Huge Desantis Fan, but Don't Love The Latest Move

[SnoopDawg205]

The parental rights bill is one I am in favor of and is a political winner, despite the media and the left desperately trying their best to inaccurately re-frame it as the "don't say gay" bill. Desantis also had a big political win by pushing the bill through despite Disney's public objections, and gave them a big F-you, showing that he wasn't going to cave to corporate pressure. At that point, he had already won. Now, the repeal of Disney's special governing status seems like a bad political move, where he might ruin a good thing when it wasn't necessary, and is likely to accomplish little outside of forcing increased property taxes on multiple counties.

Thoughts?

 

[kdsdawg]

The parental rights bill is one I am in favor of and is a political winner, despite the media and the left desperately trying their best to inaccurately re-frame it as the "don't say gay" bill. Desantis also had a big political win by pushing the bill through despite Disney's public objections, and gave them a big F-you, showing that he wasn't going to cave to corporate pressure. At that point, he had already won. Now, the repeal of Disney's special governing status seems like a bad political move, where he might ruin a good thing when it wasn't necessary, and is likely to accomplish little outside of forcing increased property taxes on multiple counties.

Thoughts?

Thery should not have special tax status.

 

[HacksawDawg]

It's political grandstanding to gain attention for 2024 run. And he didn't think this one through. Agree with everything you said.

 

[HacksawDawg]

Thery should not have special tax status.

Fine...just understand taxpayers are about to incur $1B in taxes to take those roles on for Disney. Oops.

 

[kdsdawg]

Fine...just understand taxpayers are about to incur $1B in taxes to take those roles on for Disney. Oops.

thought this was about Disney paying more taxes, not less

 

[Dawgs2001GATA]

Fine...just understand taxpayers are about to incur $1B in taxes to take those roles on for Disney. Oops.

Wouldn’t that only be a factor if they left Florida? Either way it comes out to about 50 bucks per person in Florida. I’d gladly pay that to keep the woke Disney garbage out of my state.

 

[MaitlandFloridaDawg]

The parental rights bill is one I am in favor of and is a political winner, despite the media and the left desperately trying their best to inaccurately re-frame it as the "don't say gay" bill. Desantis also had a big political win by pushing the bill through despite Disney's public objections, and gave them a big F-you, showing that he wasn't going to cave to corporate pressure. At that point, he had already won. Now, the repeal of Disney's special governing status seems like a bad political move, where he might ruin a good thing when it wasn't necessary, and is likely to accomplish little outside of forcing increased property taxes on multiple counties.

Thoughts?

It does seem like he might be "overplaying his hand". I don't know how well this will play out in Orange County which has a population of over 1.4 million.

 

[SnoopDawg205]

thought this was about Disney paying more taxes, not less

No, the removal of the special district governance, at least as I understand it, Disney will actually end up paying less taxes, the two county budgets will have to increase to cover municipal services (permitting, road road, fire, police, etc) that Disney currently covers, and the budget shortfalls will need to be covered by increased property taxes for county residents.

 

[kdsdawg]

No, the removal of the special district governance, at least as I understand it, Disney will actually end up paying less taxes, the two county budgets will have to increase to cover municipal services (permitting, road road, fire, police, etc) that Disney currently covers, and the budget shortfalls will need to be covered by increased property taxes for county residents.

I thought by being their own district they were not paying as much taxes. So what is the benefit for Florida doing this to Disney if it isn't hurting them

 

[SnoopDawg205]

I thought by being their own district they were not paying as much taxes. So what is the benefit for Florida doing this to Disney if it isn't hurting them

That's the big question. This twitter thread does a really good job of summarizing.

 

[jbpayne32]

That's the big question. This twitter thread does a really good job of summarizing.

View embedded media

Haha, so residents will see a 25% property tax increase and Disney will pay $163M less in taxes per year. Wow, Desantis really own goaled Disney didn’t he?

 

[SnoopDawg205]

Haha, so residents will see a 25% property tax increase and Disney will pay $163M less in taxes per year. Wow, Desantis really own goaled Disney didn’t he?

My only guess is that he is just operating under the assumption that Disney fights it in court and wins, but then he will get “credit” for sticking it to Disney.

 

[rednblack4life]

Haha, so residents will see a 25% property tax increase and Disney will pay $163M less in taxes per year. Wow, Desantis really own goaled Disney didn’t he?

This. It's looking like it will fall on Orange County tax payers to the tune of a 20+% tax increase. My in-laws live there and were previously big DeSantis fans... They are PISSED.

