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Repealing Disney's special district could unintentionally increase taxes, Florida officials warn



Tax officials and state legislators are warning that by stripping Disney of its self-governing privileges, Florida Republicans could be putting taxpayers on the hook for more than $1 billion in bond debt.

Florida Republicans on Thursday passed legislation in the state House that dissolves the Reedy Creek Improvement District — a special district given to the Walt Disney Company in 1967 for the Walt Disney World Resort.

For decades, Disney has held the right to tax and regulate itself, so long as whatever projects the company builds in the theme park follow building codes and other federal and state laws. Under this arrangement, Disney pays for public services within the area of the theme park, including local police, fire departments, and infrastructure such as public roads and bridges and takes on authority and responsibility similar to a county government.

But Republicans, upset with how the company has publicly opposed legislation that would keep sexual orientation and gender identity discussions out of kindergarten through third-grade classrooms, acted this week to remove Disney's special privileges. They say that private companies should not hold special privileges in law, and that once the law is repealed, local county governments will assume the power to collect taxes and govern Disney's theme park.

But tax officials from those counties warn that the repeal legislation could have unintended consequences, CNBC News reported.

Scott Randolph, a Democratic tax collector for Orange County, said that the Reedy Creek district collects an estimated $105 million annually in tax revenue, but those taxes won't automatically get transferred to Orange and Osceola counties — the local governments that would have jurisdiction over parts of Disney World should the Reedy Creek district be dissolved.

"If you dissolved Reedy Creek, that $105 million in revenue literally goes away, it doesn't get transferred," Randolph told CNBC.

He explained that Reedy Creek is an "independent tax district," which means that the tax revenues Disney generates from its property are in addition to local taxes the company already pays, not in substitution for them.

According to CNBC, Disney is the largest taxpayer in central Florida, paying over $280 million in property taxes to Orange and Osceola counties between 2015 and 2020.

If the Reedy Creek district goes away, the tax payments to Orange and Osceola counties would remain the same, while the counties would be forced to pick up the additional cost of operating the public services and infrastructure that Disney currently pays for, Randolph said.

The counties would also inherit Disney's debt in the form of Reedy Creek bond liabilities, which are valued between $1 billion and $1.7 billion, CNBC said.

Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Gary Farmer told CNBC that taxpayers in Orange and Osceola counties could be saddled with more than $2 billion in bond debt, as tax authorities are increasing their estimates of Reedy Creek's liabilities as they look into the issue.

"This is a very real impact, the extent of which we don't fully understand yet," Farmer said. He estimated that the debt could be worth as much as $1,000 per taxpayer.

"If the counties are left holding the bag, the state might have to come to their aid," Farmer said. "So it's not even just a tax issue for these two counties. It affects every taxpayer in the state of Florida."

Republicans insist that taxpayers will not be stuck with a bill if Disney loses its special privileges.

State Rep. Randy Fine, who fought for the repeal legislation, said tax revenue that Disney currently pays itself would be transferred to local governments and should cover the costs of added public services.

"Those taxes will continue to be paid," he told CNBC. "They will just be paid to Orange and Osceola county instead of this special improvement district. The taxpayers could end up saving money because you've got duplicative services that are being provided by this special district that are already being done by those municipalities."

Randolph said it's not so simple. In an interview with WFTV-TV, he said state laws prevent the counties from raising sales taxes or impact fees to cover the costs of assuming Reedy Creek's public services. Taxes levied by the county are required to be levied on everyone, so even taxpayers who don't live in the Reedy Creed district would have to pay increased taxes if the counties took that option.

Another option is to increase property taxes anywhere from 20% to 25% to cover the additional costs, Randolph said.

He criticized the legislature for repealing the Reedy Creek Improvement District without adequate time to consider the consequences.

“They’re dissolving something the size of the city of Orlando in 72 hours,” Randolph said. “This is not the way to run a state.”

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Biden's $1.8 trillion American Families Plan makes tax-and-spend liberalism great again



President Joe Biden will bring tax-and-spend liberalism roaring back into style during an address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night, proposing $1.8 trillion in new spending initiatives and tax credits over the next decade to be paid for with increased taxes.

The "American Families Plan" calls for at least four years of free education — including universal pre-K and free community college tuition — direct money payments to American families with children, new government-funded family and medical leave programs, and expanded Obamacare subsidies. The president also wants Congress to "adjust the length and amount of [unemployment insurance] benefits unemployed workers receive depending on economic conditions."

The plan calls for spending $1 trillion and offering $800 billion in tax credits to meet these goals. The White House claims that increased taxes on Americans making over $400,000 annually will fully pay for this dramatic increase in spending in 15 years.

