The Florida House and Senate are not even close to being aligned when it comes to government spending.
Expect some back-door deals to happen as both chambers have different views on spending.
The Senate budget is $117.4 billion, while the state House is slightly under $113.0 billion, making a $4.4 billion difference.
One difference is that the Republicans in the State Senate want a 4% across-the-board pay raise for state employees, while House GOP members want to eliminate just over 7,000 state employee positions.
Observers note that there may be some spending compromises on other funding issues, such as housing programs, the environment, and educational fixed capital outlay.
Tax Cuts:
Expect some differences between both chambers and the Governor’s office.
Gov. DeSantis wanted to give Florida homeowners $5 billion in property tax rebates, but it appears neither chamber will support that.
The House is still focused on a permanent cut in the state sales tax, reducing the rate by 0.75 percentage points, from 6.0 percent to 5.25 percent. The few items that are taxed at a lower sales tax rate, such as commercial leases (“Business Rent Tax”), which is taxed at 2.0 percent, will also be reduced by 0.75 percent.
Senate President Albritton says his chamber will soon release its own tax plan, but it could be smaller than the House version. The Senate says it is concerned about possible budget shortfalls in the future.
The state Senate’s current proposal would establish a permanent sales tax exemption for clothing and shoes priced at $75 or less.
2024’s sales tax holidays would also be renewed for another year.
The current moratorium on local governments increasing their communications services tax will be extended for three years (until 2031). The package also calls for a study to examine ways to reduce or eliminate property taxes.