 

[CocoDawg]

So Disney spoke out against DeSantis recent legislations, and he in turns try to act like a bully to stick it back to them instead of taking the high road? He’s lost his mind

 

[willdup]

The parental rights bill is one I am in favor of and is a political winner, despite the media and the left desperately trying their best to inaccurately re-frame it as the "don't say gay" bill. Desantis also had a big political win by pushing the bill through despite Disney's public objections, and gave them a big F-you, showing that he wasn't going to cave to corporate pressure. At that point, he had already won. Now, the repeal of Disney's special governing status seems like a bad political move, where he might ruin a good thing when it wasn't necessary, and is likely to accomplish little outside of forcing increased property taxes on multiple counties.

Thoughts?

It is interesting to speculate how he would react as President when certain entities (corporate or other) fail to fall in line as he would like. Making decisions that feed your ego at the direct financial cost of your constituency is a really bad look.

 

[oldmandawg]

The parental rights bill is one I am in favor of and is a political winner, despite the media and the left desperately trying their best to inaccurately re-frame it as the "don't say gay" bill. Desantis also had a big political win by pushing the bill through despite Disney's public objections, and gave them a big F-you, showing that he wasn't going to cave to corporate pressure. At that point, he had already won. Now, the repeal of Disney's special governing status seems like a bad political move, where he might ruin a good thing when it wasn't necessary, and is likely to accomplish little outside of forcing increased property taxes on multiple counties.

Thoughts?

The Florida House and Senate passed the bill. DeSantis will sign it. It's not all on DeSantis. I don’t know enough about it to make a determination, but if DeSantis is for the bill, it must not be to bad. He's pretty astute, policy wise and politically.

 

[celticdawg]

My only guess is that he is just operating under the assumption that Disney fights it in court and wins, but then he will get “credit” for sticking it to Disney.

I'll get back to the "Disney" issue, but you have nailed it. Politicians who are running for office, make decisions to aid themselves in future elections. DeSantis is very calculating and everything he does is for what he sees his voters want. He has done things which are unconstitutional and it doesn't matter if he loses in court (after the taxpayers have to pay for this nonsense). Here's one clear example.

A few years ago the Florida Constitution was amended to require the voters to approve any further changes to gambling in the State of Florida (the amendment was supposed by over 70% of the voters). Last year he decided to go ahead and make a new agreement with the Seminole Tribe regarding their gambling, specifically allowing sports gambling for the first time. This is not allowed but they refused to back down. There are some nuances to the issue, but eventually the courts forced them to shut it down. I mention this because I am in favor of gambling and welcomed the online betting, but it was clearly illegal. But that didn't stop DeSantis.

Other issues have to go through the legislature, but so much is clearly done because DeSantis says so. Let's take the new districts required because of the change in census. This is the job of the legislature and remember the House and Senate have both been controlled by the Republicans for a while. During the past session, new districts were approved (obviously favoring the Republicans and that's how it goes in any state to the controlling party). But DeSantis wouldn't accept that and vetoed it. So we get to spend money for a special session. The legislature didn't even propose new districts but bowed to DeSantis' districts (don't want to piss this Governor off or you know what will happen). Guess what, he cut the predominant African American districts in half to reduce their power. This is headed to the courts while some politicians don't even know what districts to run in.

So after Disney pissed off DeSantis (I don't see any need to go into that here) suddenly he "made" the legislature take away the special district created for the establishment of DisneyWorld. If this was not done, Walt would have gone somewhere else and some state would have given him what he wanted. For the most part, it cut out the "red tape" they would have to go through in the building process then and in the future. It didn't mean they avoided building codes, etc. because that wasn't their goal. It's unclear what is going to happen here. The Florida Constitution says the district can only be dissolved by the voters of that district, but the new legislation tries to void that. If this stands, then Orange and Osceola County governments will be responsible for providing services such as fire and police (according to every legal opinion I have read). Whatever is owed by the Reedy Creek District will become a burden of those governments. The amount is unclear, but I have seen between $1 and $2 billion.

They also took away protection they had given Disney last year when they went after Twitter and other social media companies. Of course the main reason for the legislation was because some politician was banned from Twitter (but we're not allowed to mention his name anymore I'm told). I don't think Disney was entitled to this, but they do employ a lot of lobbyists and made contributions (of course, the legislation was to get approval from voters).

Look, it's politics from both parties and it sucks. That's what elections are for.

 

[cherrydawg]

It is interesting to speculate how he would react as President when certain entities (corporate or other) fail to fall in line as he would like. Making decisions that feed your ego at the direct financial cost of your constituency is a really bad look.

You mean like Brandon has done to us all?

