Florida votes Tuesday on cutting property tax on lived-in homes, a cut that would take $11.8 billion a year from local budgets

The stories

13 stories on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   Florida votes Tuesday on cutting property tax on lived-in homes, a cut that would take $11.8 billion a year from local budgets

   $250,000

   of a lived-in Florida home's value would be free of property tax by 2028

   up from $50,000 now [2]

   $11.8 billion

   a year less tax for Florida's local governments, the legislature estimates

   city budgets could shrink by as much as 23% next year [3]

   60%

   of Florida's voters must say yes for it to pass

   in a July poll support fell from 61% to 45% once voters heard what cities would lose [7]

   145

   statewide questions on US ballots on Tuesday

   in 39 states, with taxes the biggest group [3][4]

   What happened

   • Florida votes on Tuesday on Amendment 3, a cut in property tax on lived-in homes. [1]
   • Property tax is a yearly local tax based on what a home is worth. [2]
   • The tax-free part of a home's value would rise from $50,000 to $250,000 by 2028. [2]
   • It would reach $150,000 first, in 2027. [2]
   • Florida's legislature estimates local governments would lose $11.8 billion a year. [2]
   • It needs 60% of voters to say yes, because it changes Florida's constitution. [2]
   • The average home owner's bill would fall by about $1,000 a year, the Guardian reports. [3]
   • Florida's average home is worth about $378,000. [2]
   • Its owner pays just over $3,000 a year in property tax. [2]
   • Only the home its owner lives in qualifies, through what Florida calls the homestead exemption. [2]
   • People who move to Florida after 2026 would get a smaller break for five years. [2]
   • Rented homes, shops and second homes get no exemption. [2]
   • But the yearly rise in their taxed value would be capped at 5%, down from 10%. [2]
   • A Florida economist says businesses and landlords would almost certainly pay more. [2]
   • City budgets could shrink by as much as 23% next year. [3]
   • Jacksonville alone could lose up to $372 million over five years, the Florida Policy Institute found. [1]
   • Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, pushed the plan. [5]
   • Florida Realtors, the trade group for property agents, has put $19.5 million into the Yes campaign. [1]
   • In a July poll, support fell from 61% to 45% once voters learned the budget hit. [7]
   • Florida is one of six states voting on changes to property tax. [5]
   • Wyoming would make 50% of a lived-in home's value tax-free, however much it is worth. [5]
   • Oklahoma would let a home's taxed value rise 1.75% a year at most, down from 3%. [5]
   • Tennessee has no state property tax, and would ban one in its constitution. [5]
   • North Carolina would order lawmakers to limit property tax rises, without naming a figure. [6]
   • A budget group says that saves about $84 per home a year. [6]
   • It says a 2% limit could cost $950 million in public money. [6]
   • North Carolina's governor, Josh Stein, a Democrat, calls the limits 'con jobs'. [6]
   • North Carolina also votes on cutting its highest allowed income tax rate from 7% to 3.5%. [6]
   • Washington state votes on repealing its 9.9% tax on household income above $1 million. [8]
   • Colorado votes on higher income tax for people earning more than $500,000 a year. [8]
   • Arizona votes on capping local taxes on groceries at 2%. [9]
   • In all, voters in 39 states answer 145 statewide questions on Tuesday. [3]
   • Taxes and state money are the biggest group of them. [4]

   Who is involved

   • Rented homes
   • Shops
   • Second homes
   • Ron DeSantis Florida's governor; he pushed Amendment 3
   • Libraries
   • Buses
   • After-school programs
   • Florida Realtors the trade group for Florida's property agents; it put $19.5 million into the Yes campaign
   • Mike Weinstein Jacksonville's chief administrative officer, a Republican; he says the cut would hit the city's services
   • Josh Stein North Carolina's Democratic governor; he calls the tax-limit amendments 'con jobs'

