DeSantis Disney District Administrator Tells Employees To Prepare for a Massive Tax Bill

Will the last person to leave the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District please turn out the lights? Since the new Board took over in February, more than 40 employees have left the District, taking hundreds of years of service to the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Employees who have left the District have reported that it has become “politicized” and “no longer functional” and that morale is at an all-time low. And this latest news isn’t going to improve morale among the employees at the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Related: More Employees Flee DeSantis’ Disney District, As It is No Longer ‘Functional’

Reedy Creek employees received job perks for years, such as season passes to Walt Disney World and discounts on merchandise, food, and hotels. Even retirees of the District would continue to receive these perks. When the new Board appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis found out about these perks, they quickly eliminated them and replaced them with a $3,000 stipend for all employees to use as they wish. However, that amount does not cover the total for a family season pass at Disney World, and many District employees have yet to receive it. 

But an internal memo obtained by the Orlando Sentinel tells employees that they never paid taxes on those perks and may collectively owe the Internal Revenue Service as much as $2 million. District Administrator Glen Gilzean told employees that the District is working with the IRS to pay the back taxes for the employees.

Gilzean said in an email to employees:

It has come to the attention of the district administration that the previous leadership chose not to inform staff about their IRS obligations to pay legally owed taxes on season pass benefits…This has resulted in our employees owing over $2 million in income back taxes…It was a top priority of our leadership team to ensure that our employees are not penalized for previous failures…I understand the stress that outstanding tax issues with the IRS can cause for our team…Please be assured that we are diligently working to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

The burden of paying the taxes for the employees would then go to the taxpayers in the District. The Walt Disney World Resort is the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s largest taxpayer, paying 86 percent of the District’s tax revenue.

Charlotte A. Erdmann, the founding attorney of Orlando Tax Law, told the Orlando Sentinel:

The Disney passes were likely a taxable benefit, similar to wages or bonuses. Due to the nature of the benefit, they were unlike cafeteria plans, medical benefits and other pre-tax benefits. They are also of substantial value.

Erdmann also said that the Board, appointed by Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, could also owe taxes on the perks given to employees. But even if the Board had to pay those taxes, it would ultimately come from money they get from Walt Disney World.

The District employees again find themselves in the middle of the fight between Gov DeSantis, his appointed Board members, and the Walt Disney Company, as they are all pointing fingers over these taxes. Hopefully, for the sake of the employees, this will work out in their favor.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.