Disney CEO Bob Iger escalates feud with Ron DeSantis for taking away company’s special tax district

Disney CEO Bob Iger has once again poked fun at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in an ongoing dispute over the special tax district that includes the company’s theme parks.

Iger said during an earnings call Wednesday that DeSantis’ move to strip Disney of its special neighborhood was “retaliation” for his opposition to the governor’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

The feud between the $185 billion entertainment goliath and the governor, who is expected to soon enter the presidential race, arose after Disney executives repeatedly criticized his bill.

“This is only about one thing and that is that they are retaliating against us for taking a stand on pending legislation,” Iger said on Wednesday.

The bill, which passed last March, banned talking about sexual orientation and gender identity in some Florida elementary school classes.

DeSantis last week expanded it to all public school students from kindergarten through 8th grade.

The Disney World and Walt Disney World resorts are completely surrounded by the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which was established in 1967. Pictured is the entrance to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World

The feud between the $185 billion entertainment goliath and the DeSantis (pictured), who is expected to enter the presidential race soon, arose after Disney executives repeatedly criticized the Don’t Say Gay law

Iger’s comments on Wednesday came after a question was asked by JPMorgan’s Philip Cusick whether the company’s ongoing battle with the state could have negative consequences for shareholders.

As of December 31, 2022, JP Morgan owned nearly 9 million shares of Disney stock, worth nearly $8 billion, according to financial data provider Fintel.

Iger went on to say that the company was merely exercising its right to free speech and boasted that Disney is Florida’s largest taxpayer and employer.

“We believe that by taking that position, we are only exercising our right to free speech,” Iger said.

“We’ve built a company that, as we said before, employs more than 75,000 people and draws tens of millions of people to the state.”

“There is also a false narrative that we fought to protect tax breaks as part of this, but in fact we are the largest taxpayer in central Florida and paid more than $1.1 billion in state and local taxes last year alone. paid,” he said. added.

“Does the state want us to invest more, hire more people and pay more taxes, or not?”

Florida is home to more than 1,800 special districts, which are units of individual government created by the legislature or another branch of local government, such as a city or county, for a specific purpose.

They have the power to issue bonds, collect assessments or charge fees to pay for infrastructure, services or improvements.

The Disney World and Walt Disney World resorts are completely surrounded by the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which was established in 1967. They employ 75,000 people and attract 50 million visitors annually.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District spans nearly 40 square miles and includes the entire Walt Disney World Resort. It was renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District under DeSantis’ new bill – which Iger denounced as unjust “retaliation”

Disney’s theme park has been called ‘the most magical place on earth’ — but the company has been embroiled in a feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for nearly two years

As a result, Disney can control zoning, run its own police and fire departments, and doesn’t have to comply with many of the rules other counties are bound by.

“We operate responsibly, we pay our fair share of taxes, we employ thousands of people, and by the way, we pay them above minimum wage, substantially above the minimum wage mandated by the state of Florida,” Iger said at the earnings. phone call.

“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.”

Iger also noted that they are not the only company operating a special district in Florida and everyone should be treated equally.

‘We are not the only company operating a special neighbourhood. I mentioned 2000, the Daytona Speedway has one, as does the Villages, a prominent senior citizen community, and there are countless others,” he said.

Earlier this month, Disney expanded its pending lawsuit against DeSantis after the Republican-controlled legislature voided the 30-year agreement to develop the theme park around Orlando.

The company accused the Republican governor of a “retaliatory campaign” and used some of DeSantis’ own remarks against him.

Wednesday’s earnings call wasn’t the first time the CEO has used the platform to attack the governor.

During an April 3 phone call, he berated DeSantis for getting “very angry” about the company’s position and labeled his actions “anti-Florida.”

In its lawsuit, Disney used similar language.

“Governor DeSantis and his allies appear to have no intention of moderating their retaliatory campaign any time soon,” Disney noted in his additions to the lawsuit filed in a U.S. district court in Tallahassee.

Disney argued that DeSantis and the state legislature are targeting their theme park’s monorail system (pictured)

DeSantis’s bill leaves the district intact, but would change Reedy Creek’s name and require him to appoint a five-member board of directors

Disney also argued in its amended filing that DeSantis and the state legislature are targeting their theme park’s monorail system, forcing it to undergo state inspections, from which it was previously exempt.

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has not conducted inspections of amusement park rides in facilities or parks with more than 1,000 employees and full-time inspectors due to exceptions that the state legislature has now removed.

Opened in 1971, the Disney monorail system spans nearly 15 miles and handles more than 50 million passengers a year, according to the company. The monorail cars were last updated in 1989.

DeSantis’ office condemned Disney’s lawsuit as “desperate.”

“Development agreements, as creations of state law, are clearly subject to revocation by subsequently enacted state law,” the governor’s communications director Taryn Fenske said in a statement.

Disney’s latest move is another desperate attempt to preserve their special privileges and ignore the will of Floridians as expressed by their duly elected representatives.

“Disney has to accept that it has to live under the same rules as everyone else,” she added.