Florida House passes $5B tax reduction plan
The House on Friday voted, 78-29, to pass a $5 billion tax relief package, with most of the opposition involving changes to the collection of tourist development dollars.
While it was a mostly partisan vote in support, the bill faces opposition from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has pushed for the elimination of property taxes and a $1,000 homeowner rebate, and Senate President Ben Albritton who has rolled out a more modest tax relief package.
Disagreement over the breadth of tax relief is a primary reason the Legislature is unlikely to pass a state budget within the 60-day legislative session, scheduled to end on May 2.
HB 7033 sponsor Rep. Wyman Duggan called the proposed tax reduction historic.
'It's record breaking. It's historic. It's permanent. It's immediate. Every citizen in the state will benefit from it,' he said.
Specifically, the bill would lower Florida's state sales tax rate by 0.75%, to 5.25%. The bill would reduce all other sales tax rates by the same amount — commercial rent from 2% to 1.25%; electricity from 4.35% to 3.6%; new mobile home purchases from 3% to 2.25%; and coin-operated amusement machines from 4% to 3.25%.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Most of the criticism on the floor centered around the changes to the tourist development tax, known as the 'hotel bed tax.' Florida law authorizes counties to levy five separate tourist development taxes for specified purposes, all of which are generally related to the tourism industry.
These taxes cover a bevy of uses — financing stadiums; operating convention centers; funding tourism development councils; and promoting publicly owned zoological parks among them.
These are levied in 62 of the state's 67 counties with total combined rates ranging from a low of 2% to a high of 6%, according to a legislative analysis of the bill.
HB 7033 redirects the use of tourist development taxes away from tourism-related efforts to the county's general revenue coffers instead. The bill directs the funds to be used to offset county property taxes beginning in 2026.
Rep. Allison Tant, who represents parts of Leon, Jefferson, and Madison counties, said the tax receipts are vital to those counties, none of which offer the beaches that beckon so many tourists to Florida. Rather, those counties rely on bed taxes to market the wonder of rural Florida — the 'part of our state you don't see in fancy brochures on the turnpike or inexpensive ads on TV.'
'Pulling tourism development tax dollars from this effort will not just further starve fiscally constrained counties, but also punish them for their self-sufficiency,' Tant said.
It's record breaking. It's historic. It's permanent. It's immediate. Every citizen in the state will benefit from it.
– Rep. Wyman Duggan
While he has support of his chamber, Perez's ambitious $5 billion reduction doesn't have the support of his counterpart, Senate President Albritton. The disagreement is a major reason the House and Senate couldn't agree on the total dollar amount in spending for the state fiscal year 2025-26 and won't pass a spending plan before the end of the 60-day session.
Albritton is on board with tax relief but he has floated a more modest $2.1 billion tax plan, centered around a permanent elimination of the sales tax on clothing and shoes costing $75 or less. Other parts of his plan include a permanent reduction in the business rent tax from 2% to 1%, a one-time credit for vehicle registration fees, and several sales tax holidays.
DeSantis opposes the House plan but not because of the price tag. The governor has proposed his own $5 billion cut starting with providing homeowners a $1,000 property tax rebate. From there, DeSantis wants to permanently eliminate property taxes, which would take voter approval and couldn't be done before November 2026.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
11 minutes ago
- Politico
Playbook PM: Why neither party can bank on Latino voters
Presented by THE CATCH-UP Texas Republicans are set to pass their new congressional maps through the state House today, officially putting their stamp on the redistricting arms race that has unfolded as national Republicans push to retain control of the House in next year's midterms. The Republican-led gambit to redistrict — which is being met with similar efforts across other states and notable retaliation in California — rests on a significant gamble banking on the emerging realignment of many working-class Latino voters toward the GOP. But over a year out from the 2026 elections, there's an emerging reality operatives say are slapping both parties in the face: President Donald Trump's approval numbers with Latino voters are souring — and those same voters still don't trust Democrats. The numbers: Trump came in with a net 27-percent approval among Latinos in the Pew Research Center's August survey. The Economist/YouGov poll put him at 28 percent. Reuters/Ipsos' latest numbers published Monday gave Trump 32 percent, which matches his lowest approval in their survey. But the resounding warning signs are in Latino-run Equis Research's latest polling memo released this week, which went beyond just Trump's favorability, and offer lessons for Republicans and Democrats. With Republicans' razor-thin majority in the House and the possibility of entirely new, Hispanic-majority districts defining the next elections, the flagging figures are worth paying attention to on both sides of the aisle, multiple Democratic and Republican strategists told Playbook. With Latinos, both parties are in the wilderness. 'This confirms what we've been seeing over and over again,' Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist, told Playbook. 