Life, Liberty, and Property Taxes
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By Lauren Keller '27
Tracing back to the earliest of civilizations, various versions of property taxes have served as a way for societies to pay for and maintain even their most basic needs. (1) The origin of property taxes is often cited as 3000 B.C.E., but property then was defined a little more loosely than it is today, encompassing farmland, residences, cattle, and the productivity of fields. (2) Thousands of years later, in the Middle Ages, records of a 10% tithe collected by churches served a similar function to modern property taxes, providing for common welfare and generally supporting the community. (3) During this time, serfs (medieval tenant farmers) might also have paid an early form of property tax, called feudal dues, to their local lords in exchange for the use of land and protection for their families and livestock. (4) The New World, however, offered a chance to change the medieval system of property taxes. In 1634, the Massachusetts Bay Colony used property taxes to fund public infrastructure, such as schools and roads. (5) And while these early forms of taxation helped establish and maintain local societies, especially when federal forms of taxation did not exist or were not enforced, a quiet resentment was growing between colonists who paid the taxes and the British who collected them. (6)
Naturally, taxation changed before and after the American Revolution, when the colonists, exhausted by increasingly expensive taxes on necessities, launched their separation from Great Britain in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence. (7) Now tasked with funding a constitutional republic, the colonists ratified the Constitution in 1788 with a few notable sections on taxation. (8) While many Enlightenment thinkers wrote the texts that would alter democracy for those who came after them for centuries, none were quite as influential on the American system of taxation as John Locke. Locke, in the Second Treatise on Government, wrote, “Laws also ought to be designed for no other end ultimately, but the good of the people… [The government] must not raise taxes on the property of the people, without the consent of the people, given by themselves or their deputies.” (9)
The Constitution, inspired by the ideas of legal philosopher John Locke’s perspective on taxation, holds that a consent-based excise tax system that serves the common good by protecting property is the best course of action and the ideal function of government. (10) Locke’s viewpoint was controversial, coming from societies fueled by income generated by their residents through trade, leading to a tax system in which ruling parties took a percentage of income or output to sustain early medieval and British society. This system, however, had flaws, so when borrowing ideology for the formation of the United States, the founding fathers adopted a similar yet modified version in Article I of the Constitution. (11)
Article I granted the power clarified by the 16th Amendment, allowing Congress the ability to levy a federal income tax, and while all citizens must pay a federal income tax, some states do not require a similar state-level tax. (12) Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 states that while Congress may create and impose taxes to support the country, these taxes must be for the general welfare and be equal throughout the country. (13) In a modern interpretation of this text, the general welfare might include tax revenue being used to improve the standard of living for the general public through the establishment of banks, post offices, militias, roads, tribunals, and similar actions befitting a government to act upon in the best interests of those it serves. Under similar logic, state-level property and income taxes are often used to promote the general welfare on a smaller scale, so altering or lowering these taxes is usually met with concern because of what it means for an annual budget.
Florida is one of a few U.S. states seeking to reconsider its budget by eliminating or significantly reducing property taxes through measures such as HB 201. (14) The bill, which has an effective date of January 1, 2027, would make homeowners who have a homestead exception on their primary residence “exempt homestead property from all ad valorem taxation other than school district levies, prohibit counties and municipalities from reducing total funding for law enforcement.” (15) By reducing the amount of tax revenue the state collects, Florida seeks to pass legislation that benefits the average private citizen by making it easier to own property and by lowering the monthly or annual cost of owning a home. Opponents of HB 201 claim it is highly unlikely that property taxes could be cut without police forces and schools bearing the financial burden of reduced tax revenue. (16) Since HB 201 is primarily a tax cut for homesteads with a homestead exemption, which reportedly accounts for 30% of property tax revenue. (17) This places Florida in a unique financial situation, as 70% of the state’s taxes are paid by visitors or non-homestead residential, non-residential, and corporate or commercial owners. (18)
One proposed solution to offset revenue losses is for state governments to implement a 5% fee on sellers when a house is sold, but this will likely increase home prices. However, it is useful to note that with the ever-increasing number of home construction and people moving to Florida, there is a high likelihood that an increased sales tax would cover expenses, if not be more profitable for the state in the long run. (19) Alternatively, Florida could go against the 68% of voters who would rather maintain the current 6% state sales tax rate and double it. (20) At the 12% sales tax proposed by the Florida Policy Institute, Florida would become the state with the highest sales and local tax rate in the nation, higher than Louisiana’s 10% or Washington’s 9%. (21) Because of the controversy surrounding these suggested changes, it is much more likely that a 10-year tax plan, as proposed in HJR 203, will be passed rather than a bill supporting an immediate change. (22)
At the moment, Florida is at a crossroads. If more than 60% of the electorate votes in favor of HB 201 or its variants, HB 203, 205, and 207, in the next general election, Florida will enter a new era distinct from its colonial past or its British predecessor. While eliminating or reducing property taxes is a good idea for those who favor promoting long-term residency and making it easier for long-term residents to remain in their homes, opponents are concerned about the tax burden on tourists and the resulting decrease in funding for public infrastructure.
