Ron DeSantis officially ends Disney’s special tax status in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday nixing the Walt Disney Company’s sweet tax deal with the state — after the entertainment giant opposed its so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Asserting that the company was aiming to “inject sexuality” into its content, DeSantis said he was not “comfortable having that type of agenda getting special treatment in my state.”
Enacted in 1967 to attract Disney to Florida, the so-called Reedy Creek Improvement District gives the company near autonomy — including control over police and fire units as well as infrastructure management — at its properties.
The abrupt nixing of the 55-year-old pact came after Disney objected to legislation DeSantis initiated that banned instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for kids in kindergarten through the third grade.
Supporters of the law assert that it shields kids from inappropriately sexual material in the younger grades and protects them against forms of indoctrination.
But vocal critics — including top Disney brass — have bashed it as a “cruel” attack on the LGBTQ community and dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that,” Disney said after the bill’s passage.
President Joe Biden said Friday that Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill signed by DeSantis signaled a shift in the Republican Party.
“It’s not even conservative in a traditional sense of conservatism,” he said. “It’s mean, it’s ugly. Look at what’s happening in Florida: Christ, they’re going after Mickey Mouse.”
DeSantis resumed his attacks on Disney’s ideological priorities just before signing the bill at a Friday press conference.
He said the special tax district was a “partnership that developed early on with Walt Disney — I don’t think Walt would appreciate what’s going on with this company right now,” he said, referring to the company’s founder.
The controversial legislation is scheduled to take effect in June 2023, a window that could allow the two sides to hammer out a revised deal.
With the special district’s dissolution, the Orlando theme park — one of Florida’s biggest employers — would be subject to the governance of Orange and Osceola Counties.
DeSantis addressed concerns that the new structure would saddle those municipalities with current Disney debt, which is estimated at $2 billion, for the services they would pick up.
DeSantis rejected those concerns and said the company would now be confronted with a much higher tax bill that would cover costs.
Opened in 1971, the attraction employs about 77,000 people and is one of the most visited theme parks in the world.