'Some Latinos having regrets voting for Trump — but also still not sure that the Democrats are the answer.' Pocket-checking: One of the most striking statistics from Equis' research shows 56 percent of Latino men now disapprove of Trump — the same coalition that swung for Trump last year. And pocketbook issues rank among the top reasons why. 'The cost of living was by far Trump's weakest area,' Maria di Franco Quiñonez, a research director at Equis, told Playbook. 'It's really extended to the Republican Party as a whole.' That should be especially concerning when it comes to redistricting, Republican strategist Mike Madrid told Playbook. 'That is who they're banking on with this new carved out map in Texas. That's madness.' But this doesn't mean Latinos are now flocking to Democrats, di Franco Quiñonez said. Latino voters are split down the middle on Democrats in the most competitive House districts, 47 percent favorability to 48 percent. And a majority don't see Democrats mounting an effective opposition. 'They have not been able to stop that bleeding,' one high-level Republican operative granted anonymity to discuss strategy told Playbook. 'There's no pushback to Trump, there's no leader in the Democratic Party, they don't know who that is.' Republicans also know they're playing on what was once Democratic turf, the GOP operative said. Even with fluctuations in Trump's approval — Equis found that 8 percent of Latino voters regretted voting for Trump and 19 percent are disappointed with his actions as president — these aren't the same numbers as 2018, when voters snapped back toward Democrats, they argue. The operative pointed to Equis' polling showing 70 percent of Latinos that voted for Trump are happy with their choice. 'I read that and I'm like, that's great,' they said. 'We're feeling good about where we are.' When it comes to this swing group, there's always been a swath of Latinos — Miami's Cubans, for example — that have been historically conservative. It's the portion of Latinos that are somewhere on the fence (Equis reported 16 percent undecided) that have the power to flip the House next year, Rocha told Playbook. 'We're never gonna get all of them back, but we can get back 10 to 20 percent of them and realign this to what it used to be, because the data shows they're not happy with Republicans,' Rocha said. As the numbers continue to trend downward for Republicans and Democrats face a significant voter registration problem, per new reporting from NYT's Shane Goldmacher and Jonah Smith, this has to be a wake-up call for both parties, Madrid told Playbook. 'We're witnessing two parties in significant transition here, and they're both operating off of false assumptions, and neither is completely sure or confident in what their future coalition will be, but they know that their old coalition does not work for them,' Madrid said. Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Are you a campaign strategist with thoughts on Latino voters? Slide into my inbox at abianco@ 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. WAR AND PEACE: Russia wants to be involved in negotiations over security guarantees for Ukraine, with new comments from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov undercutting 'hopes that any progress has been made' toward ending the war in Ukraine, POLITICO's Ketrin Jochecová reports. Lavrov floated the prospect of China joining security discussions, signaling that Russia has not 'softened on its maximalist positions on Ukraine.' But many European leaders haven't been convinced Putin wants to reach a peace deal — they just want to humor Trump until he decides to punish Russia, POLITICO's Gabriel Gavin and colleagues report. The latest on the guarantees: Kyiv's allies in the 'coalition of the willing' met today to form a plan to commit British and French troops to protect Ukraine in a peace deal, with 10 countries saying they would provide military backup, Bloomberg's Ellen Milligan and colleagues write. But the specifics of any U.S. support remain unclear. 2. THE CRISIS IN GAZA: Trump in an interview yesterday effusively praised Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for launching airstrikes against Iran, per NYT's Matthew Mpoke Bigg. 'He's a war hero, because we work together. He's a war hero,' Trump said, adding: 'I guess I am too.' The comments come as the Israeli military announced today that it's arming 60,000 reserve troops to carry out its new ground operation in Gaza City, WSJ's Anat Peled reports. Israel is moving forward with its plans to take the center of Gaza even as Netanyahu weighs a ceasefire proposal that Hamas has said it would accept, NYT's Lara Jakes writes. Survey says: A majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognize Palestinian statehood, with the latest Reuters/Ipsos polling putting 58 percent in favor and 33 percent not in favor. 3. FED UP: 'Trump Considers Firing Fed Official After Accusation of Mortgage Fraud,' by WSJ's Matt Grossman and Brian Schwartz: 'Trump has told aides he is considering attempting to fire a Biden-appointed Federal Reserve governor after one of his housing officials accused her of mortgage fraud … Trump wrote in a social-media post in response to [Bill] Pulte's claims that '[Lisa] Cook must resign, now!!!' Behind the scenes, Trump is considering going further. If she doesn't resign, Trump is discussing trying to fire her for cause … Pulte's post alleges that in 2021 Cook sought mortgages on two properties — one in Michigan, the other in Atlanta — and described both of them as her primary residence in papers submitted 14 days apart.' 4. