Florida voters pass amendment to curtail local property taxes

By: Robert Slavin

Excerpt from the article:

(November 4, 2026) The ballot measure promised that the state legislature would create a procedure for local governments to ultimately eliminate property taxes on homestead properties. However, the bill itself does not contain the language, according to the Tampa Bay Times, lending some ambiguity to the measure's implementation. 

The passage of the measure would likely "constrain taxable property values and reduce revenue available for city and county operations, potentially affecting ratings on local government over the medium term," S&P said in late September. 

"How much the state kicks back to the cities and towns for the drop in the property taxes still remains to be seen," said John Mousseau, executive vice president and chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors. For many local governments, "it'll be like swimming in the dark."

"It's easy to make the leap that less funds to address these services may result in potentially some bond downgrades by the rating agencies," Mousseau said.

"The voters have spoken on Amendment 3," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor wrote on Facebook. "While I remain concerned about the impact it could have on essential city services, our responsibility now is to move forward, protect taxpayers, and continue delivering the public safety and quality-of-life services Tampa residents expect and deserve."

S&P said in a survey of 90 rated local government bond issuers, the issuers reported an average 14% loss of revenues by the end of 2028. However, the impact varied dramatically with a municipal government with a market value per capita of $185,000 losing 48% of its revenue and a municipality with a market value per capita of $1 million losing 2.3% of its revenue. 

Click here to read the full article on the Bond Buyer website. 

John R. Mousseau, CFA
Chief Investment Officer
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