- May 9, 2025
The Florida House on Friday approved a $5.008 billion tax package on Friday, April 25, after making a change to a controversial proposal about shifting money collected for tourism marketing.
The bill would direct money raised through a tax on hotel stays to be shifted to offset property taxes starting in 2026.
The change to the bill would allow 25 percent of the so-called “bed tax” money to continue to be used for tourism marketing.
“We have a local, current affordability crisis,” House Ways & Means Chairman Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, said. “We want to provide as much as possible toward local-government property tax relief as we, the Legislature, can do legislatively this year.”
The House voted 78-29 to approve the bill (HB 7033), which will be considered during negotiations between the House and Senate on a new state budget. Tourism-industry officials have argued that the House tax plan and another bill (HB 1221) backed Friday by the House would lead to Florida losing visitors, resulting in fewer jobs and revenue.
“These proposed measures would have a profound effect on the tourism industry in Florida, devastating how tourism is promoted and supported,” the Florida Attractions Association said in a news release.
The overall House tax package is built on a proposal to permanently reduce the state’s sales-tax rate from 6% to 5.25% and to reduce a commercial lease tax. The House and Senate have not been able to reach initial agreements needed to begin formal budget negotiations, with the tax package a big hurdle.
The Senate, which hasn’t sought the change in tourism-marketing dollars, put forward a $1.83 billion proposal (SB 7034) that includes eliminating sales taxes on clothing and shoes that cost $75 or less. It also would provide a one-time credit on annual vehicle-registration fees and offer a series of sales-tax “holidays,” including a new one that would last more than three months on hunting equipment.
