(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) Four taxpayers from Orange and Osceola counties have sued Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for passing a law that will eliminate Disney’s special independent district, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, effective July 1, 2022, according to a report at Mediaite.
The complaint — Foronda v. DeSantis, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida — alleged that Senate Bill 4C “violates Florida taxpayers’ federal constitutional rights as well as their clearly delineated rights under the Florida Bill of Rights for Taxpayers.”
The bill, the defendants argue, would lead to “significant injury to taxpayers” because “they will now have to assume the tax burden that Disney previously assumed under the special tax status.”
“A number of experts have publicly opined on this matter, and the great majority have indicated that the new bill will probably lead to increased taxes for the residents of the Orlando area, as well as those that live throughout the State of Florida,” the plaintiff’s wrote.
According to Mediaite, $1 billion in the RCID’s outstanding bond debt would be shifted to taxpayers in Orange and Osceola counties, and could amount to a $2,200-$2,800 tax burden “per family of four.”
Mediate also alleged in its report that the local governments of Orange and Osceola counties do not support DeSantis’ action and that “no one from DeSantis’ office or the bill’s Republican sponsors in the legislature seemed to have done even the bare minimum of due diligence” before writing and passing SBC4.
The Orlando Sentinel has reported that the taxpayers are being represented by William Sanchez, a Democrat running for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio‘s seat in the 2022 midterm elections.
In that light, the lawsuit could likely have as much to do with abetting a leftist woke agenda, as it does with taxes.
“Lawsuit against Gov Desantis for free speech violations coming soon!!” Sanchez wrote on his Twitter account. “Protecting constitutional rights of LGBTQ and all marginalized communities!!”
