This is the Way - Florida votes to remove Disney’s special tax status

[berryberry]

Go woke go broke

After the morons at Disney attacked the bill that stopped indoctrinating grad K-3 children with woke libtard bullshit, Florida has struck back

This is the way !!!

Florida House Passes Bill To Dissolve Disney's Special Tax District, Sending It To DeSantis' Desk

“It was unfortunate that Disney decided to wade into a political debate and attempt to overturn a common-sense law, enacted by a duly elected legislature and signed by a duly elected governor, with the support of the vast majority of Floridians,” DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw said.

“In fact, it was Disney that ‘retaliated’ by publicly vowing to ‘repeal’ or have the law ‘struck down.'”
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DeSantis has used the opportunity to highlight the influence of "woke" politics on modern corporate America.

In a fundraising email send on Wednesday, the popular Republican governor wrote, "Disney and other woke corporations won’t get away with peddling their unchecked pressure campaigns any longer. If we want to keep the Democrat machine and their corporate lapdogs accountable, we have to stand together now."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/...-desantis-desk

[berryberry]

Democrats in the Florida House of Representatives can be heard yelling & shrieking after lawmakers voted to remove Disney’s special tax status—a privilege it held for 55 years. Disney employs 38 lobbyists in Tallahassee & donates generously to politicians.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1517203394699702272

[berryberry]

BREAKING: Florida Gov Ron DeSantis signs a bill into law stripping Disney of its special tax status

https://twitter.com/i/status/1517589405644595200

[Grace Preston]

Here's where DeSantis may have F'd up. They've very glaringly made it targeted at one entity-- when there are 200 plus such entities in Florida that continue to maintain that special status. Disney will probably get this overturned in court BECAUSE of the targeting.



Sure, the optics are great as we head into the timeframe where the party is looking at who their golden boys for 2024 are... but I'm not a big fan of governmental moves made in a way that are likely to cost the taxpayers more than anything.

[Devo]

Originally Posted by Grace Preston

Here's where DeSantis may have F'd up. They've very glaringly made it targeted at one entity-- when there are 200 plus such entities in Florida that continue to maintain that special status. Disney will probably get this overturned in court BECAUSE of the targeting.



Sure, the optics are great as we head into the timeframe where the party is looking at who their golden boys for 2024 are... but I'm not a big fan of governmental moves made in a way that are likely to cost the taxpayers more than anything.

Pretty sure I read it applied to all special statuses pre 1968.

Besides the legislature granted it, the legislature removed it.

[Salty Again]

... Gonna be tough to overturn - seeing-as it wasn't DeSantis
who voted to do this - it was the Florida Legislature.

just sayin'

#### Salty

[Mistershark]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/21/disn...dissolved.html

Looks like the latest GOP action would transfer over $1.7 billion in bond liability to the local counties. Increasing taxes for each taxpayer by over $1,000.

Heavy punishment on the local citizens for Disneys apparent “wrongthink”.

[Grace Preston]

Yes-- I understand basic Civics.. thanks. Pretty sure the legislature worked in concert with DeSantis on this one. The courts are literally there for issues like this where there is the possibility of legal challenge. And Disney damn sure has the money to fight it. I can't predict who will win-- but its going to cost the state regardless.



And yes-- its written to dissolve all "special statuses" pre 1968--but who else does that effect, because I'm not seeming to find who else is affected by this. Don't get me wrong-- I'm not a Disney cheerleader by any means-- but I'd like to know who else is affected and why they were SO SPECIFIC in naming the year after Disney's special status was established.... I mean, why not end all of them if this isn't retaliatory in nature?



Taxpayers are going to love getting to take on that 1 billion in bond debt. Heh.



I mean-- if this is the move they felt is right for the state, fine-- but it doesn't look like they spent much time considering the unintended consequences and how much its going to cost that region of Florida.

[berryberry]

Correct - SB 4-C, dismantles ALL of the state’s special tax districts created before 1968.

And it is not going to cost taxpayers more because while that means employees and infrastructure would likely be absorbed by the counties, which would become responsible for things like sewer and road maintenance. In exchange, the counties would collect the tax revenue that Disney currently pays itself.

That bond debt will be made up in taxes that Disney now has to pay. That is what some are missing. Those bonds are supported by revenue that Disney pays itself (ie the special district). That revenue will now be paid to the counties to cover the debt

Anyway, even if Disney fights it in court or negotiates a settlement it's a victory against Woke corporations spouting woke bullshit to please a small group of their employees

[Grace Preston]

Yes-- but aside from Disney-- there is NOBODY of note that is affected by the move.. which is why they may have some reasonable grounds in court to point out that it is retaliatory in nature. Almost every special district in Florida was formed after 1968 with the exception of Disney-- and from what I can find, a couple of almost defunct ports.



Honestly-- I don't think the move was as much a move against "woke corporations". Along with their public statements-- they also stated that they were suspending all political donations (on both sides). I'd love to give them more credit than that-- but I just can't. Politics is mostly a shell game to generate funds--- you pull your money off the table, they don't want to play with you anymore.

[onawbtngr546]

I agree, that this should be done, but there are thousands of other tax exempt and 'non profit' companies which need to be tarted. Locally, UPMC... the biggest 'non profit' land owner and employer in the city.

[berryberry]

There may not be any other pre-68 districts of note. And people / companies file lawsuits over anything these days so it wouldn't surprise me to see Disney do so

But I disagree that this was because Disney recently said they would stop political contributions. Disney still spends a ton of money on political lobbyists. No - this is a shot across the bow of every woke corporation who tries to push woke politics in a red state. This is how conservatives fight back against libtards spouting lies and pushing policies the majority of people reject

[Grace Preston]

I'm sorry--- I don't have the faith in these folks that you do. I just don't.

[Jacuzzme]

When’s the last time you heard the leftist mob bellyache about making a huge company pay taxes?

[Mistershark]

Originally Posted by berryberry

In a fundraising email send on Wednesday, the popular Republican governor wrote, “Disney and other woke corporations won’t get away with peddling their unchecked pressure campaigns any longer. If we want to keep the Democrat machine and their corporate lapdogs accountable, we have to stand together now."

Looks like he found a way to punish Disney for stopping the political contributions, punish the citizens of the two local counties Disney operates in (Those counties primarily voted against DeSantis), and fill his coffers at the same time.

Also, what definition of popular are we using? He only got 49.6% of the votes. Half his state didn’t even vote for him. Seems like they should have omitted the qualifier altogether, no?