With real estate prices climbing and household budgets under strain, a once-fringe push to eliminate property taxes is drawing new energy — and the backing of high-profile conservative figures.
Republican firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia recently argued for making it a national priority. Billionaire Elon Musk has likened property taxes to “a de facto lease from the government” that should be abolished. And in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a once and possible future presidential contender, has vowed to move his state in that direction.
“If you own your home, to truly own it, you have to own it free and clear of the government,” DeSantis said Tuesday.
For decades, property taxes have underwritten the basic functions of local government — schools, parks, roads, police and fire departments, trash collection. But as home values have surged, tax bills have ballooned in tandem, fueling what David Schleicher, a Yale professor of local government, described as a “property tax revolt” shaking cities and states alike.
“This is a really big trend that is below the radar because it doesn’t involve President Trump,” Schleicher said. “But it doesn’t need fireworks to announce itself. It’s already changing our relationship with government and how schools work and property markets.”
The frustration is cutting across partisan lines. Last year, voters in nine states approved referendums to cap or curb rising assessments, from tying bills to inflation in Georgia to New Mexico and Colorado expanding tax exemptions for veterans who own homes there. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Texas, Indiana, New Jersey, New York and elsewhere have approved tens of billions of dollars in property tax relief over the past 18 months.
To some, though, such measures fall short. Grassroots campaigns in Michigan and Ohio are now gathering signatures for ballot initiatives that would abolish property taxes altogether. In Texas, Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison has proposed a state constitutional amendment to end them there by 2031.
“Never-ending property taxes are unethical, immoral and incompatible with private property rights,” Harrison said, “and need to be thrown to the ash heap of history.”
The cost of abolishing property taxes
Critics warn that eliminating property taxes would devastate local budgets. The levy accounts for 70% of what cities and counties collect nationwide, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. In Florida alone, property taxes amounted to about $60 billion last year, according to the state Department of Revenue.
Jared Walczak, the vice president of State Projects at the Tax Foundation, said that while angst over property taxes is justified, few communities could overcome their elimination. Rural and residential areas lack the retail base to rely on sales tax, and most local governments are barred from taxing income, he said. That would leave states to collect and distribute money through new levies, stripping power from local officials.
“It’s just not responsible,” Walczak said. “That’s an enormous amount to offset.”
Even DeSantis, who is exploring a 2026 ballot measure to phase out property taxes on homes, has acknowledged Florida may be uniquely positioned because of its robust tourism taxes and revenue collected on second homes.
“We’re the only state that can probably pull this off,” DeSantis said, though he has yet to unveil a detailed plan.
For some advocates of the idea, finding a way to pay for programs and services is a problem for others to solve. Harrison, who downplayed the financial pain, nevertheless made clear: “I’m not looking for a dollar-for-dollar replacement. I want to cut government.”
In Ohio, Brian Massie, who leads a citizens group pushing to abolish property taxes, suggested charging fees for fire departments calls, adding more toll roads and selling annual park and library passes. But he said those concerned about the unknown should be troubled by the status quo’s effect on struggling families and seniors on fixed incomes.
“I’ve spent $100,000 in property taxes for a school I’ve never used,” Massie said. “You can’t continue to suck the lifeblood out of the community.”
