Florida Governor Ron Desantis Delivers: Gun and Ammo Sales Tax Holiday

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has fulfilled his promise to Sunshine State gun owners by implementing a tax holiday on firearms, ammunition, and related products.

On July 2, DeSantis signed the state budget bill, which included a provision removing taxes from September 8 to December 31 on firearms, ammunition, accessories, and other outdoor items, such as fishing and bowhunting gear. Accessories subject to the tax holiday will include items “commonly used for firearms, such as charging handles, cleaning kits, holsters, optics, pistol grips, and stocks, but excluding apparel.”

The calculated savings for Florida buyers could amount to $8 million or more on guns and ammo purchases alone.

DeSantis has been pushing his “Second Amendment Summer” since February, when he first introduced the budget for the upcoming year. Originally, it was planned to eliminate the taxes from Memorial Day to the 4th of July, but the dates were changed during debate, which extended the length of the tax-free period.

At the time, the governor thought support for the measure would be a no-brainer.

“I think this is going to be wildly popular,” DeSantis said at the time the proposal was announced. “Why would they want to fight back on that? This is something their voters would expect them to support.”

Not surprisingly, however, that didn’t occur, as anti-gun lawmakers and gun-ban groups tried to turn the idea into a dangerous thing that would help violent criminals, not a tax break that would help average Florida families.

Cathy Swerdlow, chair of the League of Women Voters’ gun violence action prevention team, quickly began to rally opposition to the tax holiday.

“What we really need is a tax holiday on gun safes and trigger locks, so that people who have guns can store them appropriately,” Swerdlow sarcastically told wptv.com.

One opponent in the state House of Representatives was state Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, who showed her complete lack of understanding of the difference between lawful gun owners and violent criminals.

“I think when we make decisions on tax breaks, it’s also a values-based statement,” Rep. Eskamani said. “And it’s very hard for me to want to incentivize more ammunition and more firearms in this state when we already have so much.”

Republicans, however, overwhelmingly supported that tax holiday.

“We’ve done these holidays before,” said State Sen. Jim Boyd. “It’s an outdoor kind of thing where you fish and you hunt, and that’s what Florida is all about.”

Ultimately, the legislature passed the budget bill, and DeSantis signed it, keeping his promise to Florida gun owners. And thanks to the new law, those lawful gun owners will save millions of dollars in taxes this fall.