This week marks the start of a year-long tax-free holiday on diapers, infant and toddler clothing, and shoes in the state of Florida.
In May, Governor DeSantis signed into law work a series of sales-tax “holidays” on such things as school clothes, hurricane supplies, and tools and a suspension of the state gas tax in October topped the package.
Along with holding traditional tax-holiday periods before the school year and with hurricane season, the package will eliminate taxes during all or part of the 2022-2023 fiscal year on items including baby clothes, diapers, children’s books, Energy Star appliances, impact-resistant doors and windows, new mobile homes and admissions to Formula One Grand Prix races and the Daytona 500.
“This bill comes at an opportune time, as families grapple with the rising costs of everyday expenses like gas, food and clothing,” Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris said during an appearance with DeSantis in Ocala on May 6, 2022. “I know that every penny saved counts.”
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“The tax relief you’re going to see are going to be breaks for really critical needs, like gas, diapers, disaster supplies, tools for skilled trades, recreational activities, you name it,” DeSantis said in May. “And, so, families are going to be able to save for things that really matter for them.”
The Consumer Price Index posted the biggest increase since 1981, increasing by 8.6% year-over-year in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Increased energy prices, including gasoline and diesel, are reportedly driving up food, health care, and landscaping costs.
Experts have argued that the Biden administration’s imposition of burdensome regulations on fossil fuel companies has caused high gas prices.
Biden revoked a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in January 2021 and canceled offshore oil and gas lease sales in May.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell admitted his approach to controlling inflation could plunge America into a recession.
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“It’s not our intended outcome at all, but it’s certainly a possibility, and frankly, the events of the last few months around the world have made it more difficult for us to achieve what we want, which is 2 percent inflation and still a strong labor market,” Powell told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in June. “Of course, we’re not trying to provoke and don’t think that we will need to provoke a recession. But we do think it’s absolutely essential that we restore price stability, really for the benefit of the labor market as much as anything else.”
“There’s certain things when you have inflation that you can maybe dial back, certain entertainment, whatever, people can make decisions with their family budget,” DeSantis said in May. “You really can’t just not get around to your job. So, you’ve got to fill up your gas tank.”
Another big-ticket part of the package will eliminate sales taxes for two years on impact-resistant doors and windows, which is projected to lead to $205 million in savings during the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
Parents are projected to see savings of $74.7 million by not having to pay sales taxes on clothes and shoes for toddlers and another $35.7 million on the costs of diapers.
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