DeSantis Backs Second Amendment Tax ‘Holiday’ in Budget Proposal

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing slashing government spending and taxes in his latest budget plan, and gun owners could reap the benefits if lawmakers go along. 

Among the details in DeSantis’ $115.6 billion budget for FY 2025-26 are several sales tax “holidays”, including one aimed at the millions of lawful gun owners in the state. 

The package also calls for $2.2 billion in tax cuts that mostly would come through the elimination over two years of a tax that businesses pay on commercial leases, a move long sought by business groups. 

Under DeSantis’ proposal, the tax would go from 2 percent to 1 percent on Jan. 1, 2026, and then be crossed out a year later. The lease tax, imposed since 1969, went from 4.5 percent to 2 percent last year as part of a 2021 deal to require out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Floridians.

The governor’s proposal also calls for the return of sales-tax holidays, allowing shoppers to avoid paying sales taxes on school supplies and clothes in August, on disaster supplies at the start and the peak of the hurricane season and on recreational purchases throughout July.

He also proposed a “Second Amendment Summer” sales-tax holiday between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July that would temporarily remove sales taxes on ammunition, firearms and related items. The new tax holiday would save shoppers an estimated $8 million, according to the governor’s office.

I’m all in favor of getting rid of the sales tax on firearms, ammunition, and accessories. In fact, I’d prefer to see the state exempt those purchases from the 6% sales tax year-round. There’s a strong argument to be made that we shouldn’t be taxing the exercise of a fundamental right in the first place, but giving up those funds completely would be a big step for lawmakers, and DeSantis’ proposal would at least offer gun owners several weeks where they could get a new gun or stock up on ammunition at what amounts to a 6% discount. 

DeSantis is also proposing the construction of two new shooting ranges that would be operated by the state; one in rural Liberty County in the northern part of the state, and a second in Polk County in central Florida. All told, the governor’s budget calls for $9.2 million in spending on “Shooting Sports Facilities Maintenance, Repairs, and Construction; a slight reduction from the roughly $11 million budgeted for shooting sports facilities in FY 2024-25, which included $4.465 million specifically earmarked for the Palm Beach County Public Recreational Shooting Park. 

The sales tax holiday is a good idea, but increasing access to ranges is an even more important part of the governor’s budget. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission currently operates ten gun ranges and one archery range across the state, which is great in and of itself. Adding additional ranges will only improve the public’s access to a safe place to train, recreate, and compete in the shooting sports, which in turn should grow the number of Floridians exercising their Second Amendment rights. 

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the governor’s budget proposal will be adopted as-is, and we may very well see legislators tinker with his plan, with some trying to water down the sales tax holiday and scrap the new gun ranges DeSantis has proposed while others push to expand on his proposals. I’d call DeSantis’ Second Amendment-related budget items a good starting point, and hopefully a few more tangible benefits for gun owners can be added during the negotiations on his spending plan.