   How it unfolded

   Florida's local property tax take nearly doubled from $32 billion in 2019 to almost $60 billion. [1]

   11 US states have already reined in property taxes in 2026, one think tank counts. [1]

   Over the long run, about 41% of state ballot questions pass, a researcher says. [3]

   1. 2027 $150,000 tax-free
   2. 2028 $250,000 tax-free
   3. Before 2027 full break
   4. After 2026 smaller break for 5 years
   5. 2019 Florida's local governments collect about $32 billion in property tax [1]
   6. Last year they collect almost $60 billion [1]
   7. July a poll finds support falls from 61% to 45% once voters hear what cities would lose [7]
   8. 3 Nov Florida and five other states vote on property tax [5]
   9. 2027-28 if passed, the tax-free part rises to $150,000, then $250,000 [2]

   Why it matters

   For Florida's home owners, the vote decides a yearly bill averaging just over $3,000. [2]

   Local leaders say libraries, buses and after-school programs could be cut if it passes. [1]

   How it works

   Public finance research finds cutting one group's property tax shifts the tax onto others. [2]

   The truth

   • What is really going on Florida's Amendment 3 would cut the yearly tax on homes their owners live in by about $1,000 on average, and take about $11.8 billion a year from local governments. [3][2]
   • What is really going on Renters, businesses and people who move to Florida later get no exemption, and an economist says businesses and landlords would almost certainly pay more to fill the gap. [2]
   • Why it works on people The Yes campaign sells the cut as relief from rising prices, so the vote feels like a vote on the cost of living rather than on what the city stops paying for. [1]
   • Jacksonville's chief administrator says renters and business owners "won't see any benefit". [1]
   • The amendment sets out no extra state money to fill the gap, an economist notes. [2]
   • Who gains Florida owners who already live in their homes — Their tax-free part of the home's value would rise to $250,000 by 2028, while newcomers wait five years for the full break. [2]
   • Who pays Florida renters, businesses and city services — Rentals and businesses get no exemption, and city budgets could shrink by as much as 23% next year. [2][3]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How Florida's cities would fill the gap if Amendment 3 passes.

     The amendment names no new state money, and cities could raise other fees, cut services or tax rentals and businesses more. [2]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How tightly North Carolina's property tax limit would bind.

     The amendment leaves the figure to lawmakers, and a state scholar says the formula will decide whether it is a guardrail or a hard limit. [6]

   What comes next

   Floridians vote on 3 November, and the result comes after the polls close. [2]

1. 02

   California's billionaire tax looks close

   What happened

   • California votes on Tuesday on Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' wealth. [10]
   • Wealth here means everything a person owns, including shares in their companies. [14]
   • About 200 of California's 21 million tax returns would pay it. [3]
   • Backers say it would raise $100 billion: 90% for healthcare, 10% for schools and food aid. [3]
   • A new Politico poll finds 45% for it, 43% against and 12% undecided. [11]
   • Planned Parenthood and the state's teachers' and doctors' groups oppose it. [11]

   Who is involved

   • Shares
   • Private companies
   • Start-up stakes
   • Planned Parenthood
   • California Teachers Association
   • California Medical Association

   How it unfolded

   In 1978 Californians voted to cap property tax at 1% of a home's value. [10]

   Since then, its top 1% of earners have brought in up to half of state revenue. [10]

   1. 1978 property tax capped at 1%
   2. Now a tax on billionaires' wealth

   Why it matters

   If it passes, Californians' health cover would get most of the money. [3]

   How it works

   Economists Owen Zidar and Eric Zwick say California cannot fund itself from a few hundred people. [10]

   Why voters back taxes that land on someone else

   Public choice economists use the median voter theorem: a yes-or-no vote goes the way the voter in the middle wants, and that voter gains when others pay.

   The twist

   A vote counts people, not dollars. Most voters pay nothing for a tax on 200 billionaires or on fans at a stadium, and they gain directly from a cut in their own home tax.

