Florida Gov Ron DeSantis ignored opponents’ objections citing damage to the state’s coffers and local taxpayers and on Friday signed the bill dissolving the Reedy Creek Improvement District that allows Disney World to self-govern its property in Central Florida, the AP reports.
With his political attack on Walt Disney Co.’s First Amendment rights for recognizing the existence of LGBTQ people, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis will burden the citizens of Florida, particularly those in the county where Disneyland is located, with more than $1 billion in taxes, WFTV ABC-9 Orlando reports.
The revocation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which give Disney special operating allowances that lets it control services, expenses and upkeep on their properties, would mean that $105 million dollars per year in services Disney pays for itself would be spread among all taxpayers in the area, along with an additional $58 million per year in debt obligations Disney solely pays by itself.
If the district is terminated June 1, 2023, as DeSantis insists, each taxpayer in the jurisdiction would be liable for an additional tax increase that would push their liability up by one quarter. “I don’t see how Orange County doesn’t raise property taxes by 20% to 25%,” Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph said. “That’s what [the county] would probably have to do to cover this financial situation.”