As budget talks heat up in the state Capitol, Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez (R-Miami) is pushing a proposal to slash the state's sales tax. "This will be the largest state tax cut in the history of Florida,” Perez said on the House floor. "This will not be a temporary measure; a stunt or a tax holiday. This will be a permanent, recurring tax reduction.” In aiming to reduce the tax burden on Floridians, Perez’s proposal would lower the statewide sales tax from 6% to 5.25%. The reduction would impact purchases subject to the state’s sales tax, excluding local surtaxes (discretionarily levied by municipalities.) For example, every $100 purchase would result in savings of 75 cents, and a $1,000 purchase would see a $7.50 reduction in tax paid. Perez stressed the tax cut aims not only to save Floridians money but also to limit state spending, projecting it would trim revenue by nearly $5 billion annually. "Tax dollars don't belong to the government. They belong to the people," Perez said. The proposal has drawn praise from the Florida Policy Institute, which noted the potential for significant benefits for lower-income families. “You’re making a system that's regressive, less regressive, and this can be a positive because you're easing the tax burden,” FPI Analyst Esteban Leonardo Santis, PhD, said. "We need reform, and this would actually help toward that." However, as it stands, the proposal generates some concerns about the broader implications of such a significant cut in state revenue. "Are we also going to be cutting services?” Santis asked, noting that Florida, which does not have a state income tax, relies heavily on revenue generated through sales.