   The picture

   21 millionCalifornia tax returns

   vsvs

   200Would pay Proposition 40

   Step by step

   1. 1 A ballot question passes when more than half vote yes
   2. 2 So the deciding vote is the voter in the middle
   3. 3 That voter compares what they gain with what they pay
   4. 4 A cut for many, or a tax on a few, wins that voter
   5. 5 So costs drift to people who are few, or who cannot vote there

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • California's billionaire tax looks close

     About 200 of 21 million tax returns would pay it, so almost every voter decides on a tax they will never pay.

   • Inglewood votes on taxing more stadium tickets

     The city's voters decide a tax that every fan at every game pays, whether they live there or not.

   • Japan moves to cut its tax on food

     Every voter buys food, so every major party in February's election promised to cut the food tax.

   Where you've seen this

   Hotel taxes

   cities often tax hotel rooms, a bill paid mostly by visitors who vote somewhere else

   Club fees

   members can vote to raise the joining fee for people who are not members yet

   Council budgets

   a cut that most residents feel can be paid for by a service only a few of them use

   The catch

   People do not vote only with their wallets: the billionaire tax polls close to a tie. And Florida needs 60%, so its deciding voter is not the one in the middle.

   And the whole of it

   On Tuesday a Florida home owner votes on a tax cut that Florida's renters and shop owners may help pay for. Anyone who rents, moves to a new town or buys a ticket in another city is on the paying side of someone else's vote.

   The truth

   • The main group fighting it, Building a Better California, has raised $330 million. [11]
   • Six billionaires who would owe about a quarter of it have left, two economists say. [10]
   • Even if it passes, both sides expect long court fights over whether it is legal. [11]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether California's billionaire tax passes.

     Politico finds 45% for and 43% against, AIMSA finds 50% for and 44% against, and betting markets give it about a one-in-four chance. [11][12]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How much the billionaire tax would really raise.

     Backers say $100 billion; researchers at the Hoover Institution say about $30 billion once billionaires move and court cases are counted. [14]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How much is being spent against the billionaire tax.

     The Information puts the main opposing group at $330 million, while the Guardian counts more than $356 million across several groups; the totals cover different committees. [11][13]

   What comes next

   Rival Propositions 41 and 42 would cancel it if they win more yes votes. [13]

1. 03

   California votes on $36 billion for homes

   What happened

   • California also votes on Tuesday on two ways of borrowing money for housing. [5]
   • Proposition 37 would set up a $25 billion fund of home loans for middle-income buyers. [15]
   • Buyers would put down at least 3% on a new home costing under $1.5 million. [15]
   • The state would raise the money by selling bonds, which are loans from investors. [15]
   • Proposition 1 would let California borrow $11.25 billion for affordable and rental homes. [5]
   • An AIMSA poll of 2,000 likely voters found 59% back Proposition 37. [12]
   • The same poll found 54% back Proposition 1. [12]

   Who is involved

   The California Association of Realtors is Proposition 37's biggest funder. [15]

   • California Association of Realtors biggest funder

   Why it matters

   Rhode Island votes on a $120 million housing bond that would cost $192.5 million with interest. [5]

   How it works

   Borrowed money is repaid with interest, so a bond costs more than its face value. [5]

   The truth

   • The Hoover Institution warns of pressure for a state bail-out if buyers do not repay. [15]
2. 04

   North Dakota votes on free school meals

   What happened

   • North Dakota votes on Tuesday on free breakfast and lunch for every public school pupil. [9]
   • The change would go into the state's constitution, its highest law. [9]
   • The state would pay for the extra meals, on top of federal money. [9]
   • Only 8 US states give every pupil free school meals now. [9]

   Who is involved

   Together for School Meals, a citizen-led anti-hunger group, put it on the ballot. [9]

   • Together for School Meals citizen-led anti-hunger group

   How it unfolded

   Today, whether a child eats free depends on the household's income. [9]

