Walton County TDC: pending Florida bills could shift tourist tax to property credits, imperil tourism funding

Walton County Tourist Development Council members at a public workshop warned that several Florida bills moving through the Legislature could substantially change how the county’s Tourist Development Tax (TDT) is used and reduce funding for tourism promotion and beach projects.

Council members and staff said the measures under discussion include what the presenters called “house bills 12 21 and 7 33,” which they said would require that 75% of TDT revenue be applied as a property tax credit, eliminate local tourist development councils by year’s end, and require a public referendum after an eight‑year period on whether counties may continue collecting the tax. Meeting participants said those provisions would “essentially eliminate funding for tourism promotion, marketing, and tourism facilities in the manner that we all know and understand its uses for currently.” (Meeting facilitator)

The council discussed additional legislation described in the workshop as “SB 70 34,” language in which would revise conditions under which TDT dollars may be used for infrastructure. Under current state rules cited in the workshop, local governments may use TDT dollars for capital infrastructure projects only if a specified marketing threshold is met and several other conditions…