DeSantis vs. Disney

Exactly like Disney? RIGGHHTT!!

 

Nothing is exact but Villages is nearly identical in benefits. So is Ave Maria and Babcock Ranch . Im sure there are others. There are over 1800 districts authorized to issue tax free bonds to fund and maintain infrastructure

 

Do you know how many of these special districts there are in Florida?

 

Nor have you learned anything. Desantis targeted independent special districts, of which Disney, The Villages, and 1,800 other districts are the same, to dismantle them, yes? The legislation only targets those BEFORE 1968. Very convenient, huh? Reedy was formed in 1967. Very curious because if they did it overall, it would have included many others. The Villages was formed as the same type of district as Disney in 1992.

 

Guess Floridians didn’t want to absorb that $2B debt load after all. So much winning.

 

How does the greater extent of the benefits of the deal weaken my argument?

Let’s try an example: Joe Biden offers Google an amazing deal, where they never again have to pay federal taxes, don’t have to adhere to worker protection laws, and are immune from anti-trust legal action. This is a real sweetheart deal. However, the deal will be revoked if any anti-Biden messages are promoted on any google platform.

Would you say that this is a proper use of presidential power?

 

Yes, it was formed under the exact same law and statute under the Florida constitution, thus Desantis only wanted to wield his power on those formed before 1968, like 1967's Reedy Creek. You're getting it now.

We all know Disney is allowed to maintain its own roads and have its own fire dept, etc, which is above the Villages, etc, but that's not what Desantis wanted. He wanted the whole area to be controlled by the state. You are using a few extra benefits to allow revenge to be extracted because you don't like their political slant, like Desantis.

Still doesn't excuse the fact you were wrong.

 

I'll tell you what, Ol' Donny Trump wouldn't have folded like a cheap deck of cards ala DeSantis

 

This entire post is just factually wrong. As pointed out throughout the 80+ page thread, there are over ONE THOUSAND special districts in this State. Disney is not the only developer by any stretch of the word that has been granted the special district.

Reedy Creek likewise is neither a gold mine nor a cash machine. It is the polar opposite. It loses money, and the deficit is subsidized by Disney.

The State benefits because it has the development, the increase in jobs, a private entity supplying police, fire and other governmental necessities, at no cost to the State.

The benefit to these types of special districts to the private company is that there is very little bureaucratic red tape, because the zoning boards are run by Disney. Thus, for a new development, such as a hotel, years can be sliced away from time of development ent to construction. That means Disney can start to make a return in its capital investment faster than someone building in Ft Lauderdale.

DeSantis retaliated against Disney because Disney doesn’t support DeSantis’ war against gay people. He stripped Disney of the 50+ year special district without conducting a single study of any sort, including economic impacts. After his retaliation, it became clear that the DeSantis-bitchslap would cost the state and the County BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

 

I will say that Reedy Creek Improvement District is not the equivalent of any other special taxing district. They have more powers than any other district. I've referred to them as semi-sovereign. I don't remember the particulars. I was well-versed on the subject matter decades ago. But I do remember distinctly that their power exceeds any other district formed before or subsequently. That said, no one thinks the state got a raw deal. Just the opposite.

Also, it was purely punitive. The concern with Disney's content and treatment of its employees has nothing to do with Reedy Creek Improvement District. Presuming the "modifications" do involve putting board members on RCID, those board members would not be able to exercise dominion over the content produced by Disney Studios or any other Disney property.

But even if they did, it would be incredibly foolish. I know those that agree with DeSantis don't want to believe this, but if Disney were to produce content that is solely favorable to DeSantis' worldview, content that was never "woke", it would be an incredibly unwise decision financially. They are producing the content they think that the greatest number want to consume. DeSantis and his allies don't want to accept that they are in the minority in this regard, especially worldwide. Before someone makes the point about the millions in the global South and/or the Third World, to use the old Mao term, that may agree with DeSantis, that's not where the money is in terms of digital consumers

 

Go back to your left-wing DeSantis hating websites and see if you can pick up more bullshit.

Reedy Creek loses money? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at you all whose political bias overwhelms whatever business sense you have. Reedy Creek essentially allow Disney to pay taxes to themselves, and then right off the expense. Unreal what political bias can do to a normally functioning brain.

