Visitors to Disney World could be hit with higher prices after Florida politicians stripped Mickey Mouse of huge tax benefits.
The “happiest place on Earth” was today left shell-shocked after lawmakers voted to strip Walt Disney of its special self-governing status.
Before the pandemic, around 920,000 Brits travelled to Orlando each year to visit one of the firm’s many parks.
The move comes following a political clash between the company and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
Since 1967, Disney has self-governed a near 40-square-mile district close to Orlando.
The area, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, exempts the company from a raft of regulations and certain taxes and fees. It has allowed the entertainment company to manage its theme parks and resorts with little bureaucracy for more than 50 years.
Disney was able to levy taxes, build roads and control utilities on the lands of its theme park. According to reports in the US, the self-governing status saved Disney tens of millions of pounds a year.
One insider said: “The move will see Disney on the hook for millions more in tax.
“Someone will have to pick up the bill, and the feeling is it won’t be Mickey.”
The stripping of the special arrangement is widely viewed as retribution for Disney's opposition to the State's so-called "Don't Say Gay" law.
Signed by DeSantis, it bars primary school teachers from discussing sexual orientation.
The speed at which the bill to strip Disney of its self-governance was approved had been decried by state Democrats. It took Florida's Republican-held house just three days.
The law doesn’t come into effect until June 2023, giving local governments near Disney 14 months to decide how to manage and pay for the huge property’s public services, such as road maintenance and sewage treatment.
Disney has yet to comment.
