Surrounded by lawmakers at a Home Depot in Pensacola, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill (HB 7061) into law Friday that establishes three upcoming “sales-tax holidays” throughout the summer that aims to give financial relief to Floridians.
The sales-tax holidays include: the “Disaster Preparedness” holiday from May 28th, 2021, through June 3rd, 2021, the “Freedom Week” holiday from July 1st, 2021, through July 7th, 2021, and the “Back-to-School” holiday from August 6th, 2021, through August 12th, 2021.
With the holidays put in place, Floridians have an opportunity to save money on purchases regarding disaster preparedness during the first holiday, recreational activities during the second, and back-to-school supplies during the third.
Disaster preparedness and back-to-school tax holidays are two that Floridians have seen in the past, but according to DeSantis’ press conference, the Freedom Week holiday is the “first ever” and “will be a seven day sales-tax holiday on outdoor recreational purchases as well as tickets to events, museums, the arts, and more.”
DeSantis added that the Freedom Week is meant to “celebrate our economic and recreational freedom that we enjoy here in the Sunshine State,” alluding to Florida being open compared to states that are still being heavily affected by the pandemic. “If you look around the country, we’re a free state, many of these states are not free states…we’re proud of being open, and we want taxpayers to be able to benefit if they’re participating in these things.”
According to APNews.com, although Floridians who take advantage of the holidays will save an estimated $168 million in sales-tax, the state of Florida will also begin collecting taxes on online purchases that account for approximately $1 billion annually and will most likely offset the savings made during the tax holidays.
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Casey Owens is a writer at The Florida Capital Star. Follow him on Twitter at @cowensreports. Email tips to [email protected].
