Florida’s tax-savings calculator is a slick sales pitch with a hidden price | Opinion

You’ve got to hand it to the state. It’s a clever idea, this “calculator” they’ve come up with to see how much money you, a Florida homeowner, could save if the governor’s proposal to expand property tax exemptions to $250,000 becomes reality.

It’s kind of fun. Plug in your address at saveourhomesfl.com and boom, it tells you how much money you might save.

This is smart and very crafty because it taps into a couple of things: the public’s deep-seated anger about how much everything costs, especially taxes, and the universal appeal of a get-rich-quick scheme.

Don’t fall for it. This is kind of like those “I-buy-ugly-homes” guys who send you a fake check in the mail to hook you. You know that check isn’t the amount you’d actually get in the end — maybe you’ll pay a lot of fees or their estimate will drop — but it still gives you a dopamine rush to look at all those zeros.

At its heart, this calculator is a sales tactic by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. It’s the gamification of our property tax problems. And even if you think you’re a winner, you may be the big loser in the end.

That’s because there’s a lot of fine print the calculator doesn’t take into account. Like DeSantis’ plan to roll back property taxes may ruin city and county budgets, including Miami-Dade’s. Or how the proposal could hand control of local spending to the state. That it may damage public safety. That you could wind up having to pay for a lot of the services you take for granted now, like libraries and parks.

And that DeSantis won’t be around — a new governor will be elected in November — to face the realities of his plan.

The creators of the calculator are no doubt hoping you’ll be blinded by visions of riches and ignore the potentially devastating results of this reckless push to drastically cut Florida’s main source of funding for basic government services. Counties could lose as much as $10 billion under a $250,000 exemption applied to primary homes, according to estimates.

There are a few caveats on the website. One line says, “Estimates are shown for illustration and are not a tax bill.” Another notes that the “Save Our Homes Tax Savings Estimator is provided for informational purposes.” It warns: “Actual tax amounts may vary based on parcel status, exemptions, assessments, local tax rates, and other factors.”

There’s also a big red button beckoning at the top of the page: savings calculator. Which one will most people pay attention to?

Also, the estimated savings for homeowners have decreased since the state created the website. On Monday, lawmakers voted to protect public education from the tax cuts, meaning that homeowners would still have to pay taxes to fund schools. The Legislature has until Wednesday to pass its version of DeSantis’ plan and send it to voters in November. It takes a 60% vote to pass a constitutional amendment, and counties and cities are going to get organized to oppose this.

Did we mention DeSantis also wants state lawmakers to approve a measure that would let his office spend $5.5 million in taxpayer dollars to have property appraisers send mailers to property owners about the amendment? The mailers would point homeowners to the website showing them how much they could save if the amendment is approved in November.

Never mind the law passed just last year prohibiting public money from being used for political advertising or “any other communication sent to electors” about a proposed amendment. It was aimed at DeSantis, who spent millions in state money to fight two other constitutional amendments on marijuana and abortion.

The “calculator” is appealing, no doubt about it. But when you click on that red button, remember: The website talks about what you could get. But it doesn’t talk about what you could lose.