Gov. DeSantis Says ‘Tax the tourists’ To Offset Florida Revenue Losses

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently suggested offsetting other revenue losses by targeting tourists who vacation in the Sunshine State.

Florida Citrus mural in Disney Springs

During an appearance in Palm Bay, DeSantis responded to a question by saying, “Tax the tourists. Tax some of the foreigners,” according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The governor has been calling for increasing the homestead exemption or potentially even eliminating property taxes altogether in Florida, which he believes could be balanced by increasing taxes on visitors to the state.

©Governor Ron DeSantis Website

“You have the ability in some of those areas that draw a lot of people to shift the tax burden away from your own people to people that are not residents of Florida,” DeSantis continued. “I think that would be a better tax system than constantly having people pay higher property taxes.”

Skeptics argue that the state would have to increase sales taxes to make up for lost revenue.

©Governor Ron DeSantis Website

DeSantis said he’d be willing to work with “fiscally constrained” rural counties to offset the impact of property tax cuts. He shared, “They don’t have the same luxury that a Broward County would have or a Miami-Dade County would have when you have people that are flooding down there.”

His plan is to economically “juice” rural areas by supporting efforts to land automotive manufacturing plants in Florida. “I would say, pay no tax for 10 years, like no corporate tax if you’re starting a business, if you’re doing manufacturing there,” DeSantis said of the potential plan.

Flavors of Florida

In addition, House Speaker Daniel Perez (R-Miami) proposed decreasing the state sales tax rate from 6 percent to 5.26 percent. Perez said that this reduction would include a decrease in the state’s commercial lease tax and that he remains open to proposing a property tax vote in 2026.

As of now, there is no official (public) plan to increase taxes on tourists, but we’ll let you know if that changes.

Obtained via ClickOrlando Livestream

We’ll be on the lookout for more updates regarding this potential new tax implication and how it could impact Florida travel. In the meantime, make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for more Disney and travel news!

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