Sales tax cut proposed by Florida House Speaker

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS12) — Florida shoppers could soon get a little relief every time they go to the store.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Daniel Perez unveiled plans for a sales tax cut that would slash three-quarters of a point from the state’s sales tax.

The Miami Republican explained he intended to ask House Ways & Means Committee Chair Rep. Wyman Duggan (R-Jacksonville) to produce a bill that drops the sales tax from 6% to 5.25% permanently.

"This will not be a temporary measure, a stunt or a tax holiday. This will be a permanent recurring tax deduction,” he told lawmakers. He noted that the move would amount to the largest tax cut in the state history and would make Florida the state in U.S. history to pass a permanent sales tax cut.

Arguing that the legislature could not spend its way out of a spending problem, Perez suggested the lower tax would force lawmakers to tighten the state’s pocketbook. He acknowledged that cutting some programs would almost certainly invite strong pushback, even from the legislators themselves.

“Of course, the special interests will say the sky is falling and the world is ending. But, it won’t and it’s not,” Perez continued. “They have lost sight of the difference between their needs and their wants.”

Perez added that he expects this coming bill would spend less than the current fiscal year, saying year-to-year decline would be a first since the Great Recession.

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He also claimed the coming bill would spend less than the one proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis last month. DeSantis’ budget recommendations for the 2025-2026 fiscal year recommended a $115.6 billion budget, which is about $3 billion less than the current year’s plan.

In his address to the legislature three weeks ago, DeSantis pushed lowering property taxes and possibly ditching them altogether.

"You buy a home, you pay off the mortgage, and yet you still have to write a check to the government every year just for the privilege of living on your own private property," he contended.

He also pledged at that time not to pass any tax increases.

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