CNBC is out with a look at the tax angle off the DeSantis whipsawing Diseyt because of its CEO supporting the efforts against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill…..
Taking the entertainment giant’s special district around the entertainment park means Floridfa residents would have to pay for government services that Diseny pays for off it’s OWN revenue….
That revenue would revert BACK to Disney….
DeSantis is about RAISE his state taxes a WHOLE lot….
Remember ?
Florida has NO state income tax right now…..
Some body is gonna have to change direction on this before June 2023….
A Republican running for Governor first (2022) ?….
Before President (2024) ?
Raising taxes ?
HOT DAMN!
Reedy Creek spans 25,000 acres in Orange and Osceola counties and includes Disney’s four theme parks, two water parks and sports complex. It also includes the two small cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, which had a combined population of 53 people in 2020, all either representatives or employees of Disney.
To fund the government services of Reedy Creek, Disney effectively taxes itself. While the precise tax flows of Reedy Creek are unclear, Scott Randolph, the tax collector for Orange County, said the Reedy Creek district collects roughly $105 million annually in general revenue.
On top of the $105 million, Disney also pays local property taxes. Public records show Disney is the largest taxpayer in central Florida, paying over $280 million in property taxes to the counties between 2015 and 2020.
If the special district is dissolved, Orange and Osceola counties would have to provide the local services currently provided by Reedy Creek. And, the $105 million in revenue would disappear, meaning county and local taxpayers would be on the hook for part or all of the added costs.
“If you dissolved Reedy Creek, that $105 million in revenue literally goes away, it doesn’t get transferred,” Randolph said.
The reason: Reedy Creek is what’s known as an “independent tax district” meaning the tax revenues it generates are in addition to its local tax obligations, rather than a replacement of them. If the district is eliminated, the tax payments to Orange and Osceola counties would not increase, Randolph said….
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But legislators and tax experts warn the bill creates an even larger potential problem for taxpayers in the form of bonds totaling more than $1 billion.
Reedy Creek has bond liabilities of between $1 billion and $1.7 billion, according to the district’s financial filings. Under Florida statute, if Reedy Creek is dissolved, those liabilities are transferred to the local governments — either Bay Lake or Lake Buena Vista, or more likely, Orange and Osceola counties.
State Senate Minority Leader Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale, tried to amend the bill to include further study of the bond debt, but the amendment failed on a voice vote.
Farmer said the bond debt could total more than $2 billion and that tax authorities are increasing their estimates as they learn more about Reedy Creek’s outstanding liabilities.
“This is a very real impact, the extent of which we don’t fully understand yet,” Farmer said.
If the liabilities of $1.7 billion or more are transferred to Orange and Osceola counties, he said, the debt could amount to $1,000 per taxpayer.
“If the counties are left holding the bag, the state might have to come to their aid,” Farmer said. “So it’s not even just a tax issue for these two counties. It affects every taxpayer in the state of Florida.”….