State Sen. Randolph Bracy, who is running for U.S. Congress, is promoting a “special tax” discouraging the “buying, selling, and renting of properties.” The proposal to the Orange County Commission is designed to protect local tenants from what some might describe as capitalist carpetbaggers buying up real estate in Orange County. Real estate investors – particularly out-of-state private equity firms – have made life difficult for working-class tenants. So Sen. Bracy’s sentiment is understandable. But special taxes don’t solve economic issues, they exacerbate them. Mayor Jerry Demings has suggested stipends, for example. And greater supply would definitely lower rents. Taxes simply won’t.
Originally posted for the Orlando Sentinel’s Central Florida 100.
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