DNC: DeSantis Proposes Tax Breaks for Wealthy Developers While Cutting Medicaid

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following news release:

While working Floridians struggle with some of the highest health care costs in the country, Ron DeSantis is proposing cuts for critical services, including Medicaid. At the same time, the Florida GOP is pushing major tax handouts for wealthy housing developers in the state instead of prioritizing relief for Florida families.

While Floridians are already being crushed under sky-high health care costs in the state, DeSantis is calling to cut billions from Medicaid.

Politico: "Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday proposed a $112.3 billion spending plan that cuts $1.4 billion from Florida's current health care budget as the administration seeks to rein in spending on charity care."

Spectrum News 13: "Studies show Florida hospital bills rank among the highest in the nation"

WUSF: "Study finds employees in Florida pay among the highest rates for health insurance"

More than a million Floridians could have their health care ripped away in April while DeSantis has refused to expand Medicaid.

Florida Politics: "As many as 1.75 million Floridians could lose Medicaid coverage once the state begins taking steps on April 1 to return its Medicaid program to pre-pandemic levels."

HuffPost: "While Ron DeSantis Is Fighting Culture Wars, Millions Of Floridians Are Losing Their Health Care"

New tax incentives for ultra-wealthy developers are just the latest round of DeSantis and Florida Republicans gifting tax breaks to the extremely rich and corporations while working Florida families struggle with skyrocketing housing costs.

Orlando Sentinel: "The package doesn't provide direct relief for the millions of Floridians who have seen their rent go up astronomically in recent years. Instead, it relies on a trickle-down approach by giving tax incentives to developers in exchange for lower-than-market-value rental rates on their projects. The proposal comes as Florida renters saw rates jump 21% from 2020 to 2021 and continue to rise through most of 2022."

Miami Herald: "It's unclear if any of the changes will lead to lower rates any time soon for Floridians, who are paying the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the nation. But hundreds of thousands of homeowners covered by state-run Citizens Property Insurance are almost guaranteed to end up paying more."

Seeking Rents: "Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled state Legislature teamed up to pass a pair of bills that made it easier for billionaires to hide their fortunes from the outside world -- and from federal taxes."

* * *

Original text here: https://democrats.org/news/desantis-proposes-tax-breaks-for-wealthy-developers-while-cutting-medicaid/