The Florida Legislature just passed sweeping changes to how counties spend their Tourism Development Tax (TDT), which will have dramatic implications for Orange County and your next Walt Disney World Resort vacation. While the current TDT stands at six percent for Orange County, Disney World guests can expect that number to rise exponentially in the coming months, seriously raising the cost of a Disney World vacation.
This is part of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ plan to remove the state’s property taxes and replace them with a dedicated tax on tourists. While DeSantis did not get everything he wanted, this new bill passed by the Florida Legislature is the first step in that direction.
Currently, counties can use the TDT to upgrade facilities or advertise to attract tourists to the area. Last year, Orange County made $364 million from the TDT.
Under HB 7033, 75 percent of a county’s TDT would be used to help reduce property taxes beginning in 2026. The remaining 25 percent could be spent on advertising, public transit, or other expansion projects. Based on last year’s figures, Orange County would only be able to spend $91 million, and it’s not nearly enough.
According to State Representative Bruce Anton, who represents Orlando, Orange County is on the hook for $700 million in upgrades and expansions already approved using the TDT. This includes a $400 million football field expansion, $200 million for the performing arts center expansion, and $100 million for an expansion project at the University of Central Florida.
$90 million is not going to help pay for the continuous expansion of our convention center, where we have 1.6 million visitors a year. Now I’m not necessarily one to stand up and defend tourism development tax spending, but in this case, this is the lifeline. This is the backbone of our tourism industry. And we need these dollars to continue to market tourism around the world.
With Orange County losing over $250 million yearly to property tax relief, it will have to figure out how to make up that money. The easiest way is to raise the Tourism Development Tax rate simply.
The TDT currently has a six percent cap, but counties can add an extra one percent through a voter referendum. With Orange County losing so much money, expect that coming soon.
With Governor DeSantis pushing for this, out-of-staters can expect the Florida Legislature to either increase or remove the cap entirely.
So, in addition to Disney’s price increases, guests can now expect to pay an additional percentage to Orange County. The costs just keep adding up.
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