The Florida House on Thursday passed a tax-cut package aimed at saving money for campers, gun owners and drinkers of American-made beer.
Lawmakers voted 105-2 to approve the plan (HB 7031), though the proposal drew criticism for suspending sales taxes next fiscal year on firearm accessories such as holsters, magazines, muzzle devices, sights and suppressors.
Ways & Means Committee Chairman Rep. Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, said including gun accessories is tied to a 2024 ballot measure approved by voters that enshrined the right to hunt and fish in the state constitution.
“Obviously, those are activities that the citizens of our state engage in, and as a component of that in our sales tax holiday we wanted to include the accessories that go along with exercising that constitutional right,” Duggan said.
Parkland Democratic Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, who voted against the bill along with House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa, questioned the provision, saying it supports “the purchase of unlimited fire accessories, unlimited ammunition, unlimited guns.”
“We also have other rights that we have in this country, such as the right to petition,” Hunschofsky said. “I would suggest that maybe making it more accessible for Floridians to go and vote, more accessible for Floridians to have initiatives on the ballot and have their voices heard, would be better uses of tax dollars supporting people’s rights.”
Florida House and Senate tax plans face key differences
The Senate approved its own tax proposal (SB 7046) on Monday.
While the measure contains some similar provisions, it also includes key differences that will need to be negotiated between the chambers before the legislative session is scheduled to end on March 13.
The House plan would revive the hunting, fishing and camping sales tax “holiday” created last year, running this year from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.
During that period, sales taxes would be lifted on select outdoor gear, including tents priced under $200 and fishing rods priced at $75 or less, along with firearms, ammunition, bows and crossbows.
The Senate version would run the tax holiday from Sept. 7 through the end of the year.
The House proposal would also move the back-to-school sales tax holiday to July 20 through Aug. 20, instead of the entire month of August as set in state law last year.
Additional tax cuts on beer included in the House proposal
The House measure would also suspend some taxes for the full fiscal year on American-made beer, exempt certain property leased for Space Florida projects, and reduce taxes on both pari-mutuel cardrooms and slot machine revenue.
Orlando Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani said she supported the part of the bill that rejects applying new federal changes to the state’s corporate income tax from President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which he signed last year.
“There’s always so much pressure for us to go along with some of these federal programs and initiatives,” Eskamani said. “But we have to choose our state. We have to choose the responsibility of the fiscal security of our state.”
Duggan said adopting the federal language could cost the state up to $3.5 billion a year in revenue and “hamstring” future lawmakers.
Florida Senate proposal includes tennis ticket tax break, property changes
While fiscal impacts for parts of the House and Senate proposals have yet to be fully estimated, the House package is projected to reduce state and local revenue by about $153.9 million in the next fiscal year.
The Senate plan is projected to reduce revenue by $55.7 million.
Beyond the hunting and fishing holiday, the Senate proposal would suspend taxes for three years on tickets to Association of Tennis Professionals ATP Masters 1000 tournaments and Women’s Tennis Association WTA 1000 tournaments.
The measure would also shift the source of at least $50 million provided annually to mostly rural “fiscally restrained” counties. Instead of coming from declining direct-to-home satellite taxes, the money would come directly from state sales and use taxes.
The Senate plan also expands the number of charter schools eligible to receive funding from voter-approved school property taxes, requires real estate listings to include estimated property taxes, and prevents reassessment of homestead property taxes when a home is bequeathed to a direct descendant.
