DeSantis signs $1.2B tax-break package targeting gas, diapers, kids’ clothing

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a hefty tax relief bill into law, hoping the parade of seasonal reductions will save Floridians’ bank accounts from surging prices.

DeSantis signed the wide-ranging relief package Thursday in Ocala, Florida. The bill is expected to save state citizens approximately $1.1 billion on purchases, including diapers, clothing, gas and more. The governor blamed the inflation on President Biden’s administration, boasting that new tax breaks would be the latest step in combating the increased costs.

“I think we’ve done more than any other state to step up against the Biden-flation headwinds to give relief to our citizens,” DeSantis said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears with Republican Senate candidate from Nevada Adam Laxalt at a campaign event on April 27, 2022, in Las Vegas.
(Ronda Churchill/Getty Images)

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“This is actually the largest tax relief in the history of the state of Florida – $1.2 billion tax relief package,” DeSantis added.

The exemptions will be rolled out piecemeal over the coming fiscal year with specific dates allotted for different commodities. Breaks include a back-to-school sales tax holiday from July 25 to Aug. 7, when school supplies and children’s clothing will be marked tax-free. A similar window is slotted for the state’s motor fuel tax holiday in October and a special “tool time” week in September focused on home improvement purchases.

Gas prices in San Diego, California, Nov. 9, 2021. 
(Reuters/Mike Blake/File Photo/File Photo)

“The 2022 Florida Legislature passed, and Gov. DeSantis signed into law, nine sales tax holidays or temporary exemptions and a motor fuel tax exemption,” Florida’s Department of Revenue announced in a calendar for upcoming tax breaks.

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Other tax holidays include: children’s books, disaster preparedness, freedom week, diapers and clothing, appliances, and home hardening.

The tax breaks for baby and toddler clothes, diapers, and Energy Star appliances will last a full year. 

Home hardening, a tax break on home reinforcement and safety updates, will run a full two years.

“During this sales tax exemption period, tax is not due on the retail sales of impact-resistant doors, impact-resistant garage doors, and impact-resistant windows for commercial or noncommercial use,” the Department of Revenue announced. 

Fox News’ Micah Maidenberg and Alison Sider contributed to this report.