Florida homes and the Senate aren’t even all in all when it comes to government spending.
Expect some backdoor deals to happen as both chambers have different views on spending.
The Senate budget is $117.4 billion, and the State Capitol is just under $113 billion, a margin of $4.4 billion.
One difference is that while Republicans in the state senate want state employees to pay 4% full wages, House GOP members want to eliminate more than 7,000 state employee positions.
Observers point out that there may be spending compromises on other funding issues, such as housing programs, the environment, and education fixed capital expenditures.
Tax reduction:
Expect some differences between both the Chamber of Commerce and the governor’s offices.
Gov. Desantis wanted to offer a $5 billion property tax refund to Florida homeowners, but neither appears to support it.
The House is still focusing on permanent cuts in state sales taxes, cutting 0.75 percentage points from 6.0% to 5.25%. Several items taxed at lower sales tax rates, such as commercial leases (“business rent tax”), which are taxed at 2.0%, will also be reduced by 0.75%.
Senate President Albritton says his Chamber of Commerce will soon be unveiling its own tax system, which may be smaller than the House version. The Senate says it is concerned about the possibility of a future budget shortage.
The current proposal from the state Senate would establish a permanent sales tax exemption for clothing and shoes priced under $75.
The 2024 sales tax holiday will also be renewed for an additional year.
The current moratorium on local governments increasing communications services taxes will be extended for three years (until 2031). The package also calls for research to explore ways to reduce or eliminate property taxes.