   Why it matters

   MultiState, an elections tracker, says no strongly Republican state has done this by vote. [9]

   Families above the income line would stop paying for school meals. [9]

3. 05

   Baltimore votes on a $1,000 baby fund

   What happened

   • Baltimore votes on Tuesday on setting up a fund for families with newborn babies. [9]
   • The city would pay in 3 cents for every $100 of property value it taxes. [9]
   • Backers plan $1,000 for the parents of each newborn, about 7,100 babies a year. [9]

   Who is involved

   Baltimore's mayor, Brandon Scott, supports it. [9]

   • Brandon Scott Baltimore's mayor

   How it unfolded

   The US government already puts $1,000 into Trump Accounts for babies born from 2025. [9]

   Why it matters

   That would cost the city about $15 million a year. [9]

   The truth

   • The ballot wording only says the money will help families with newborns, to avoid court challenges. [9]
4. 06

   Inglewood votes on taxing more stadium tickets

   What happened

   • Inglewood, the Los Angeles suburb with SoFi Stadium, votes on raising its ticket tax. [9]
   • Fans pay a 10% ticket tax, but the city stops once it collects a set sum. [9]
   • The measure would lift the cap, bringing in tens of millions of dollars more. [9]
   • It would also add a 2.5% ticket tax at the nearby Intuit Dome, the Clippers' arena. [9]

   How it unfolded

   That cap was set at $15 million in 2015, and it rises with prices. [9]

   Why it matters

   SoFi Stadium hosts the Super Bowl in February. [9]

   How it works

   The city's voters decide a tax that every fan at every game pays, whether they live there or not.

   The idea, in story 02: Why voters back taxes that land on someone else →

   The truth

   • Inglewood's voters decide a tax that every fan at every game and concert pays. [9]
5. 07

   US fuel heads for its dearest election day

   What happened

   • US petrol averaged $4.20 a gallon on Friday, nearly 40% more than a year ago. [16]
   • Diesel, used by lorries and farms, rose about 70% in a year to $6.32 a gallon. [16]
   • GasBuddy, which tracks fuel prices, says Tuesday will be the dearest election day ever for fuel. [16]
   • In 2022's elections, petrol was $3.80 a gallon. [16]
   • Since 1 March, Americans have spent about $145 billion more on fuel than a year before. [17]

   Who is involved

   Trump let lorries use tax-free off-road diesel and offered farmers $8 billion. [16]

   • Donald Trump US president

   How it unfolded

   Prices jumped after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February. [16]

   Iran then hit tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil ships. [16]

   1. 28 Feb US and Israel attack Iran
   2. Then Iran strikes tankers

   Why it matters

   ExxonMobil's chief says diesel is the key pressure point because the economy runs on it. [16]

   How it works

   Firms pass fuel costs on: airlines have raised fares to cover dearer jet fuel. [16]

   The truth

   • US energy companies' earnings have more than doubled from a year ago. [17]
   • Lower-income families often own no shares, a KPMG economist says. [17]
   • So they feel higher fuel prices without the stock market gains, the economist says. [17]
   • Who gains US oil and gas companies — Their earnings have more than doubled from a year ago as fuel prices climbed. [17]
   • Who pays US drivers and farmers — Americans have spent about $145 billion more on fuel since 1 March, and diesel is up about 70% in a year. [17][16]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether US fuel prices fall after Tuesday's vote.

