Jacob Ogles
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed the budget for the next fiscal year, touting almost $2 billion in tax cuts contained within the package.
That includes a complete repeal of Florida’s business rent tax and language making permanent sales tax holidays for hurricane preparedness and back-to-school shopping. But DeSantis said he doesn’t want cuts to stop and urged voters in 2026 to eliminate property taxes in the state.
“Don’t let any of these elected officials give you any excuses as to why we can’t do this,” DeSantis said. “We can do it.”
The $2 billion in cuts include erasing a business rent tax that no other state assesses.
“The Legislature has also done something that I’ve been asking for many years, and that’s eliminating a tax that only Florida has, of all 50 states, and that’s taxing business rent,” he said.
“It’s not good for our economy. It’s not good for business growth. And so that tax is being sunsetted. How many times do you hear governments eliminating a tax?”
That tax, which last year had been reduced to 2% on commercial leases, will cut a projected $904.8 million in the next fiscal year.
Sen. Ed Hooper, a Clearwater Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the tax cut was a win for the state.
“Local businesses create the jobs families need to thrive, and communities need to grow. Currently, Florida is the only state charging a tax on commercial leases. By eliminating this tax on the rent businesses pay for their operations, we are helping keep Florida a competitive place to start and grow a business,” Hooper said.
“Every little bit saved on taxes helps families and seniors trying to make ends meet. Broad-based, reliable sales tax relief on clothing and shoes during the month of August will be meaningful for families and seniors alike. Permanent tax savings on key home and personal safety supplies helps keep these items affordable while eliminating the tax on annual state park passes creates tax savings for healthy, family-friendly adventures in our nationally recognized state park system.”
Senate President Ben Albritton also made a priority this year of making the back-to-school sales tax permanent every August.
“Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature are running to the fight for meaningful, broad-based tax relief to keep more money in the pockets of the hard-working Floridians and local businesses who earn it. Inflation has led to significant cost increases, impacting families and seniors. Cutting taxes on essentials helps keep Florida affordable,” Albritton, a Wauchula Republican, said.
“We know our current sales tax holidays are popular and highly utilized as families and seniors map out and plan for specific purchases. Creating a permanent tax holiday every August on clothing, shoes, school supplies and personal computers expands our current holiday and creates a consistency that benefits both consumers and retailers. We know severe weather can strike at any time. Year-round, permanent savings on key disaster preparedness items help families and seniors get and stay prepared, fostering safer homes and communities across the state.”
Since 1998, the Legislature most years has authorized a certain number of days near the start of school to exempt most clothing and school supplies from sales tax. The new budget makes that tax span all of August and eliminates a need to reauthorize it annually.
That should save taxpayers an estimated $167.7 million a year.
Another tax holiday on supplies for disaster preparedness was also included in the budget.
A tax exemption for certain batteries will cost the state $58.5 million, one on ground anchors and gas cans will cost $22.3 million, and one on tarps is priced at $14.4 million. Losing taxes on power generators will mean losing $6.2 million in revenue.
Along similar lines, the state will exempt smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and alarms, meaning a cut of $12.5 million worth of taxes.
Negotiations this year pushed approval of the budget to earlier this month, delaying the start of the preparedness holiday, something DeSantis criticized with legislative leaders in the room for his Wildwood press conference.
“One of the things that happened was they didn’t do the budget at the end of the Regular Session in May and drug out another 45 days,” he said.
“Well, guess what? We normally have disaster preparedness right before hurricane season starts in June, so they didn’t have this done. People didn’t get to be able to get that. So, both back-to-school and disaster prep are now permanent tax holidays in Florida. And so disaster prep, those items that have already been earmarked. You can buy them whenever you want. We’re not going to limit it to certain dates.”
DeSantis also cheered a tax holiday authorized next year on outdoor goods, which includes firearms and ammunition.
“Thank you also for heeding my call to deliver a second amendment tax holiday,” DeSantis said. “Firearms, ammunition accoutrement, as well as other outdoor items like fishing and bow hunting, and things are going to be tax free from Sept. 8 until Dec. 31 of this year.”
That tax holiday brings with it a $34.6 million cut in state revenues.
The Legislature ultimately rebuffed a call by DeSantis to offer $1,000 rebates on property taxes across Florida. DeSantis didn’t discuss that push for immediate relief, but called for passage of a constitutional amendment in 2026 to kill all property taxes in the state of Florida.
“It’s going to require that the Legislature pass joint resolutions to put the question on the ballot for the people of the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “But it’s my belief that, you know, to truly own your own home, that means you can’t perpetually pay rent to the government. That’s just not true private ownership.”
