STATE REP. RYAN CHAMBERLIN OUTLINES FREEDOM 1-2-3 PLAN TO PHASE OUT PROPERTY TAXES IN FLORIDA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2025
Contact: Katie Connell
Phone: (850) 222-8156
Email: katie@thefrontlineagency.com
Tallahassee, Fla. — On Wednesday, during a virtual press conference, State Representative Ryan Chamberlin rolled out his three-point plan on how to phase out property taxes in the state of Florida.
“I firmly believe that now is the time to put Florida on the path to eliminating property taxes forever,” said Rep. Chamberlin. “Many would argue that this can’t be done–that there’s no way we can do it and still be able to fund our schools, public safety, and roads. But this is just not true. But I am convinced that we must have a starting point. We must have an initial plan that can be debated if we are ever going to get something done.”
Rep. Chamberlin’s plan, entitled FREEDOM 1-2-3, consists of three specific actions to create revenue to replace property taxes in Florida. One rollback, two transaction fees, and a 3-cent school funding fee on all transactions.
1 – ROLLBACK:
According to the Florida Department of Revenue, property tax revenues levied in the 2024-2025 totaled $55.05 Billion and are broken down as follows:
County Non-School Property Tax Levies: $21.58 Billion
County School Property Tax Levies: $21.45 Billion
Municipal Property Tax Levies: $8.52 Billion
Special District Property Tax Levies: $3.51 Billion
MUNICIPAL - For now, Rep. Chamberlin believes we can completely remove the idea of replacing municipal property tax levies. That is a decision for another day after solving the state’s part of the problem.
SPECIAL DISTRICTS - Rep. Chamberlin believes there are alternative ways to fund special districts. For instance, Water Management Districts could easily be funded with a fee on bottled water. Community Development Districts, Fire Control Districts, Park Districts, and Port and Inlet Districts can all be funded with other fees or consumption taxes.
Rep. Chamberlin’s main focus for now is getting the state to a plan for completely replacing the $43 Billion in county non-school and school property tax levies. His plan consists of one rollback and a revenue replacement plan.
The rollback would move the state by legislation to the 2022-2023 property tax levies. The reason behind this Rep. Chamberlin states is simple, “The counties were not expecting this kind of increase, yet they’ve managed to spend it all. I am not trying to diminish inflation, but quadruple inflation on property tax is just out of control. We’ve raised our property taxes by an average of 45% just in the last 4 years.” Rep. Chamberlin doesn’t believe we should roll back to 2020, but 2023 numbers are reasonable and doable. It would result in immediate relief and would move the total for replacement to as follows:
County Non-School Property Tax Levies: $17.41 Billion
County School Property Tax Levies: $17.05 Billion
2 – TRANSACTION FEES:
Rep. Chamberlin is proposing the creation of a 5% transaction fee for all real estate sales. This would generate the first almost $12 Billion needed for non-school taxes. This 5% is a one-time fee in lieu of paying $3-5K per year and can be financed at closing. Rep. Chamberlin noted, “This one fee will lower the monthly payments for most homeowners by hundreds of dollars per month.”
The second proposition is a public safety transaction fee of 5%. This would be a statewide fee applied to travel and tourism items like ride shares, hotel rooms, hospitality venues, and amusement parks.
This 5% safety surcharge could generate another $3.8 Billion in property tax relief and help fund safety for all travelers. Additionally, adding a 5% safety surcharge to sales of alcohol, tobacco, and medical marijuana could be considered as required to make up for any shortfall.
3 – CENT SCHOOL SALES FEE:
This would give the state approximately $20 Billion to completely help replace the school property taxes. The state already collects property taxes and redistributes them according to a per-pupil funding formula. Rep. Chamberlin also said, “This is not just a traditional increase State Sales Tax since it does not go to general revenue. This is a replacement of what now is on the backs of homeowners. And we get the added benefit of the visitors coming into our state helping us fund it.” This could be collected as a 2-cent statewide funding fee, and then every school district could have the option of levying up to 1 more cent to cover any gaps in state funding for schools. That way, some local control is maintained over taxation for schools.
Rep. Chamberlin added, “Florida is already known as the freest state in the country, and we’ve been named as the top state economy in the nation. If we do this, no one will be able to touch us. And we will be the first state in the country to take a dramatic step toward eliminating the most hated tax in America.
“There are going to be a number of voices trying to poke holes in this plan. But that is great. We need substantive debate. And what I have laid out here is a set of core ideas for replacing property taxes, and I am convinced that if we pursue this with vigor, we will get it done.”
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