Kinda funny...
Mickey Mouse is rarely seen or heard in the Capitol, but Walt Disney World nonetheless carries a big stick.
Consider this morning, where lawmakers on the House Finance & Tax Committee quietly attached an amendment onto a bill that would reauthorize the popular sales-tax holiday on hurricane supplies. The amendment spares theme parks from having to participate in the tax-free week.
In other words, from May 21 to June 1 this spring, if you buy a pack of batteries, a cell phone charger (up to $40) or a cooler (up to $30) at Wal-Mart or The Home Depot, you wouldn't pay any sales tax. But pick those items up while strolling around the Magic Kingdom and you'll still get dinged.
Why does Disney -- or Universal or any other theme park excluded from the holiday, for that matter -- care whether you pay sales tax? Lawmakers say it spares them the headache -- and expense -- of re-tooling all their cash registers to process the price changes.
Besides, added Rep. John Stargel, the Lakeland Republican who offered the amendment, "Most people aren't going to be doing their hurricane preparedness at theme parks."
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2006/03/mighty_mouse.html
Mickey Mouse is rarely seen or heard in the Capitol, but Walt Disney World nonetheless carries a big stick.
Consider this morning, where lawmakers on the House Finance & Tax Committee quietly attached an amendment onto a bill that would reauthorize the popular sales-tax holiday on hurricane supplies. The amendment spares theme parks from having to participate in the tax-free week.
In other words, from May 21 to June 1 this spring, if you buy a pack of batteries, a cell phone charger (up to $40) or a cooler (up to $30) at Wal-Mart or The Home Depot, you wouldn't pay any sales tax. But pick those items up while strolling around the Magic Kingdom and you'll still get dinged.
Why does Disney -- or Universal or any other theme park excluded from the holiday, for that matter -- care whether you pay sales tax? Lawmakers say it spares them the headache -- and expense -- of re-tooling all their cash registers to process the price changes.
Besides, added Rep. John Stargel, the Lakeland Republican who offered the amendment, "Most people aren't going to be doing their hurricane preparedness at theme parks."
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2006/03/mighty_mouse.html
gotta love the Orlando Sentinal RSS feed...