 

[rednblack4life]

The Florida House and Senate passed the bill. DeSantis will sign it. It's not all on DeSantis. I don’t know enough about it to make a determination, but if DeSantis is for the bill, it must not be to bad. He's pretty astute, policy wise and politically.

Oh good god.

 

[atlanta cock#]

It's political grandstanding to gain attention for 2024 run. And he didn't think this one through. Agree with everything you said.

That’s what pols do. Don’t act so surprised.

 

[Zonadog]

That's the big question. This twitter thread does a really good job of summarizing.

View embedded media

Can't help but feel there is something missing from this discussion. I don't know what and not trying to be sarcastic, but something seems to be missing.

 

[wwforest]

Don't know all the ins and outs on tax implications. Does Disney have to pay Ad Valorem taxes on their Real Property to the counties? Personal property taxes?

 

[SnoopDawg205]

Can't help but feel there is something missing from this discussion. I don't know what and not trying to be sarcastic, but something seems to be missing.

I agree. Desantis is pretty damn savvy, so it is surprising he did this. Really hope there is more to it. He will always have my loyalty for his approach to covid, especially keeping schools open and kids out of masks, but until some different information comes out, this latest move certainly seems like a misstep

 

[JackRussellDawg]

It’s a taxable world after all,
It’s a taxable world after all,
It’s a taxable world after all,
It’s a taxable taxable world!

 

[KidneyStoned]

Fine...just understand taxpayers are about to incur $1B in taxes to take those roles on for Disney. Oops.

Desantis has it figured out. His followers will support him because they are too ignorant to realize he is f’ng them over. It’s the Trump model.

 

[KidneyStoned]

Don't know all the ins and outs on tax implications. Does Disney have to pay Ad Valorem taxes on their Real Property to the counties? Personal property taxes?

It varies based upon the value of your real property, but the average property tax increase will be $2300. He’s doing this so he can flex on this silly, irrelevant issue?

I don’t care what side of the issue you are on, this is absurd. It’s sad that this is the way our “Government” functions, on both sides of the aisle. Both sides are all politics. No government.

 

[JackRussellDawg]

Desantis has it figured out. His followers will support him because they are too ignorant to realize he is f’ng them over. It’s the Trump model.

Yeah well, we’re doing just fine down here in Florida, thank you very much. Oh, and F*ck Disney.

 

[LakesiteDawg]

It varies based upon the value of your real property, but the average property tax increase will be $2300. He’s doing this so he can flex on this silly, irrelevant issue?

I don’t care what side of the issue you are on, this is absurd. It’s sad that this is the way our “Government” functions, on both sides of the aisle. Both sides are all politics. No government.

Gonna call bullshit on those numbers. Nice job of parroting Democrat talking points though.

 

[KidneyStoned]

Yeah well, we’re doing just fine down here in Florida, thank you very much. Oh, and F*ck Disney.

Just set that extra $175 aside every month. And you are right, any reasonable person can see how Disney is your enemy now.

Morons.

 

[KidneyStoned]

Gonna call bullshit on those numbers. Nice job of parroting Democrat talking points though.

It’s math, fella. Call bullshit all you want.

 

[KidneyStoned]

Gonna call bullshit on those numbers. Nice job of parroting Democrat talking points though.

I’m not a Democrat. How can any adult not see this for what it is? Political grandstanding on a non-issue, sacrificing the greater good to appeal to … well, let’s be honest - dumbasses.

 

[LakesiteDawg]

It’s math, fella. Call bullshit all you want.

You are parroting some bullshit. Prove those numbers and yes you’re a damn democrat.

 

[KidneyStoned]

Never voted for a Democrat in my life. Skipped the last election because the President was bad for our country. Don’t know how I’m parroting. The math is math.

 

[KidneyStoned]

Yeah well, we’re doing just fine down here in Florida, thank you very much. Oh, and F*ck Disney.

F* Disney .. hilarious. Why ?

 

[LakesiteDawg]

Never voted for a Democrat in my life. Skipped the last election because the President was bad for our country. Don’t know how I’m parroting. The math is math.

Prove “the math.”

 

[KidneyStoned]

The Florida Senate's own financial impact analysis of the bill states that in most cases when a county takes over a special district, it "shall also assume all indebtedness of the preexisting special district." In Disney's case, that could put local governments on the hook for about $1 billion in bond debt.

The state Senate's analysis concluded that the bill would have an "indeterminate fiscal impact" on residents and businesses in special districts, as well as on local governments that will assume debts and assets.

The change promises to shake up the local tax picture, according to Scott Randolph, a Democrat who is the Orange County tax collector.