The next chapter of this saga, however, will be decided in November, when Florida’s electorate will vote on the future of property taxes and taxation in the state.
Endnotes
Kate McMahon, “Stressed about Taxes? Blame the Ancient Egyptians,” Smithsonian Magazine, April 3, 2024, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/stressed-about-taxes-blame-the-ancient-egyptians-180984059/.
James MacDonald, “Tax Day in Ancient Egypt,” JSTOR Daily, April 15, 2015, https://daily.jstor.org/tax-day-ancient-egypt/.
Ben Dodds, “Managing Tithes in the Late Middle Ages,” The Agricultural History Review 53, no. 2 (2005): 125–40, https://www.jstor.org/stable/40276023.
“The Feudal System,” BBC Bitesize, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zct4r2p#zhkptrd.
Edward Howe and Donald Reeb, “The Historical Evolution of State and Local Tax Systems,” Social Science Quarterly 78, no. 1 (1997): 109–21, https://www.jstor.org/stable/42863678.
“1766 to 1767,” The Library of Congress, 2015, https://www.loc.gov/collections/continental-congress-and-constitutional-convention-from-1774-to-1789/articles-and-essays/timeline/1766-to-1767/.
Ibid.
“Constitution of the United States,” Senate.gov, https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/constitution.htm.
John Locke, “The Second Treatise on Government,” Hanover.edu, 2020, https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/163locke.html.
Martin Hughes, “LOCKE on TAXATION and SUFFRAGE,” History of Political Thought 11, no. 3 (1990): 423–42, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26213812.
History.com Editors, “Articles of Confederation,” History, October 27, 2009, https://www.history.com/articles/articles-of-confederation.
“Sixteenth Amendment,” constitution.congress.gov, accessed February 11, 2026, https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-16/.
“The Constitution of the United States,” National Archives (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, August 14, 2023), https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript.
“House Bill 201 (2026),” Flsenate.gov, 2026, https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/201.
“HJR 201 (2026) - Elimination of Non-School Property Tax for Homesteads,” Flhouse.gov (Florida House of Representatives), accessed February 12, 2026, https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=82727.
Esteban Leonardo Santis, “Bill Summary: HJR 201, 203, 205, 207, 209, 211, and 213,” Floridapolicy.org, February 6, 2026, https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/bill-summary-hjr-201-203-205-207-209-211-and-213.
Jim Zingale, “Property Taxes and Education Funding,” Flhouse.gov, September 22, 2025, https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?PublicationType=Committees&CommitteeId=3355&Session=2026&DocumentType=Meeting+Packets&FileName=spt+9-22-25.pdf.
Ibid.
Cassidy Lee and WCTV Staff, “Florida Proposal Seeks to Repeal and Replace Property Taxes,” https://www.wctv.tv (WCTV, December 17, 2025), https://www.wctv.tv/2025/12/17/florida-proposal-seeks-repeal-replace-property-taxes/.
FPI Staff, “Nearly 7 in 10 Florida Voters Would Choose Property Taxes over a 12% State Sales Tax Rate, Poll Shows,” Floridapolicy.org (Florida Policy Institute, March 21, 2025), https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/nearly-7-in-10-florida-voters-would-choose-property-taxes-over-a-12-state-sales-tax-rate-poll-shows; Florida Department of Revenue, “Sales and Use Tax,” floridarevenue.com, https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/pages/sales_tax.aspx.
Jesse Scheckner, “Study: Eliminating or Slashing Property Taxes Would Deeply Undermine City Services in Florida,” Florida Politics, December 15, 2025, https://floridapolitics.com/archives/769576-study-eliminating-or-slashing-property-taxes-would-deeply-undermine-city-services-in-florida/; Abir Mandal, “State and Local Sales Tax Rates,” Tax Foundation, January 20, 2026, https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/sales-tax-rates/.
“CS/CS/HJR 203 (2026) - Phased out Elimination of Non-School Property for Homesteads,” Flhouse.gov (Florida House of Representatives), accessed February 12, 2026, https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=82728.