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: A new Washington Post-Schar School poll shows that D.C. residents oppose Trump's takeover of the D.C. police, and 65 percent don't believe the operation will make the city safer. About 8 in 10 oppose Trump's executive order to federalize law enforcement. More from WaPo New incentives: The U.S. Marshals Service announced that it will be offering cash for tips that lead to arrests in D.C. as a part of Trump's crime crackdown, WaPo's Martin Weil reports. 'The post gives no details about the reward program, or the matters about which tips were sought. But it links to a marshals service website that provides information that seems to limit the types of matters involved to traditional concerns of the marshals.' 5. TRADING PLACES: Canada and Mexico are looking for new ways to expand their trade together without the U.S. serving as a middleman, as Trump's tariffs provide a 'chance to reset the relationship and compare notes,' NYT's Emiliano Rodríguez Mega and Ian Austen write. It's unclear how long it will last. … Azerbaijan is looking to expand its relationship with the U.S. with new economic and technology ties, after the Trump administration helped broker a peace deal with neighboring Armenia, Axios' Colin Demarest reports. … Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is pushing European countries to look beyond the U.S. and work toward their own economic resilience, WSJ's Ed Frankl reports. Trump's trade winners: Puerto Rico, as the 'America First' tariffs boost manufacturing on the island, Bloomberg's Jim Wyss reports. 'We have multiple companies choosing Puerto Rico because we are American manufacturing, we are made in the USA, and that automatically liberates them from tariffs,' Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón said. Trump's trade losers: Sony announced today that it will hike the price of its PlayStation 5 console in the U.S., the latest video game giant to raise its prices amid Trump's trade war, POLITICO's Gregory Svirnovskiy writes. 'Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,' a Sony exec said in a press statement today. 6. LIFE AT THE CDC: 'CDC Employees Return to Work With Bullet Holes Still in the Windows,' by NOTUS' Margaret Manto: 'Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees returning to the office more than a week after a gunman shot about 500 bullets at the Atlanta headquarters are finding remnants of a crime scene. A CDC employee sent NOTUS photographs of windows still pockmarked with bullet holes on Monday afternoon. Handwritten signs taped to chairs warned employees to avoid glass on the carpet. ''I was thinking they would have at least enhanced security going into campus and/or in buildings, but it seems oddly the same as usual,' the CDC employee told NOTUS via text. A CDC spokesperson said in an email to NOTUS that the agency is 'working closely with [the Georgia Bureau of Investigation] on a security assessment of the facilities to ensure the safety, security and wellbeing of staff for when they return to campus.'' 7. K STREET FILES: White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields is exiting the administration to join CGCN, the GOP-aligned lobbying and public affairs firm, Axios' Alex Thompson reports. The departure of Fields, a Trump 1.0 alum and 'one of the most senior Black men on the president's team,' comes a day after Trent Morse became the first senior White House official to decamp for K Street to launch his own lobbying shop, as POLITICO's Caitlin Oprysko scooped. Though he's subject to a one-year cooling off period during which he's barred from lobbying the West Wing directly or representing any foreign entities, Morse is free to lobby the rest of the executive branch or advise others lobbying the White House. 8. THE COST OF LIVING: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's 'unusually large personal security requirements' are causing a strain across the 'Army agency tasked with protecting him as it pulls agents from criminal investigations to safeguard family residences in Minnesota, Tennessee and D.C.,' WaPo's Tara Copp and colleagues report. The 'sprawling, multimillion-dollar initiative' is pushing the Criminal Investigation Division 'to staff weeks-long assignments in each location and at times monitor residences belonging to the Hegseths' former spouses.' A CID official said Hegseth's staffing is 'unlike any other in the agency's recent history. 'I've never seen this many security teams for one guy,' the official said. 'Nobody has.'' 9. ON DEFENSE: 'The US Navy is building a drone fleet to take on China. It's not going well,' by Reuters' David Jeans: 'During a U.S. naval test off the California coast last month, which was designed to showcase the Pentagon's top autonomous drone boats, one vessel stalled unexpectedly. … another drone vessel smashed into the idling boat's starboard side, vaulted over the deck, and crashed back into the water … The previously unreported episode, which involved two vessels built by U.S. defense tech rivals Saronic and BlackSea Technologies, is one of a series of recent setbacks in the Pentagon's push to build a fleet of autonomous vessels.' TALK OF THE TOWN Ari Shapiro, host of 'All Things Considered,' is leaving NPR at the end of September. Graham Platner, the Maine oyster farmer challenging Susan Collins, apparently has 'very dynamic' oysters, the Midcoast Villager found out. POLITICO MOVES — Katie Locke has moved into the newly created role of supervising editor of POLITICO's Central Editing Desk. She most recently served as a newsletter editor. Stacey Dec and Nadia Wynter have also joined as newsletter editors. Dec previously was a digital news editor at ABC News. Wynter comes to POLITICO from Slack, where she launched the company's copy desk. TRANSITIONS — Hampton Dellinger is now a partner in the litigation department at Foley Hoag. He previously was U.S. special counsel and is a former assistant AG at the Justice Department. … Natalie Turner is joining Rep. Juan Ciscomani's (R-Ariz.) office as comms director. She most recently was a public affairs specialist at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and is a Roger Marshall alum. … Michael Marinaccio is heading up a new tech advocacy group, the Center for Responsible Technology. He previously was CEO of Magnitude Consulting. … Rachel Shekell is now manager of government affairs and policy at Mastercard. She most recently was a public policy specialist at Plaid. … Mary Lou Akai-Ferguson is now executive director of the Asian American Power Network. She previously was organizer and strategist at Akai Strategies. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
The Hill
39 minutes ago
- The Hill
Democrats press DHS for ‘Alligator Alcatraz' information
Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for more information about how the Trump administration teamed up with the state of Florida to create a controversial detention facility for migrants in the middle of the Everglades. 'Brushing aside concerns from human rights watchdogs, environmentalist groups, and Tribal nations, [DHS] has greenlit the construction of this expansive detention facility that may violate detained individuals' human rights, jeopardize public and environmental health and violate federal law,' House and Senate Democrats wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem dated Wednesday. The detention facility, dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' opened in early July to house arrested migrants awaiting deportation. It was created through a state and federal partnership, with Florida officials leading oversight and construction, with DHS footing the bill. President Trump toured the facility when it opened, along with Noem. A federal judge last week temporarily halted expansion of the site after tribal and environmental groups filed a lawsuit over potential damage to wetlands. Located just south of Miami, Alligator Alcatraz quickly raised alarms about conditions for detainees in the hot, humid climate. Some whistleblowers have described worm-infested food, plumbing problems and other issues since its opening. 'The Everglades site was selected precisely because of its remote location and harsh surroundings, which Florida officials reportedly view as 'an ideal location to house and transport migrants,'' the Democrats wrote in their letter Wednesday. 'We ask that DHS promptly provide critical information for the American public to better understand this detention plan.' The letter was signed by more than five dozen members of Congress, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). It requested that DHS respond to several questions by September 3.
Boston Globe
39 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Obama applauds Newsom's California redistricting plan as Texas GOP pushes new maps
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up According to organizers, the event raised $2 million for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and its affiliates, one of which has filed and supported litigation in several states over GOP-drawn districts. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Eric Holder, who served as Obama's attorney general and heads up the group, also appeared. Advertisement The former president's comments come as Texas lawmakers return to Austin this week, renewing a heated debate over a new congressional map creating five new potential GOP seats. The plan is the result of prodding by President Donald Trump, eager to stave off a midterm defeat that would deprive his party of control of the House of Representatives. Texas Democratic lawmakers delayed a vote for 15 days by leaving the state in protest, depriving the House of enough members to do business. Advertisement Spurred on by the Texas situation, Democratic governors including Newsom have pondered ways to possibly strengthen their party's position by way of redrawing U.S. House district lines, five years out from the Census count that typically leads into such procedures. In California — where voters in 2010 gave the power to draw congressional maps to an independent commission, with the goal of making the process less partisan — Democrats have unveiled a proposal that could give that state's dominant political party an additional five U.S. House seats in a bid to win the fight to control of Congress next year. If approved by voters in November, the blueprint could nearly erase Republican House members in the nation's most populous state, with Democrats intending to win the party 48 of its 52 U.S. House seats, up from 43. A hearing over that measure devolved into a shouting match Tuesday as a Republican lawmaker clashed with Democrats, and a committee voted along party lines to advance the new congressional map. California Democrats do not need any Republican votes to move ahead, and legislators are expected to approve a proposed congressional map and declare a Nov. 4 special election by Thursday to get required voter approval. Newsom and Democratic leaders say they'll ask voters to approve their new maps only for the next few elections, returning map-drawing power to the commission following the 2030 census — and only if a Republican state moves forward with new maps. Obama applauded that temporary timeline. Advertisement 'And we're going to do it in a temporary basis because we're keeping our eye on where we want to be long term,' Obama said, referencing Newsom's take on the California plan. 'I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.'