"If Reedy Creek goes away, the $105 million it collects to operate services goes away," Randolph said via Twitter. "That doesn't just transfer to Orange County because it's an independent taxing district. However, Orange County then inherits all debt and obligations with no extra funds.

Disney also taxes itself around $53 million each year to service its debt obligations, Randolph said.

The situation quickly prompted warnings that county property taxes will sharply rise. Citing an interview with Randolph, Danielle Prieur of member station WMFE in Orlando reports, "homeowners here could see property taxes jump by 20% to make up the difference. And even then, it probably wouldn't be enough to cover all the money that would be lost."

 

[Zonadog]

The Florida Senate's own financial impact analysis of the bill states that in most cases when a county takes over a special district, it "shall also assume all indebtedness of the preexisting special district." In Disney's case, that could put local governments on the hook for about $1 billion in bond debt.

The state Senate's analysis concluded that the bill would have an "indeterminate fiscal impact" on residents and businesses in special districts, as well as on local governments that will assume debts and assets.

The change promises to shake up the local tax picture, according to Scott Randolph, a Democrat who is the Orange County tax collector.

"If Reedy Creek goes away, the $105 million it collects to operate services goes away," Randolph said via Twitter. "That doesn't just transfer to Orange County because it's an independent taxing district. However, Orange County then inherits all debt and obligations with no extra funds.

Disney also taxes itself around $53 million each year to service its debt obligations, Randolph said.

The situation quickly prompted warnings that county property taxes will sharply rise. Citing an interview with Randolph, Danielle Prieur of member station WMFE in Orlando reports, "homeowners here could see property taxes jump by 20% to make up the difference. And even then, it probably wouldn't be enough to cover all the money that would be lost."

Thanks to your post here, I'm seeing where the disconnect is. You are quoting a Democrat and a liberal (NPR) personality. There are things being left out. I don't know what, but there's an agenda here, and it involves finding fault as a goal.

Also, note some of the language:
"In most cases"
"Indeterminate fiscal impact"
"Could see property taxes jump"

The presumption that Disney pays no taxes under this scenario seems off.
It seems odd that Disney would simply walk away from debt.
The idea that there would be no economies of scale by combining government operations is dubious.
What is Disney's sales tax and corporate tax situation in FL and how would it be affected? This isn't mentioned in the discussions we've seen.

Again, I don't know the answers here, but this is what I would question about the scenario as presented by Randolph and Prieur.

 

[hometeamdawg]

Not sure if it’s partisan politics, short-sidedness, or sheer stupidity in this thread, but legislators have a year to do what’s needed and Disney will pay more and taxpayers will not be greatly affected. Yes, you can save this post and re-visit.
Also, some of you act like government has never made moves that adversely affect private companies.

 

[LakesiteDawg]

The Florida Senate's own financial impact analysis of the bill states that in most cases when a county takes over a special district, it "shall also assume all indebtedness of the preexisting special district." In Disney's case, that could put local governments on the hook for about $1 billion in bond debt.

The state Senate's analysis concluded that the bill would have an "indeterminate fiscal impact" on residents and businesses in special districts, as well as on local governments that will assume debts and assets.

The change promises to shake up the local tax picture, according to Scott Randolph, a Democrat who is the Orange County tax collector.

"If Reedy Creek goes away, the $105 million it collects to operate services goes away," Randolph said via Twitter. "That doesn't just transfer to Orange County because it's an independent taxing district. However, Orange County then inherits all debt and obligations with no extra funds.

Disney also taxes itself around $53 million each year to service its debt obligations, Randolph said.

The situation quickly prompted warnings that county property taxes will sharply rise. Citing an interview with Randolph, Danielle Prieur of member station WMFE in Orlando reports, "homeowners here could see property taxes jump by 20% to make up the difference. And even then, it probably wouldn't be enough to cover all the money that would be lost."

Lol at could go up and democrat Scott Randolph. Good job parrot.

 

[anon_03j5dr7l9qs90]

The parental rights bill is one I am in favor of and is a political winner, despite the media and the left desperately trying their best to inaccurately re-frame it as the "don't say gay" bill. Desantis also had a big political win by pushing the bill through despite Disney's public objections, and gave them a big F-you, showing that he wasn't going to cave to corporate pressure. At that point, he had already won. Now, the repeal of Disney's special governing status seems like a bad political move, where he might ruin a good thing when it wasn't necessary, and is likely to accomplish little outside of forcing increased property taxes on multiple counties.

Thoughts?

They poked the bear. They deserve all of what they’ve got.