A newly introduced tax package that passed the Florida Senate Finance and Tax Committee by a 3-1 vote April 15 would limit the way counties can spend their Tourist Development Tax revenue. However, if passed during the legislative session, Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties would not be subject to the restrictions should their TDT revenues remain at current levels.

The bill went before the Appropriations Committee on April 16.

The TDT portion of SB 7034, introduced by state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who represents part of Orange County, was one of the many proposed changes in the state’s sweeping tax package. The House has a similar version — HB 7033.

Under the proposed legislation, a county must spend at least 40% of all TDT revenue, but no more than $50 million annually, to promote or advertise tourism before using revenue for public facilities, including transportation. The TDT is a tax on all hotel, campground and vacation rentals for stays of six months or less.

In Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties, the TDT rate is 5%, and none of the three counties has reached $50 million in TDT revenues for the last and current fiscal years.

Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau Director Sean Doherty said Charlotte County’s TDT revenue and spending budget are well below $50 million. According to department data, TDT revenue totaled $8,716,898 for fiscal year 2023-24.

The fiscal year runs from October through September.

For FY 2024-25, from October 2024 through February, the last month in which data was available, a total of $3,817,102 was collected in Charlotte County.

Of the 5% TDT collected, 3% goes toward the county’s tourist development and marketing and 2% toward Charlotte Sports Park.

Lee County Public Information Specialist Timothy Engstrom said the county’s TDT totaled $44.26 million in fiscal year 2024.

Collier County’s Corporate Financial and Management Services Director Chris Johnson led a course on the TDT for county commissioners in October 2024. He said then the county expected to collect $48 million in TDT revenues for 2024-25 and about $37 million for fiscal year 24.

“Collier County officials have not discussed the proposal as it is just one provision of only the Senate version of the tax package and that the House version does not mirror this language,” county spokesperson Deborah Curry said. “Given the differences in the two chambers’ legislation, it will have to be negotiated by the House and Senate before final passage and presentation to the governor for his consideration.”

Katie Betta, an aide to Senate President Ben Albritton, emphasized, “The bill would apply to counties that collect more than $50 million annually in TDT.”

Smith singled out Orange County as one of Florida’s 67 counties whose spending pattern could be changed. “The inclusion of our TDT reforms in the Florida Senate tax package are a critical first step toward transformational change in how local government can use hotel taxes to fund community needs,” he said. “If passed, these proposals would immediately empower Orange County to use tourist development taxes to help fund a SunRail connection to the Orlando airport, expand LYNX bus service countywide, and reduce wasteful government spending on corporate advertising via Visit Orlando.”

Orange County’s TDT rate is 6%. Last year, it collected approximately $360 million in bed tax revenue, of which a large portion went toward marketing.

Smith said the tax reforms give Central Florida “the opportunity to reach our full tourism potential by investing in desperately needed destination infrastructure for tourists, tourism workers and local residents alike.”

John Shannon, of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lutgert College of Business, provided February 2025 TDT data, the most recent available, for Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties.

Charlotte County’s seasonally adjusted real tourist tax revenues were $676,100, a 1% increase from January, but 12% below February 2024.

Collier’s TDT revenues were $3.8 million, a 0.1% decrease from January and a 4% increase from February 2024.

Lee County came in at $3.5 million, a 2% increase from January and a 4% increase from February 2024.