Florida's Gas Tax Holiday Takes Effect for Month of October

With gas prices still well above 3 dollars a gallon ($3.255 on average in Florida), many Floridians are still feeling the effects of the national fuel hike in their wallets. However, it just so happens that during the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida enacted a gas tax holiday for the month of October.

This is due to HB 7071 which was signed in May. It was not enacted in response to the Hurricane.

During this month, Floridians will receive a 25.3 cents per gallon discount through Monday, October 31^st.

“Our gas tax holiday went into effect on Saturday, which means Floridians will receive $0.25 off every gallon they purchase this month. This relief will help hardworking families across the state save money at the pump,” wrote DeSantis in a tweet.

As gas prices peaked in May and June, DeSantis wanted to employ the gas tax holiday for a much longer period than 1 month, stating, “I wanted to do it over the summer, as well. The Legislature thought, I think wrongly, that that was mostly tourist (traffic),” DeSantis said during an appearance in Live Oak on August 31^st.

“There’s more tourists. But it's still 90 percent that would go to Floridians. So, that's why they wanted it once we get past Labor Day and into the fall. But the bottom line is, you know, we're delivering a (tax) holiday for people.”

In addition, the Florida Disaster Fund has produced $21 million in 48 hours according to FloridaDisaster.org.Gov. DeSantis faces off against Charlie Crist (D-FL) in just over a month, November 8^th to be exact.

For more updates concerning the aftermath of Hurricane Ian or the upcoming midterm elections, The Floridian has you covered.