The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature has approved a $146 million tax relief package that gives residents a deal on hunting, fishing and camping gear, “certain” tennis tournaments, and storm windows as well as the usual back-to-school and recreational equipment breaks.
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But it’s a no-frills package that is much less than the original $250 million plan originally proposed by the state House and dramatically less than the $1.3 billion in tax breaks in last year’s spending plan.
It also doesn’t lift the state sales tax on fuel, something Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed heavily several years ago but has been reluctant to push this time around now that Democrats are calling for it.
Both the House and state Senate were challenged in their attempts to create an austere budget that anticipates future revenue shortfalls and ensures budget flexibility for future legislative leaders.
Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Trinity, who led the budget negotiations for the Senate, said in a news release Tuesday that “by spending less than we have, we are continuing to right-size our budget for the long-term, maintaining a healthy savings account, and preserving the permanent, meaningful, broad-based tax relief that families and businesses plan for and count on.”
The tax relief package is part of the proposed $114.5 billion spending plan for the 2026-27 budget cycle that begins July 1. The Legislature was forced to go into overtime to negotiate the budget late Sunday, two months after the regular session ended. It is the second year in a row that the Legislature did not fulfill its constitutionally required duty to produce a balanced budget during the regular 60-day session, which ended March 13.
The Legislature is scheduled to vote on the bill Friday and send it to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his review.
The tax package would lift sales taxes on any Association of Tennis Professionals’ ATP Masters 1000 tournaments and Women’s Tennis Association WTA 1000 tournaments through 2029 – adding to a long list of sporting events already exempt from sales tax. The exemption would cost the state $25.8 million in sales tax collections, House budget analysts estimated.
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In addition, it provides a broad exemption on hunting, fishing and camping gear from Sept.1 to Dec. 31 which would result in a loss of $32.2 million in tax revenue. Exempt items include ammo, firearms, bows, arrows, wrist guards, muzzles, silencers, rods and reels of $75 or less, tackle boxes of $30 or less, tents of $200 or less, sleeping bags, hammocks, camping stoves, camp chairs of $50 or less, and lanterns and flashlights $30 or less.
It cuts the tax paid by cardroom operators from 8% to 5% of the venue’s monthly gross receipts, a savings for them of $3.4 million annually.
It also contains a three-year tax exemption on impact-resistant windows that are designed to withstand hurricane-force winds, at a savings of $45 million to taxpayers.
The now-routine tax holiday on school supplies, extended to a full month last year, will run this year from July 20 to August 20.
DeSantis, who during the Biden administration in 2021 said that “we here in Florida need to step up and provide relief to our citizens” by creating a gas tax holiday, said Friday amid this year’s rising gas prices that he would have “happily” signed any gas tax holiday. But he said he is now not sure how effective it would actually be, because the savings would likely revert to the fuel companies.
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, criticized DeSantis in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.
“Despite our repeated calls for the majority to do so, the tax package doesn’t suspend the gas tax, which would provide Floridians with much needed relief at the pumps,” Driskell said.
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