     GasBuddy says new fighting with Iran after the vote could push prices up again before Thanksgiving. [16]

   What comes next

   GasBuddy warns that new fighting after the vote could lift prices before Thanksgiving. [16]

6. 08

   US workers' share of income hits a record low

   What happened

   • US workers got 52.8% of the country's income in the spring, the lowest since 1947. [18]
   • The figure counts wages and salaries as a share of everything the economy produces. [18]
   • It was 53.6% the quarter before, and has averaged about 55.6% this decade. [18]
   • Fortune 500 companies made a record $2.1 trillion in profit in 2025. [18]
   • The US added just 29,000 jobs in September. [18]

   Who is involved

   The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US government's jobs counter, publishes it. [18]

   Labour economist Raymond Robertson links the fall to machines and software replacing workers. [18]

   • Raymond Robertson labour economist, Texas A&M

   Why it matters

   When workers' share falls, more of each dollar of output goes to company owners. [18]

   How it works

   Economists call this the labour share: the slice of national income paid as wages. [18]

   The truth

   • Morgan Stanley economists say it is still an open question whether AI is the cause. [18]
   • Who gains Big US companies' owners — Fortune 500 profits hit a record $2.1 trillion in 2025 while workers' share of income fell to a record low. [18]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether AI is behind the fall in US workers' share of income.

     One economist points to automation, while Morgan Stanley economists say the cause is still an open question. [18]

7. 09

   Fewer small 401(k) pots are cashed out

   What happened

   • Vanguard, a big US fund firm, studied what happens to small 401(k) pots. [19]
   • With automatic transfers, cash-outs of pots under $1,000 fell from about 50% to 9%. [19]
   • The system moves a leaver's pot into a holding account until their new plan joins. [19]
   • But only 6% of the moved pots have reached a new employer's plan. [19]
   • 1.22 million people are waiting to be matched with a new plan. [19]
   • The median pot moved was $200, and the typical saver earned about $20,000 a year. [19]
   • A second Vanguard study looked at new retirees aged 60 to 72. [20]
   • 80% of them left their 401(k) untouched for a year after retiring. [20]

   Who is involved

   A 401(k) is a US workplace retirement savings account. [19]

   Why it matters

   Cashing out before 59 and a half can mean income tax and a 10% penalty. [19]

   How it works

   Faced with too many choices, many retirees simply do nothing, Vanguard's report finds. [20]

   The truth

   • Fees on the holding accounts can slowly eat small pots while they wait, Vanguard says. [19]
   • Who pays Small 401(k) savers waiting for a match — Fees on their holding accounts can slowly eat small balances, Vanguard says. [19]
   • Nobody knows yet

     When the 1.22 million waiting 401(k) pots reach their owners' new plans.

     A pot moves only when the new employer joins the transfer network, and few have. [19]

   Good news

   • About 53,118 automatic transfers have moved $71.3 million into workers' new plans. [19]
   • Where employers moved small 401(k) pots automatically when a worker left, the share cashed out fell from about half to 9%, Vanguard found.
8. 10

   SpaceX's president gives shares to poorer children

   What happened

   • Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president, will give over 2 million SpaceX shares to children. [21]
   • The shares go into Trump Accounts, US government savings accounts for children under 18. [21]
   • The first gift is for 11 to 17-year-olds where median family income is $57,000 or less. [21]
   • Eligible families get a notice by Monday, 2 November. [21]

   Who is involved

   SpaceX is Elon Musk's rocket company. [21]

   A second gift covers children in military families abroad and in foster care, among others. [21]

   • Military families abroad
   • Children in foster care

   How it unfolded

   Elon Musk said this month he would give one share to every child in America. [21]

   Michael and Susan Dell gave $6.25 billion to Trump Accounts last December. [21]

   1. By 2 November families get a notice
   2. December shares reach accounts

   Why it matters

   The gifts are meant for low-income communities, the Shotwells say. [21]

   The truth

   • The donor chooses who gets shares: the second gift favours counties near the Shotwells' Texas home. [21]
   • Who gains Children in poorer US zip codes — They get SpaceX shares in their Trump Accounts in December, from Gwynne Shotwell's gift. [21]

   Good news

   • Children in poorer zip codes will own shares in SpaceX by Christmas. [21]
   • Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president, is giving more than 2 million SpaceX shares to children aged 11 to 17 in US zip codes where median family income is $57,000 or less, to arrive in December.

