There won’t be a suspension of the gas tax this year in Florida, after a provision pushed by Democrats failed to make it into the tax cut bill negotiated by legislative leaders and approved late Sunday.
But there will be savings for campers, gun owners and professional tennis fans if the measure (HB 7031E) is approved by the Legislature on Friday. The Legislature plans to vote on the bill along with the $114.5 billion budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
The bill is estimated to cut state and local revenue by $146 million in the next fiscal year.
With the average gallon of gas in Florida at $4.32 on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, said Democrats will continue to push DeSantis to suspend the state’s gas tax.
“Floridians are feeling the pain at the pump and suspending the gas tax would provide some real relief for families and even small business owners just trying to keep their doors open in the communities they serve,” Driskell told reporters Tuesday in a media conference call. “This is non-negotiable when it comes to affordability.”
On Friday, DeSantis said he’d sign a tax package that included a reduction in the state’s 22-cents per gallon gas tax. But he questioned its effectiveness in providing relief for Floridians’ finances.
“When we did that last time, I think the Legislature was less than impressed on the results,” DeSantis said during a bill signing event in Jacksonville.
The state lifted the gas tax in October 2022, but due to market fluctuations and supply chain pricing, the average savings was about 13 cents per gallon.
As for the tax package now before lawmakers, the biggest part of the bill is a three-year exemption from sales taxes on impact-resistant windows and doors. The home hardening effort is expected to cut state and local revenue by $45.3 million in the next fiscal year.
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Another $25.8 million in revenue will be cut by lifting taxes on admissions to Association of Tennis Professionals' ATP Masters 1000 and Women's Tennis Association's WTA 1000 tournaments through July 1, 2029. Both tours have events at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
The proposal moves the back-to-school sales tax “holiday” on select clothes, supplies and personal computers priced at $1,500 or less to July 20 through August 20 rather than for all of August, as was set in state law last year.
The plan also revives a hunting, fishing and camping sales tax “holiday,” set to run from September 1 through Dec. 31. It’s projected to save consumers $32.2 million.
During that time taxes would be lifted on ammunition, pistols and rifles, and an assortment of firearm accessories that include range bags, holsters, magazines, mats, sights, slings, stocks, cleaning kits, silencers and triggers.
When the House initially approved its tax package during the regular session, it drew some criticism for lifting taxes on firearms accessories.
Ways & Means Committee Chairman Rep. Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, said on March 5 the inclusion of gun accessories is tied to the 2024 measure approved by voters that enshrined the right to hunt and fish into the state constitution.
Camping gear that will fall under the holiday includes sleeping bags and camping stoves under $50, flashlights under $30 and tents under $200. Sales taxes would also be lifted for fishing rods and reels individually sold under $75, tackle boxes under $30 and bait priced $10 or less.
Efforts to exempt some taxes for the full fiscal year on American-made beer and some property being leased for Space Florida projects failed to make the final package. But there are reductions for both the pari-mutuel tax on cardrooms and the tax on slot machine revenue, and an increase from $40 million to $53.1 million in the dollar-for-dollar tax credit businesses can receive when donating to select charities aiding vulnerable children and families.
The Florida Strong Families Tax Credit provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations to eligible charities aiding vulnerable children and families. Individuals have to apply to the Department of Revenue to be eligible for the tax credit.
