Florida has decided to strip Disney of its privileged tax district status, adopting a bill to do just that which now needs only the signature …
Florida has decided to strip Disney of its privileged tax district status, adopting a bill to do just that which now needs only the signature of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who originally requested the change. The Daily Mail revealed the Florida House supported the plan 68-38 a day after the state Senate adopted it 23-16. The change could take effect as early as June. 1, 2023. The company has been benefiting from its status as a special improvement district since it was set up decades ago. The status allows the company to control its own operations and development almost exclusively. The change will be significant, as Disney no longer will be given the privilege of acting as its own government. The new plan shreds a 55-year-old deal which gave Disney corporate officials the authority to regulate land, enforce building codes and treat wastewater, and according to the Daily Mail, « could cost the company millions in lost local taxes. » The bill calls for the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney government is known, to be eliminated by June 2023.
