By Cliff Maloney

Governor Ron DeSantis is doing what most politicians only talk about: dismantling the tax-and-steal state, one layer at a time.

His recent push to abolish property taxes in Florida is more than smart policy—it’s a declaration of economic freedom. It sends a clear message to businesses, families, and freedom-minded Americans across the country: Florida is open for liberty.

Florida already thrives without a state income tax, and now DeSantis is going for the jugular—ending the most immoral form of taxation still standing in America: the property tax.

While Florida does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax, it does have a 0.71 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value, which is reassessed each year on January 1st. According to data tracked by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, home values in Florida have steadily increased, going back as far as this statistic has been tracked—1975, with just one notable exception. That exception was during and immediately following the national housing collapse that began in 2007. Values started to increase again just four years later when the market recovered in 2012.

This means that for 45 of the past 50 years, homeowners’ taxes on homes they’ve already purchased have continually increased.

Think about it. You never truly own your home. Miss a few payments to the government, and they’ll seize your property. That’s not freedom—that’s rent to the state. Property taxes are nothing more than a relic of feudalism, a tool used to keep working-class Americans tethered to an ever-growing government.

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It’s true that property taxes in Florida still rank below the national average, which currently stands at 0.90%, and as a result, the median annual property tax bills in the Sunshine State follow suit, as its $2,386 mark is about $600 cheaper than the U.S. median. But simply being “cheaper” isn’t necessarily good because these costs still negatively impact Florida residents. Especially in today’s economy, where citizens are already stretched thin, financially speaking, by higher overall costs than we faced in previous years, which are caused largely by the Biden administration’s failed fiscal policies.

You can retire. You can pay off your mortgage. But if you stop paying property taxes, the government comes for your land. That’s not just theft—it’s tyranny.

From a pro-liberty perspective, property taxes violate the very foundation of individual liberty and private property rights. If true ownership is the cornerstone of a free society, then no government has the moral authority to charge citizens for the right to live on land they’ve already purchased.

These taxes create a cycle of dependence, forcing families to make economic decisions based not on freedom, but on appeasing their local tax assessors. They empower bureaucrats to control how land is used, developed, or even retained within families from one generation to the next.

This isn’t just politicians or intellectual-types spewing philosophy and red meat to the base; this is an issue that smart, liberty-focused Republicans throughout the country are pushing through and gaining traction with. 

Don Huffines, who ran his Texas gubernatorial campaign and spearheaded the conversation surrounding abolishing the property tax, is now leading in the polls in his comptroller race. 

If Texas and Florida lead the way on this, other red states will absolutely follow in their footsteps, I guarantee it.

Abolishing property taxes shifts that balance of power back where it belongs—to the individual. It forces governments to be leaner, more accountable, and more respectful of personal property. 

It restores the idea that what you earn and build is yours, not subject to forfeiture because of bloated spending agendas.

It also puts hard-earned money back into the hands of Florida residents, where it rightly belongs, which means that it goes back into the economy in the form of spending, savings, or investments. This spurs further growth and prosperity in the free market instead of being wasted in a bloated and inefficient bureaucracy. 

With a median household income in Florida of $71,711, eliminating that $2,386 tax bill represents an instant 3% cost savings every year going forward with no effort on the part of homeowners. Even if that money was just put into a boring and stable index fund, it would produce $136,085.40 in additional wealth over the course of twenty years thanks to the power of compounding.

This bold reform doesn’t just abolish and kill an unnecessary tax; it completely puts into question the role of government in people’s minds. All it takes is political courage.

DeSantis has already shown he’s not afraid to take on the woke mob or the federal swamp. Now he has a chance to lead the next great fiscal revolution: ending the government's ability to tax you for simply owning what you worked your whole life to build.

Cliff Maloney is the CEO of Citizens Alliance and the founder of the PA Chase. He can be found @Maloney on X. 

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