Legislative budget talks blew up Friday, as the House, the Senate and Gov. Ron DeSantis tangle over tax cuts.
House Speaker Daniel Perez accused Senate President Ben Albritton of backing out of a “historic tax proposal” that the leaders outlined last week as they extended the annual legislative session to reach a budget deal. DeSantis, who wants to reduce property taxes, threatened this week to veto Perez’ priority of cutting sales taxes.
In a memo Friday to House members, Perez, R-Miami, said the House will hold a largely procedural meeting Tuesday to extend the potential end date of the session until June 30 and that a select committee on property taxes will meet. But otherwise, formal budget conference negotiations will not start next week as had been expected.
“The Senate president informed me this week that he is breaking his commitment to the House that he publicly announced from the Senate rostrum,” Perez wrote, referring to comments Albritton made May 2 as they extended the session. “I was disappointed when the Senate president informed me of his decision to no longer bring the House’s historic tax proposal to the Senate floor. As I’m sure you can appreciate, this blew up the framework for the budget deal we had negotiated.”
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Albritton, in a memo to senators Friday, pointed to a DeSantis comment this week that the $2.8 billion tax proposal would be “dead on arrival.” The memo also indicated that at least some senators didn’t support the proposal.
“From speaking with senators, I know many of you share concerns with both the number and the policy of that framework and instead favor targeted tax relief that benefits growing families and seniors aging with dignity,” Albritton, R-Wauchula, wrote.
The memos Friday came after the House and Senate could not reach agreement on budget and tax-cut plans to end the annual 60-day session on time. As they announced the extension May 2, the leaders indicated they had agreement on the $2.8 billion tax-cut proposal and a budget that would be smaller than DeSantis’ recommended $115.6 billion spending plan.
The House approved a measure last month that called for cutting the state sales-tax rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent, which would have totaled roughly $5 billion. But the Senate did not go along with the idea.
“It is important to me that we develop a tax relief package that is sustainable for the long term and leaves room in our balanced budget for the voters to consider meaningful property tax relief on the ballot at the next general election.”Memo from Senate President Ben Albritton
Perez said the $2.8 billion tax-cut proposal included a $1.6 billion cut in the sales-tax rate.
In his memo Friday, Albritton alluded to the proposal including an “across-the-board sales tax cut of one quarter of one penny.” He said senators raised concerns that such a cut would not be “meaningful, felt, or seen by families and seniors when compared with other available options.”
The Senate last month pitched a plan that included providing a sales-tax exemption on clothes and shoes valued at $75 or less. DeSantis, meanwhile, has called for a one-time $1,000 property-tax rebate to homeowners, before asking voters in 2026 to approve a broader property-tax cut.
The House also approved a budget proposal last month that was more than $4 billion smaller than the Senate proposal.
In his memo Friday, Perez wrote that while the circumstances surrounding the budget conference process are “less than ideal or even expected, as members of the Florida House, our responsibilities do not change. We will deliver a fiscally conservative budget that cuts government waste and puts Florida on the best possible trajectory for long-term success.”
Albritton has expressed concerns for weeks about passing tax cuts that might need to be revisited in the coming years because of budget shortfalls. In his memo Friday, Albritton said senators raised concerns that a large “recurring” tax cut “may constrain options for the major property tax reform the governor, House, and Senate, and most importantly --- the Floridians we represent --- are asking us to put forward.”
“It is important to me that we develop a tax relief package that is sustainable for the long term and leaves room in our balanced budget for the voters to consider meaningful property tax relief on the ballot at the next general election,” Albritton’s memo said.
DeSantis, who has battled with Perez on a series of issues, said during appearances Wednesday in Tampa and Friday in Jacksonville that reducing the sales-tax rate is something “nobody is asking for” and would “effectively kill any opportunity to do property-tax reform.” He also has repeatedly said cutting sales taxes would benefit visitors to Florida, while property-tax reductions would help homeowners.
“I look forward to working with the Senate and relevant House members to have a good Florida-first tax package,” DeSantis said during the appearance in Tampa. “But I can tell you, any Florida-last tax package is going to be dead on arrival. We are not going to kneecap our ability to provide you property-tax relief just so we can give a little bit of a benefit to Canadian tourists.”
DeSantis has ridiculed the 37-member House Select Committee on Property Taxes as a “dog and pony” show and said Friday that House Republicans leaders should follow his lead.
“They assume this power and this leadership and they're weaponizing that against the voters that sent us there in the first place,” DeSantis said. “And that's why they've had trouble. That's why it's been an ineffective run for them. They don't even have a budget.”
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican and DeSantis ally, said during the Jacksonville event that “there's a lot of people in the Senate who agree with the governor's positions.”
Lawmakers need to pass a budget before the July 1 start of the 2025-2026 fiscal year. DeSantis has line-item veto power.
