Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to cut the state's budget by $3 billion while still offering a tax cut for gun buyers and Florida residents.
The governor also wants to give some police and firefighters raises. However, his budget does call for cuts.
The governor's nearly $116 billion state budget calls for eliminating about 700 state jobs. It also calls for cutting taxes on things like guns and ammunition as well as property taxes.
It calls for suspending taxes on guns and ammunition bought between Memorial Day and July 4th.
Orlando Marin with Guns 4 Less in Cape Coral said those are usually slow times for gun sales and the tax elimination will help businesses like his.
“That could be great, especially for people trying to save for that specific piece that can cost $1000 or $2000. That's anywhere between $65 and $120 they'll save on that,” Marin said.
But not everyone sees the tax as positive. Opponents say it incentivizes more gun buying.
Delaney Baucom fears it’s an incentive to put more guns on the streets.
“In a lot of ways it makes it more accessible. It gives a cost incentive. Now that the cost is lowered that could have been the thing standing in the way of people buying a gun,” Baucom said.
The governor's budget gives a 25% raise to state police and firefighters while cutting 700 jobs — mostly in the Department of Health and Children and Families.
The budget also calls for decreasing property taxes by raising the homestead exemption, something Lee County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell said is long overdue.
“The original homestead was adopted back in 1934. It was $5000 but for the prices at the time that meant almost every single homeowner paid $0 taxes. So, we're a long way from that original intention,” Caldwell noted.
The state's homestead exemption is roughly $50,000 off a home’s value.
Caldwell said moving the tax credit up to a $100,000 exemption would match the savings of 20 years ago.
The budget also calls for tax breaks on school clothes and supplies and hurricane supplies.