Iger: Does Florida want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes or not?
Walt Disney Co. CEO has one question for the state of Florida. “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes or not?”
Iger’s question summed up his response to a question about the political skirmish Disney is in with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that Iger asked during the quarterly earnings report today
“Regarding Florida, I have got a few things I want to say,” Iger said. “First of all, I think the case that we filed last month made our position and the facts very clear, and that is really about one thing and one thing only, and that is retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation. And we believe that in us taking that position, we are merely exercising our right to free speech.”
Last year, Disney came out against an education law dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that banned public school teachers in Florida from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity. Disney called for the legislation to be repealed and challenged. DeSantis fought back, stating it was time to get rid of the Reedy Creek District in an attempt to get back at Disney. The Reedy Creek District was created when Disney decided to move to Florida. It was formed in 1967 by a special Act of the Florida Legislature, the purpose of which is to support and administer certain aspects of the economic development and tourism within District boundaries. The district, formally run by Disney appointees, is responsible for development, fire safety, utilities and roads.
DeSantis had the legislature change the agreement, placing his own people on the five-member board. The board and Disney have sued each other in state court over the change. On April 26, Disney sued DeSantis in federal court claiming DeSantis led a targeted campaign of government retaliation as punishment for Disney’s protected speech and that campaign now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.
“This is not about special privileges or a level playing field or Disney in any way using its leverage around the state of Florida,” Iger said during the call.
“But since there’s been a lot said about special districts and the arrangement that we have, I want to set the record straight on that too. There are about 2,000 special districts in Florida. Most are established to foster investor development,” he said.
Basically, the districts make it easier for Disney and others to do business in Floorida “and we built the business that employs, as we said before, over 75,000 people, and attracts tens of millions of people to the state. So while it is easy to say that the Reedy Creek special district that was established for us over 50 years ago benefited us, it is misleading to not also consider how much Disney benefited the state of Florida. And we are also not the only company operating a special district.”
Iger went on to mention that the Daytona Speedway and the Villages, a large retirement community, and countless others work within special districts. If the goal is “leveling the playing field” there should be a uniform application of the law or government oversight of special districts.
“There’s also a false narrative that we have been fighting to protect tax breaks as part of this. But in fact we are the largest taxpayer in Central Florida, paying over $1.1 billion in state and local taxes last year alone. We pay more taxes, specifically more real estate taxes as a result of that special district. And we all know there was no concerted effort to do anything to dismantle what was once called Reedy Creek special district until we spoke out on the legislation. So this is plainly a matter of retaliation while the rest of the Florida special districts continue operating basically as they were.”
“I think it’s also important for us to say,” Iger said, “our primary goal has always been to be able to continue to do exactly what we have been doing there, which is investing in Florida. We are proud of the tourism industry that we created, and we want to continue delivering the best possible experience for guests going forward. We never wanted, and we certainly never expected to be in the position of having to defend our business interests in federal court, particularly having such a terrific relationship with the state as we have had for more than 50 years.”
He went on to say that Disney has previously mentioned at its shareholder meeting there are plans to invest $17 billion over the next 10 years in Florida. “Which is what the state should want us to do,” Iger said.
“We operate responsibly. We pay our fair share of taxes. We employ thousands of people, and by the way, we pay them above the minimum wage, substantially above the minimum wage dictated by the state of Florida. We also provide them with great benefits and free education, so I’m gonna finish what is obviously kind of a long answer by asking one question. Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes or not?”
