The Florida House and Gov. Ron DeSantis have been fighting over how to bring tax relief to state residents. But the Senate president just announced a plan hoping to strike a compromise.
DeSantis wants the Legislature to explore putting an initiative on the ballot in 2026 to eliminate property taxes. House Speaker Daniel Perez wants to reduce the state’s sales tax rate by 0.75%
Wednesday night, Senate President Ben Albritton announced his chamber will release a compromise package that includes adding clothes and shoes under $75 to the list of products exempted from sales tax, while continuing various sales tax holidays and commissioning a study to determine the effects of eliminating property taxes.
“This level of both permanent and one-time sales tax relief is sustainable for the long term and leaves room in our balanced budget for the voters to consider meaningful property tax relief on the ballot at an upcoming general election, as our state continues to save for the future, pay off debt, cut spending and improve efficiency,” he wrote in his memo.
University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewitt said Albritton’s proposal seems like a reasonable path forward during a time of economic uncertainty.
“I think rather than take what he would consider to be a somewhat rash move in terms of either cutting the sales tax permanently by three-fourths of a cent or cutting property taxes completely or at least somewhat dramatically, his thought is, 'Look, the economy is uncertain, and we have not really studied either of these issues in depth. So, why don't we do that?' ” Jewitt said. “Let's come up with a compromise position that gives Floridians some tax relief right now, but then study these issues for more permanent tax relief, and then we can take them up the next session.”
DeSantis is already signaling he could be on board.
“I think I agree with the president of the Senate, Albritton. If you're going to do sales tax, target it to things that are going to benefit Floridians,” DeSantis said during a press conference Thursday.
The governor also indicated he likes Albritton’s package more than Perez’s because he thinks reducing sales taxes would benefit vacationers more than residents.
“The House's proposal, I've never seen a tax cut that's been proposed that has had more negative feedback from people, because they're saying, ‘Why are you giving breaks to non-Floridians? Why are you doing this? And also to wealthy (people?’ To be honest with you, a wealthy (person) buys a yacht, they're going to save a bunch of money on that. You go to the supermarket, most of what you [buy] isn't even taxed,” DeSantis said.
Several Democratic lawmakers have signaled they are more in favor of reducing the sales tax. Orlando Rep. Anna Eskamani said during a committee meeting this month she thinks the plan to reduce sales tax is a step in the right direction.
“Florida has a very regressive tax structure, partly because we are so reliant on sales tax. And that's not a left or right concept. It's an economic term that basically means for our Floridians that make less, they pay more of their income to taxation than those that make more,” she said.
It’s unclear what the final tax relief package will look like, but Albriton’s compromise could represent a way forward.
