Florida Tax Relief – $1.2 Billion in Tax Relief For FloridiansFlorida Tax Relief – $1.2 Billion in Tax Relief For Floridians
Governor Ron DeSantis signed the largest tax relief in Florida history, a $1.2 billion plan to provide tax breaks to Floridians. The plan includes breaks on gas, diapers, clothing, disaster supplies, and more. It will also cut gas prices by 25 cents a gallon. Those are just a few of the many benefits of this plan, which will be in place for the next few months.
House Bill 7071, enacted by Governor Ron DeSantis, provides $1.2 billion in tax relief for Floridians. It will also create ten sales tax holidays for items commonly purchased by Florida families, such as diapers, fuel, disaster supplies, and tools. These tax holidays will help Floridians make those purchases and save money. Further, the new law will eliminate the sales tax on a number of products, including a car seat for a child or a bicycle helmet for a disabled person.
This new bill also includes a $300 million tax exemption for businesses leasing green hydrogen machinery. This will largely benefit Florida Power & Light, which sought the net-metering legislation. Solar energy companies, however, criticized the law, arguing that the governor is hypocritical for using American Rescue Plan money to boost his political career. However, DeSantis has not acted on the budget and many things are expected to be vetoed by the legislature.
Sales tax holidays and other temporary tax breaks are not a solution to Florida’s upside-down tax code. They provide temporary tax relief that doesn’t lead to long-term savings, and they don’t do anything to address the deep-rooted inequities in the state’s tax code. Instead, policymakers could spend this money on reforming the state’s tax system. But the most immediate benefit is to Floridian families.