Here's a breakdown of what Biden's plan calls for:

Education

  • $200 billion for free universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds in America;
  • $109 billion for two years of free community college;
  • $80 billion to fund new Pell Grants;
  • $62 billion to attempt to increase college completion and retention rates in "disadvantaged communities" by providing child care and mental health services, emergency needs-based grants, support for transfer agreements, and "evidence-based remediation programs";
  • $46 billion to subsidize tuition at historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribal colleges and universities;
  • $9 billion to "train, equip, and diversify American teachers" with increased scholarship funding for would-be teachers and additional targeted spending for "candidates of color."
More details:
  • Biden is calling for a "national partnership with states" to provide free preschool for 3- and 4-year olds. The quality of care is supposed to be high with "low student-to-teacher ratios, high-quality and developmentally appropriate curriculum, and supportive classroom environments that are inclusive for all students."
  • All pre-K program employees will earn a minimum wage of $15 per hour.
  • Biden's free community college plan will include offering free tuition to illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors, so-called "DREAMers."
  • Pell Grant awards will be increased by about $1,400 and will be offered to DREAMers.

Welfare for Families

  • $225 billion to subsidize child care for working parents and give child care workers a $15 minimum wage;
  • $225 billion for guaranteed 12 weeks of comprehensive paid family and medical leave, providing workers up to $4,000 a month with a minimum of two-thirds of average weekly wages replaced;
  • $45 billion for free and reduced-price meals for schoolchildren during summer vacation, expanded meal programs during the school year, and expanded Obama-era healthy foods demonstrations;
  • $200 billion to make the increased Obamacare subsidies under the Biden COVID-19 relief plan permanent;
  • The Child Tax Credit increases from the Biden COVID-19 relief plan will be extended through 2025 and will be paid regularly in advance;
  • Reimburse families making less than $125,000 annually for 50% of their child care costs for children under age 13 by making the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit expansion permanent;
  • Make the Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion for workers without children permanent.
More details:
  • Individuals previously convicted on felony drug charges will be made eligible for food stamp benefits.
  • Unemployment insurance will be reformed to adjust the "length and amount" of benefits received.
  • The IRS would be given additional regulatory power over tax preparation services like TurboTax.

Tax increases

  • Biden would increase spending on the IRS to crack down on tax evasion and implement new regulations to force financial institutions to "report information on account flows so that earnings from investments and business activity are subject to reporting more like wages already are'";
  • Repeal President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cut, raising the top income tax rate back to 39.6% from 37%;
  • Raise the capital gains tax to 39.6% for households making more than $1 million;
  • Reinstate the "Death Tax" on inheritances in excess of $1 million ($2.5 million per couple when combined with existing real estate exemptions) that are not donated to charity;
  • Eliminate the carried interest tax loophole;
  • End the real estate tax break on property transfers for gains greater than $500,000;
  • Eliminate loopholes and deductions to implement a flat 3.8% Medicare tax rate on Americans making more than $400,000.
The tax increases of the "American Families Plan," in conjunction with tax increases proposed in Biden's infrastructure plan and long-term deficit reduction projections from these plans, will supposedly offset the $1.8 trillion in spending within 15 years.

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Democrats snuck $60 billion in tax hikes into COVID relief bill



Democrats in Congress got a head start on their tax-increase agenda by reportedly sneaking a trio of surprise tax hikes into President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

The spate of new taxes, which together amount to $60 billion, target wealthy and big corporations.

"One takes away deductions for publicly traded companies that pay top employees more than $1 million. Another provision cracks down on how multinational corporations do their taxes. A third targets how owners of unincorporated businesses account for their losses," Politico reported Wednesday.

Politico added that while the tax hikes are aligned with the Democrats' agenda of raising taxes on the rich, they fell under the radar because of their relative obscurity.

"Unlike things like raising the corporate tax rate or upping the top marginal tax rate on the rich, the ones they chose won't produce many headlines," the outlet noted.

The proposals were also added late in the legislative process and, consequently, lobbyists weren't able to rally opposition in time.

"Everybody was caught by surprise," a former Democratic aide told Politico. "They picked obscure items — things that were not on the radar."

While Democratic lawmakers were expected to put off tax increases until later in Biden's term, evidently they couldn't resist the opportunity once it presented itself. Having reportedly run into problems "complying with the stringent budget rules surrounding so-called reconciliation measures like the coronavirus legislation," Democrats instituted the tax hikes to "shield the entire measure from a Republican filibuster in the Senate."

Translation: They were spending too much money, so in order to keep the mammoth legislation from facing further scrutiny in the form of a filibuster, Democrats took from the wealthy to pay for the plan, thus lowering the cost.

Politico portrays Democrats as reluctant to take the action, however, it's hard to conceive how raising taxes on the wealthy with the added benefit of sticking it to Republicans in the process is something that Democrats wouldn't be desirous to do. After all, the tax hikes fit perfectly into the Democratic economic agenda.

Either way, news that Congress raised taxes at all during a time of continued economic difficulty brought on by the coronavirus pandemic may rub many Americans the wrong way. Though Democrats would likely argue that the tax hikes paved the way for including measures such as waiving taxes on unemployment benefits.

Speaking with National Interest, Alan Viard, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said, "The Democrats would argue that these particular tax hikes will have little impact on aggregate demand and that including them in the bill allowed the inclusion of additional tax cuts (that the Democrats believe will have significant effects on aggregate demand) with no net revenue loss."

The bill had passed both chambers of Congress on Wednesday, largely along partisan lines, and Biden signed the bill into law Thursday.