Hurricane tax holiday bill excludes life-saving impact-resistant windows

Florida State legislators are mulling over a bill, SB620, that creates several sales tax holidays for hurricane preparedness. It makes sense for supply tax relief for Floridians on emergency disaster relief items like batteries, generators, and flashlights, right?

When the call to prepare for an imminent storm goes out, Floridians are all-but forced to go out and spend thousands of dollars that many can’t afford to spend, on hurricane preparedness supplies.

So, not having to pay the added sales tax on these items is a big help.

But if these hurricane supplies are covered under the sales tax holiday bill, why aren’t big ticket, home hardening material items like impact-resistant windows and doors covered?

"Home hardening is an essential part of stepping up preparation and being able to weather storms to reduce property damage and loss of life…” Providing a good and reasonable financial incentive for Floridians to take action steps to harden their homes could reduce our state’s losses in the next storm – and everyone would benefit from reduced insurance costs.”- Jay Neal, President and CEO of FAIR.

These impact-resistant items are very expensive, but worth their weight in gold when it comes to energy efficiency and the preservation of property and life.

The whole point of hurricane preparedness is to keep Floridians safe from the elements during a passing storm, so why wouldn’t state legislator extend the two 7-day tax holidays to include home hardening materials? It just makes sense.

“People put off major purchases that could make their homes so much safer…A sales tax holiday could be just the thing to positively prompt Floridians to make smart investments in hardening their homes, instead of putting it off and crossing their fingers.”-Jeff Jackson, President and CEO of PGT Innovations

Legislators still have a chance to extend the tax holidays before the senate bill comes down to a vote, but will they?