Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday rescinded a $1.2 billion tax hike on Central Florida residents that he wrongly imposed a year ago in a hastily passed bill to punish The Walt Disney Co. for criticizing his so-called “don’t say gay”. law.
“Corporate rule is over,” the Republican said, taking his lectern from a firehouse on Disney property.
Monday’s legislation reverses a planned special tax district repeal for the 25,000 acres Disney owns south of Orlando, which lawmakers approved and DeSantis signed over a three-day period last April.
A month earlier, then-Disney CEO Bob Chepak told company employees he regretted not openly opposing the Parental Rights Act and said he would suspend political donations in Florida.
That legislation, called the “Don’t Say Gay” law, prohibits first-grade teachers from discussing sexuality or gender. Critics say it prevents same-sex marriage professors, for example, from mentioning their spouses.
DeSantis and his allies said Disney should not receive special privileges. But an unintended consequence of last April’s law was the transfer of Disney’s outstanding debt to the 700,000 homeowners and businesses in Orange and Osceola counties.
If the law had gone into effect on June 1 as planned, their taxes would have increased by thousands of dollars a year until 2038, when bonds issued by the Reedy Creek Improvement District to pay for roads and other public works on Disney property would finally be paid. . broken.
Such a tax hike would have been a political disaster for DeSantis, who is expected to announce his presidential bid this spring. The urgency to resolve the issue was reflected in his decision to include it during a special legislative session this month, rather than waiting for the regular session to begin in early March. Historically, Florida governors have had much more control over legislation during a special session than the regular 60-day session, where bills are often cluttered with foreign language and caught in horse-trading.
The bill DeSantis signed Monday repeals the Disney law from last April and designates him and future governors to appoint the board for the Disney Taxing District, which has been renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Otherwise, the district’s ability to issue bonds to pay for improvements on Disney property remains intact.
DeSantis said he plans to formally name a new five-person board later Monday. Although these people were previously selected by Disney, they will now be allies of DeSantis, including Bridget Ziegler, the wife of the state Republican Party chairman.
During the 45-minute bill signing on Monday, DeSantis used repeated misrepresentations and falsehoods to describe both the former and new Disney’s tax and regulatory frameworks.
For example, DeSantis argued that Disney will eventually be forced to pay its “fair share” that it has avoided in the past. “You have theme park electrical infrastructure paid for by every citizen of Central Florida, and Disney actually got a free ride for it. Now they can be charged for it,” he said.
In fact, Disney property has one of the highest total tax rates in the state. It pays all taxes owed to counties and school boards on its acreage, then pays additional “mills” for roads, water and sewer, utilities, and fire and police protection on its own property.
At another point, DeSantis suggested that Disney’s infrastructure spending is a burden on Florida taxpayers. “They’ve managed to get huge amounts of benefits without paying their fair share of taxes, and they’ve even racked up $700 million in municipal debt,” he said.
In reality, Disney’s bond debt is paid only by taxpayers within the Reedy Creek Improvement District — in other words, Disney itself — except for a few small lots sold to hotels.
Gaelen Morse, Marco Bello/Reuters
DeSantis said the new law puts Disney on par with all other attractions in Central Florida: “Disney will be treated the way SeaWorld or any of those are treated.”
That’s not true either. While under a rebranded board, Disney still has its own tax district, which Universal Studios and SeaWorld, for example, do not. And because the district is a tax-exempt entity, a garage on Disney property doesn’t have to collect sales tax, while those at the other theme parks do.
DeSantis accused local governments of trying to take advantage of last year’s legislation to raise taxes. “It will prevent local governments dominated by leftist politicians from using this situation to raise local taxes,” he said of the new law.
But transferring Disney’s accumulated debt to taxpayers in Orange and Osceola counties was not optional for county officials in the event of Reedy Creek’s dissolution. Rather, it is required by state law governing special districts.
A spokesperson for DeSantis did not respond to questions from HuffPost. As has been his practice during his tenure, DeSantis did not publicly reveal Monday morning’s signing of the bill until two hours before it began, making it impossible for reporters from the Tallahassee capital press corps to attend, which followed paying special attention to Disney. law.
Instead, DeSantis invited a firefighter union leader who complained that Disney was not paying him enough; a local mother who left Disney because she believes it no longer offers wholesome entertainment; and a Disney World employee who used microphone time to spread various lies about COVID vaccines.
DeSantis is expected to announce his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in Florida, challenging former President Donald Trump’s coup attempt.
His critics already fault him for mimicking Trump’s personality traits to win over voters. DeSantis gave them more fodder on Monday, holding up his bill to show his signature to the public and cameras, just as Trump has done when he signs bills.
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