Gray Rohrer
Consumers, homeowners and businesses are set to benefit the most from a tax cut plan that will save taxpayers an estimated $914 million over two years, after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 7073.
“When you’re running big budget surpluses you’ve got to be able to return some of that back to the taxpayers,” DeSantis said during a bill signing event in Cape Canaveral.
Combined with a $450 million toll rebate program in a separate bill (HB 5003) DeSantis has pledged to sign, taxpayers could save nearly $1.4 billion over two years.
The largest chunk of the package is the elimination of insurance premium taxes for homeowner and flood policies over the next two fiscal years. The bill requires insurers to cut their premium on those policies by 1.75% — the total of the insurance premium tax — and then receive a tax rebate of the same amount.
The tax rebate will apply to policies started or renewed between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30, 2025. It’s projected to save homeowners $502 million over that span.
That’s about 3% on average, a small piece in relation to the double-digit rate hikes experienced by most Florida homeowners in recent years. But Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and other Senate leaders have said even small relief on insurance rates will help homeowners.
There’s also provisions to expand an existing tax break for businesses that hire disabled employees, saving an estimated $10 million over the next three years, and to set up a new tax cut for companies that provide or support child care operations for their workers, saving another $10 million over three years.
“This is very smart, I think it’s going to make a difference,” DeSantis said of the child care tax break. “Child care has been really, really difficult. It’s expensive and there’s not a lot of options for parents who are working.”
The package also includes a quartet of sales tax holidays, but some are pared back from the past year.
The back-to-school sales tax holiday on clothing and school items will last two weeks starting July 29; the holiday for the Spring semester that lawmakers approved for the current year wasn’t included.
Last year’s “Freedom Summer” sales tax holiday on event tickets to museums, sporting events, plays, festivals, fairs and outdoor items has been reduced to “Freedom Month” and will last during July. There’s also a one-week holiday on tools starting Sept. 1 and two separate two-week sales tax holidays for disaster preparedness items, starting June 1 and Aug. 24.
21 comments
Jay Smif
May 7, 2024 at 12:08 pm
Yeah. how much of this “surplus” came from the Federal government? Be specific, pudgy fascist Ronnie.
Impeach Biden
May 7, 2024 at 6:39 pm
The state of Florida runs a balanced budget. Does the United States do that? Joe Biden is buying off everyone that might cast a vote for his sorry azz come November.
Silly Wabbit
May 8, 2024 at 4:03 pm
You ass.
PeterH
May 7, 2024 at 12:15 pm
From this article;
“ The bill requires insurers to cut their premium on those policies by 1.75% — the total of the insurance premium tax — and then receive a tax rebate of the same amount.”
So property owners will see no change to their already outrageously high homeowner and business property taxes but the government coffers will bless insurance companies with a 1.75% incentive to not abandon the Florida insurance market entirely!
PeterH
May 7, 2024 at 12:18 pm
Correction: homeowner and business taxes should be homeowner and business insurance premiums!
nail
May 7, 2024 at 2:37 pm
The Commandant just hurt FL a little more yesterday.. He chips away everyday , but denying the Climate Crisis, (every insurance company bases 25-40% of the premium on climate remedial. This will increase insurance even more and ppl who will have to drop…insurance!
But don’t worry, the mortgage are going to drop in FL ! Banks are going to take care of this problem in Fl….they are not going to write mortgages in the Commandant’s state…you can’t get climate crisis insurance because DeSantis banned it after the state paying billions! He decided not to believe in every company in the country….because insurances are going to cut more and more banks don’t need the desantis headache! I believe the correct wording was “DeSantis and his legislature can go down with Florida! because this is what the MAGA wanted!
Get ready for a major price drop MAGAts….Chew on what you voted for!
rick whitaker
May 7, 2024 at 7:18 pm
if you are not a white christian nationalist maga cultist, get the hell out of florida while you still can.
Impeach Biden
May 7, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Rick, just like the NAACP, the abortion right activists, the LGBTQ, etc, etc. None of them are listening. People like Florida. All favors, sexes, etc. Everyone likes Florida. Sorry to break the news to ya.
rick whitaker
May 7, 2024 at 7:52 pm
HOWLER MONKEY, tennessee just announced a record level of people from other states moving to tennessee. of that record number, the biggest group was floridians. 14% of the new people were from florida. facts don’t lie. BTW since you are HOWLER MONKEY, you will deny this fact and go with your lie parade.
Impeach Biden
May 7, 2024 at 8:14 pm
For crying out loud hillbilly, can’t you come up with your own nicknames rather than stealing them from me? Is there an original thought in that “Deliverance” brain of yours? Some Floridian’s are taking their huge home profits and looking for a more rural lifestyle. People still come to Florida. We are still gaining congressional seats. Is that proof enough?
rick whitaker
May 7, 2024 at 8:50 pm
HOWLER MONKEY, this name fits you great, why would i use another name. now if if you had balls, i could just call you by your real name. real names work, try it. i hear gang members are flooding florida and are squaring off with the hatians coming in. nice place………..right. BTW, what’s this deliverance word you keep mentioning to me? is that some kind of redneck florida cracker code word or something?
Impeach Biden
May 7, 2024 at 8:59 pm
Deliverance is a movie from the 70’s? You remind me of a character in that movie. You know the one that says, “squeal, squeal boy.”
rick whitaker
May 7, 2024 at 9:38 pm
HOWLER MONKEY i spent the 70’s either in the navy or school, i didn’t watch many movies, still don’t. i prefer to spend my time working. so i still don’t get it. redneck florida crackers like this movie, i still don’t get it. how could i remind you of a movie star when you don’t know me? you remind me of a howler monkey, but not because of planet of the apes. it’s because you commonly go on about things you don’t know much about in a wild uncontrolled manner.
Dont Say FLA
May 8, 2024 at 2:24 pm
I bet MAGAs don’t even know there’s lily white nations all around northern Europe, and they’re all Socialist AF.
Impeach Biden
May 8, 2024 at 8:25 pm
Don’t even know what your point is. Some of us even lived in those “lilly white” countries. Whatever that means. Do you think socialism is the answer? Pay those European taxes and get back to us.
rick whitaker
May 8, 2024 at 10:21 pm
DSF, maga doesn’t even understand maga
Bob Smith
May 9, 2024 at 9:54 am
They do not practice socialism in Northern Europe. They are small countries with small populations and have large oil revenue. This allows the government to pay for more items. But they are still capitalist countries.
MarvinM
May 7, 2024 at 7:44 pm
“The largest chunk of the package is the elimination of insurance premium taxes for homeowner and flood policies over the next two fiscal years. The bill requires insurers to cut their premium on those policies by 1.75% — the total of the insurance premium tax — and then receive a tax rebate of the same amount.”
What they are doing here is asking insurance companies to lower rates 1.75% and then go through gobs of paperwork to get a “rebate” from the state.
What will happen is the insurance companies will raise your rates to cover the 1.75% loss. And they’ll take the rebate, if they get it and not give any of it back to you.
If Ron DeSantis or any Florida Republican actually cared about lowering taxes, they’d just … cut taxes. They’d just eliminate the insurance premium tax altogether.
Ron Forrest Ron
May 8, 2024 at 3:40 pm
Back to school tax break = no sales tax on guns & ammo
What happen to americanism
May 9, 2024 at 11:17 am
It seems like everyone is benefiting everyone is beautiful except you ..appeasements. Or. Sadistic
rick whitaker
May 10, 2024 at 8:18 pm
bob smith, what the hell are you talking about? do you read? i have a feeling you are talking about totally different countries as the poster was talking about. i got a tip, read more.