Florida’s Orlando and Osceola county tax payers likely will not have to worry about a $1 billion Disney tax burden. Governor Ron DeSantis has stated at the Seminole State College in Sanford, that they are working on a proposal for the state to assume control of Walt Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District when it’s agreement is ended on June 1, 2023.

Many were worried that with the end of the special improvement district status the expense of of the district and the debt of Walt Disney World associated to the district would be thrust onto the tax payers.

DeSantis says this is not the case:

“The path forward is, Disney will not control its own government in the state of Florida. Disney will have to follow the same laws that every other company has to follow in the state of Florida. They will pay their share of taxes, and they will be responsible for paying the debts.”

According to the Orlando Sentinel, DeSantis wants to put the state in charge of the district, while also making sure that Disney continues to pay the taxes they need to “to maintain services for its theme park and resort properties.”

He’s also worried that local government would try to use the situation to raise taxes on people:

“I’d much rather have the state leading that effort than potentially having local government [in charge]. … I’m worried that they [local officials] would use that as a pretext to raise taxes on people when that’s what they would want to do anyways and then try to blame Reedy Creek. So we’re not going to give them that opportunity.”

Hopefully, if this does move forward, the local tax payers will not face a huge burden from the removal of Disney’s “Improvement District.”

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Source: Orlando Sentinel