What would it cost to eliminate property taxes?

A Senate Republican on Tuesday filed a proposal that would lead to studying the possibility of eliminating property taxes in Florida.

Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed the bill (SB 852) for consideration during the legislative session that will start March 4.

Property taxes have traditionally played a major role in funding Florida schools and local governments.

Martin’s bill would direct the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research to “conduct a study to establish a framework to eliminate property taxes … and to replace property tax revenues through budget reductions, sales-based consumption taxes and locally determined consumption taxes authorized by the Legislature.”

Among other things, the analysis would have to look at the effect of eliminating property taxes on “public services, including education, infrastructure and emergency services” and evaluate whether a shift to “consumption-based taxes would make Florida more attractive to businesses compared to other states.”

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