 

The midterms are over.

 

Never underestimate the potency of the combination of arrogance and ignorance.
Conservative Media Cheering DeSantis Crackdown on Disney Are Ignoring What a Catastrophe It Would Be for Florida
“Singling out a business in a way that detrimentally affects its free speech rights is always problematic,” said Calvert, and constitutes “textbook viewpoint discrimination,” which is “presumptively unconstitutional.”

It should be noted that the über-Republican retirement community The Villages includes multiple special districts with very similar functions as RCID, but DeSantis isn’t targeting his supervoters.

The clear message with HB 3C, the professor continued, is that “if they had supported DeSantis’ view [on HB 1557], then Disney wouldn’t be facing any repercussions.” He highlighted the legal woes of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani when he sought to defund and evict the Brooklyn Museum of Art from a city-owned building because he objected to an exhibit that he called “sick” and anti-Catholic. A federal court ruled that Giuliani’s retaliatory actions were a violation of the museum’s free speech rights.

 

‘We Can’t Let the Governor Look Like He Lost’: DeSantis Reportedly Backing Down From Plan to Wreck Disney’s Self Government District (msn.com)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) made national headlines in April when he signed a bill repealing the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), the special taxing district on the Walt Disney Company’s Central Florida property. But now that the governor has won re-election, Disney has brought back a former CEO — and the legal reality loomed ready to inflict some staggeringly bad consequences — DeSantis is reportedly backing down.
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“The bill essentially sets up a system of legislative blackmail,” I wrote back in April, by timing the repeal to take effect after the 2022 midterm elections and 2023 regular legislative session, sending a message to Disney to sit down and shut up (and get out their campaign checkbook again).

Numerous legal experts decried the RCID repeal bill as a violation of the First Amendment for its openly retaliatory intent, and multiple Florida statutes seem to clearly prohibit the government from repealing RCID in this manner, specifically one granting a protection for RCID’s bond holders. (As an added complication, if RCID is repealed, its over $1 billion bond debt would then legally become the debt of Orange and Osceola County taxpayers, forcing an increase in property taxes by thousands of dollars for every household).

If the legal ramifications were not good enough reason to not go through with this repeal, the practical nature of what exactly RCID is and how it functions should have been sufficient to dissuade DeSantis and the GOP-controlled legislature from this rash action.

 

From the linked article…this is quite a turd in the punchbowl….

specifically, the elimination of RCID as a legal entity does not eliminate the district’s $1 billion bond debt and would instead transfer that to Orange and Osceola Counties.

Florida law prohibits counties from treating taxpayers differently by charging different tax rates unless there is a special taxing district specifically authorizing such differential treatment, so Orange and Osceola would have to spread that debt payment across all of their taxpayers. Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph estimated that this would raise taxes in his county between $2,200 and $2,800 per family of four.

 

The property tax revenues from WDW will more than offset any expenses.
I audited RCID from inception until around 1974. Most of the WDW directors were also on the board of RCID. The district levied taxes on WDW to pay for infrastructure costs. WDW deducted the taxes annually. If WDW had paid these costs directly they would have to depreciate these capital improvements over 20-40 years. They got other benefits from RCID too. The biggest of all was CONTROL.

 

I think what the article above is saying is that WDW would be taxed the same rate as any other business in those counties and the resulting tax revenue could be less than what the current special district assesses, and the difference would flow through to other taxpayers. It would make sense to me that the infrastructure expenses for WDW would be proportionately higher than most other places.

 

WDW already is taxed the same as any other business. I pulled the property tax records in post 461--they pay the full millage rates and don't get any discount.

RCID levies an additional tax on top of those existing taxes to pay for additional improvements/services within the district. If the district goes away, the responsibility for those items would no longer be Disney's alone, but the entire county.

 

Despicable misuse of government power cheered on by the right wingers here. They think freedom is the freedom to think and act like they do and to punish those who do not. This thread stands as a monument to how despicable their views are. Even if repealed. The First Amendment violation is fully complete because the message was sent. Just like arresting people who the state allowed to vote right before the election. And those people win here. Prime example of how people happily give away their freedom.

 

Exactly. See post 1639