   What comes next

   Shotwell says the shares will reach children's accounts in December. [21]

9. 11

   Japan moves to cut its tax on food

   What happened

   • Japan's lower house began debating a bill on 20 October to cut the tax on food. [22]
   • Japan's consumption tax, a sales tax, on food would fall from 8% to 1%. [22]
   • The cut would last two years from April 2027, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said. [23]
   • The cut would cost Japan's government an estimated 4.4 trillion yen in tax. [23]

   Who is involved

   The IMF, which checks countries' finances, told Japan in February not to cut the tax. [25]

   • Sanae Takaichi Japan's prime minister
   • IMF International Monetary Fund

   How it unfolded

   It would be the first cut to the tax since it began in 1989. [23]

   Every major party in February's election promised to cut or scrap the food tax. [24]

   Japan's government chose 1%, not 0%, because shop tills cannot easily charge zero. [24]

   1. 1989 consumption tax begins
   2. April 2027 food tax cut to 1%

   Why it matters

   Prices in Japan rose 2.1% in the year to September, the most this year. [22]

   Japan's government debt is about 204% of its economy, the IMF projects. [23]

   How it works

   The IMF calls it untargeted: it reaches every buyer, not only those in need. [23]

   Every voter buys food, so every major party in February's election promised to cut the food tax.

   The idea, in story 02: Why voters back taxes that land on someone else →

   The truth

   • Takaichi says she will not borrow to pay for it, but has given few details. [23]
   • Who pays Japan's public finances — The food tax cut would cost an estimated 4.4 trillion yen, in a country whose debt is about 204% of its economy. [23]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How Japan will pay for its food tax cut.

     Takaichi says she will not borrow for it, but Japan's government has given few details of what it will cut instead. [23]

10. 12

    Pakistan's cooking gas rises again

    What happened

    • Pakistan's regulator raised the official price of cooking gas again for November. [26]
    • An 11.8kg household cylinder now officially costs 3,470 rupees, up 173 rupees. [26]
    • In the open market, LPG sells for up to 630 rupees a kilo, against 294 officially. [26]

    Who is involved

    LPG, liquefied petroleum gas, is sold to homes in cylinders for cooking. [26]

    How it unfolded

    Distributors say about 70% of Pakistan's LPG came from Iran, whose border is closed. [26]

    Why it matters

    Many in the trade warn the crisis will deepen because of the gas shortage. [26]

    How it works

    The official price follows Saudi Aramco's export price and the dollar. [26]

    The truth

    • Families who buy on the open market pay up to about twice the official rate. [26]
    • Who gains Open-market LPG sellers in Pakistan — They sell cooking gas at up to 630 rupees a kilo, against an official 294, while supply from Iran is cut off. [26]
    • Who pays Pakistani families cooking with bottled gas — The official price rose 173 rupees a cylinder for November, and the open market charges about twice the official rate. [26]

    What comes next

    LPG sellers threaten to strike from 16 November over a new government policy. [26]

11. 13

    Volunteers pack Diwali food hampers

    What happened

    • About 300 volunteers packed Diwali food hampers in Birmingham, England, on Saturday. [27]
    • The Diwali Foundation, a charity, says more than 12% of UK households face food poverty. [27]
    • It has given out about 23,470 hampers so far. [27]
    • It aims to give out 6,000 hampers this year. [27]

    Who is involved

    Diwali is a religious festival that celebrates light over darkness, the organiser says. [27]

    Parcels went to tenants of Walsall Housing Group, a housing provider. [27]

    Why it matters

    The housing group says "It's really tough out there" for its tenants. [27]

    Good news

    • An 80-year-old resident called his parcel unbelievable. [27]
    • About 300 volunteers in Birmingham packed Diwali food hampers on Saturday for tenants of a local housing group, and the charity behind them has now given out about 23,470.