Published 3 hours ago
Will Disney's loss of special tax district in Florida mean taxpayers are stuck with the bill?
Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph says the move by the Florida legislature will cost local taxpayers big bucks
By Breck Dumas FOXBusiness
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law Friday stripping Disney of its special self-governing tax district, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, surrounding Walt Disney World.
The Republican-led legislature passed the bill earlier this week amid an intense political battle with Democrats, after Disney decried the state's new "Parental Rights in Education" law, which critics branded the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
But the political battle appears far from over.
Opponents claim that removing the Reedy Creek municipality will leave local taxpayers on the hook for the district's outstanding debts and cost of upkeep when it goes into effect in June 2023 — to the tune of $163 million per year.
Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph, a Democrat and the former ranking member of the Florida House finance and tax committee, claims that if Reedy Creek ceases to exist, the residents of his county and neighboring Osceola will have to take on its tens of millions in bond payments and operational expenses currently paid by Disney, but will be left without the ability to collect revenue because the taxing authority will no longer exist.
Randolph told FOX Business that could mean an increase in property taxes of 25% if Orange County has to absorb all of it.
Florida state Rep. Randy Fine, the Republican who sponsored the legislation, told FOX Business that that argument is "just a scare tactic used by woke politicians."
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https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/disney-stripped-special-status-florida-local-taxpayers
