes.
However, despite months of talk, the governor has yet to provide a concrete proposal.
The Legislature has — in the form of its eight bills.
“I’ve personally reached out to share with him the House’s proposals and he has, so far, not wanted to engage in a conversation,” Perez wrote in an emailed statement after this story initially published.
“So when the Governor says he wants to ‘abolish’ property taxes. How? We don’t have any details. ... We offered multiple proposals in good faith because it is unclear to us what — if anything — any other party is willing to do.”
The spat over property taxes is just the latest in a series of brawls between DeSantis and Perez’s House. Republicans in that chamber led the investigation into the DeSantis administration’s Hope Florida effort, a probe DeSantis has criticized. A grand jury in Tallahassee has been convened related to the Hope Florida Foundation, which was created by the state to support the Hope Florida program.
Earlier this year, Republicans also sparred over immigration enforcement, with DeSantis arguing Perez’s preferred approach would make Florida a “de facto sanctuary state.”
The upcoming legislative session will be DeSantis’ last as Florida governor. He’s termed out after the 2026 election.
The session is a high-stakes political matter for DeSantis, who will be looking to build political momentum ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run.
If Thursday’s post is any indication, DeSantis has no intention of playing nice with lawmakers.
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 9:42 AM.