Going against the wishes of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a bipartisan group of lawmakers moved on a proposal to reduce Florida's sales taxes by billions of dollars every year.
The Florida House Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved a measure Wednesday that would permanently reduce the state sales tax on many goods and services from 6% to 5.25%.
Other sales taxes for commercial rent, electricity, coin-operated amusement machines and new mobile homes would also be sliced by the same 0.75% rate.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, announced the plan only last week, saying it would “make Florida more affordable by giving the people of Florida their own money back to them.”
Florida doesn’t have a state income tax, and its biggest source of revenue is the sales tax. The considered cut is expected to cost the state around $5 billion annually.
Since some of the sales tax is redistributed, local governments are expected to lose hundreds of millions of dollars as well, according to a legislative analysis.
“I think we will have to tighten our belts in the budget,” said Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Weston Democrat. “For me, I’ll just fight for those areas that I want to help protect. But I think this is a step in the right direction.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has criticized the plan, mentioning how some of the benefits would go to those visiting the state.
“People, for one, are not clamoring for sales tax relief,” he said on Monday. “They're clamoring for property tax relief.”
He’s pitching a one-off property tax rebate for homeowners, which would average about $1,000 and be disbursed by the end of the year.
It would similarly cost the state around $5 billion.
In a memo issued earlier in the week, Senate President Ben Albritton said he was “open-minded” to both proposals, but he urged caution.
“Cutting taxes now does little good if they have to be raised two years from now to address budget shortfalls,” the Wauchula Republican wrote. “There are cumulative impacts to every tax cut. We need to do our due diligence and understand those impacts, combined with the projected budget shortfalls already on the horizon.”
State economists are projecting billions of dollars in potential budget deficits in the years to come.
Albritton added that he believed it “prudent that a final tax cut package of this size be predominantly nonrecurring, while permanent tax cuts are explored during the interim.”
Beyond tax cuts, the Senate, House and governor must also come together on a broader budget.
While their various budget proposals are smaller than what was approved last year, none match, and the House plan is billions of dollars less than what’s been proposed by DeSantis and Senate leadership.
If you have any questions about the legislative session, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
