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Are there current 2020s proposals to end property taxes in any US state?
Executive summary
There is substantial reporting in 2024–2025 documenting multiple legislative proposals, ballot initiatives and governor-backed ideas that would reduce or entirely abolish property taxes in some U.S. states — examples include proposed Michigan ballot measures, Tennessee resolutions, Florida proposals supported by then-Gov. Ron DeSantis, and reform pushes in Texas and Ohio (coverage summarized in Governing, Newsweek, MyNews13, and local outlets) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Policy analysts and organizations such as the Tax Foundation warn abolition proposals would create large revenue shortfalls for local governments and recommend careful replacement plans or limits instead [5] [6].
1. What proposals are currently on the table — a state-by-state snapshot
Reporting shows a mix of approaches: citizen ballot initiatives aiming to abolish property tax outright, legislative constitutional amendment resolutions to ban state property taxes, and executive proposals to study or phase out property levies. Governing reported several states with proposals or anti-property-tax initiatives, including a Michigan ballot push and other state-level legislative efforts [1]. Newsweek and related reporting identify Tennessee’s House-passed resolution to let voters consider a ban on state property tax and proposals in Kansas and Tennessee to change constitutional treatment of property tax [2]. Florida coverage notes that Gov. Ron DeSantis backed a proposal and that Florida Republicans proposed measures and studies analyzing elimination [3]. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has proposed plebiscites and other changes to curb or roll back property tax increases, though framed as reform rather than immediate abolition [4]. Local Ohio reporting shows abolitionist groups remain active even as lawmakers pursue major reforms [7].
2. How advocates frame abolition and why it’s gaining traction
Advocates — commonly conservative, libertarian, and taxpayer-advocacy groups in the reporting — argue property taxes unfairly burden homeowners, particularly retirees and low-income owners, and that rising valuations make bills unaffordable; they view abolition as homeowner relief or a matter of property-rights principle [8] [1]. Ballot measures and popular initiatives figure prominently: Governing and Planetizen reported multiple fall ballot measures that either cut or entirely eliminate property taxes in several states, indicating a grassroots and electoral strategy to advance abolition or deep cuts [9] [10].
3. Fiscal and policy pushback — what analysts and think tanks say
Policy analysts and fiscal groups caution abolition would leave large, hard-to-replace revenue gaps because property tax is the primary funding source for local services and schools. The Tax Foundation’s reporting argues full abolition or hasty swaps “create more problems than they solve,” warning of distorted markets and threats to local budgets; their work urges that repeal proposals must be considered alongside detailed replacement revenue plans [5] [6]. Governing and other outlets likewise report analysts recommending caps or targeted relief as more viable alternatives than outright repeal [1].
4. Political strategies and variations in proposals
Proposals range from immediate repeal to multi-step plans: some lawmakers seek constitutional amendments that would constrain future state-level property taxation (Newsweek on Tennessee and Kansas examples), governors propose plebiscites or referendums on tax increases (Newsweek on Abbott), and others favor studies or phased relief (MyNews13 on Florida’s study commission) [2] [4] [3]. That variation reflects differing political calculations: ballot measures can bypass legislatures, while constitutional amendments require multi-step approvals in many states [2] [9].
5. What’s missing or uncertain in current coverage
Available sources document the existence of multiple proposals but often do not provide full fiscal models or final legislative text for every effort; detailed revenue-replacement mechanisms are frequently absent or deferred in reporting [1] [5] [6]. Several outlets note proponents sometimes postpone specifying replacement revenue until after repeal, a practice that analysts criticize [6]. Specific up-to-date outcomes (e.g., vote results, enacted statutes) for many proposals are not uniformly reported across these sources [9] [7].
6. Bottom line and competing perspectives
There is clear, documented momentum in the 2020s for proposals to end or sharply curtail property taxes in several states, propelled by ballot initiatives and gubernatorial or legislative proposals [1] [9] [2] [3]. Advocates frame abolition as homeowner relief and an issue of fairness [8]; fiscal experts and the Tax Foundation counter that elimination risks destabilizing local finance and must be paired with concrete replacement plans [5] [6]. Readers should treat each state proposal individually: some are advisory or study-based, others are formal constitutional amendment pushes or ballot questions that could directly repeal taxes if passed [2] [3].
If you’d like, I can map these proposals by state with the cited source for each measure, or pull the available fiscal analyses that the Tax Foundation and others have published about replacement scenarios [5] [6].