Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Keep sales tax holidays.
That’s the message the Florida Retail Federation is sending to state lawmakers as the Florida Senate decides whether to hear the House’s sweeping tax-cut proposal.
The Senate Appropriations committee on Tuesday was scheduled to hear the proposal (HB 7099), where senators were proposing a strike-all amendment that, among other things, would remove provisions authorizing sales tax holidays. The bill, though, was temporarily postponed.
“For almost 20 years, Florida families have relied on these sales tax holidays as a way to provide for and protect their loved ones, and we’re concerned that removing them from the House tax package means consumers won’t be able to experience this important tax relief,” said Randy Miller, president and CEO of the Florida Retail Federation. “If the Senate ultimately decides to keep these holidays out of the House bill, then we would encourage them to pass the individual bills for these important sales tax holidays, including back-to-school, disaster preparedness and Energy Star.”
The House bill has several sales tax holidays in it, including a 10-day back to school tax holiday and a one-day small business tax holiday.
The Senate has proposed three bills addressing sales tax holidays — a back to school sales tax holiday, a disaster preparedness sales tax holiday, and an Energy Star sales tax holiday. However, those bills haven’t received a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
