Commissioner Diaz pushes sales tax holiday for veterans

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY – The Miami-Dade County Commission on Dec. 6 approved a resolution sponsored by Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz urging the state to adopt an annual sales tax holiday for military veterans and their families.

“Giving veterans a sales tax holiday not only would be a great way to show our respect for veterans, but it would also provide a financial boost for struggling veterans and their families,” said Commissioner Diaz, who has served in the United States Marines and also currently serves as Chairman of the Miami-Dade Military Affairs Board.

During the 2016 session of the Florida Legislature, companion Senate and House bills were filed that would have created an annual sales tax holiday for veterans for the purchase of certain retail items from November 1 through December 31, but both bills died in committee.

Florida has the third largest population of veterans in the nation, with more than 1.6 million veterans, comprising 12 percent of the state’s 18-and-over population, and of those veterans, more than 731,000 are over the age of 65. According to the Census Bureau, Miami-Dade’s veteran population is more than 60,000.