Legislative Bulletin - December 9, 2009

TRALA-Opposed Florida Rental Tax Dropped from Approved Rail Bill

TRALA and its allies in the vehicle renting and leasing industry have succeeded in convincing the Florida legislature not to establish a new $2 per day rental tax to fund a long-sought rail transit project. The proposed tax would have doubled the existing tax on the first 30-days of both consumer and commercial vehicle rentals from $2 per day to $4 per day.

TRALA’s aggressive opposition to earlier versions of the 100% increase in rental taxes resulted in the adjournment of the legislature in May 2009 with no increase in the daily vehicle rental tax. The revenue from the tax increase would have been a major source of funding for the construction of the proposed SunRail commuter rail project, which also failed to get approval from the legislature before the May 2009 adjournment. The Florida legislature convened a special session that began on December 3, 2009 with the goal of passing legislation that would authorize the SunRail commuter rail that would run between DeLand and Orlando, Florida. The SunRail project legislation was approved by the House and Senate yesterday, December 8, 2009 without the inclusion of new rental tax funding and is pending Governor Crist’s expected approval.

TRALA and the vehicle renting and leasing industry’s intense efforts in opposition to the rental tax earlier this year was a significant factor in the failure of the tax proposal during the special session. Senate President Jeff Atwater sent a memo to the state Senate on November 30, 2009 that discussed the need to address state rail policy in a special session of the legislature, but he specifically stated that there would not be an increase in the vehicle rental tax. Declaring that the proposed legislation to be voted on in the special session was not simply the same as it had been in previous attempts to have the SunRail project approved, he wrote that the current legislation was a “departure from previous legislative proposals that have included a $2 rental car surcharge by voter referendum.” To see a copy of the memo sent from Senate President Atwater to the state Senate, please click here.

TRALA appreciates the help of the Florida Trucking Association and other allies in the effort to defeat proposals to increase truck rental taxes in the regular session in May and again in the current special session. For more information, please contact TRALA’s Joe Sculley at jsculley@trala.org or by calling (703) 299-9120.