An oversight board appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year says Disney benefited from “the most egregious exhibition of corporate cronyism in modern American history,” according to a copy of its audit obtained by The Post.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District unveiled its report on Monday, detailing how the House of Mouse achieved “near-total governing authority” over the district beginning in 1967.
“That authority was so unchecked that Disney attained the power to, among other exceptional privileges, create and direct not just its own fire and police departments, but also, if it chose, construct a nuclear power plant,” the report states.
Under legislation signed by then-Florida Gov. Claude R. Kirk Jr., the Reedy Creek Improvement District was proposed as an experimental community that would blend residential and commercial areas, in addition to the Walt Disney World theme park.
A board appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis released an audit of the perks a special tax district for Walt Disney World enjoyed for a little more than half a century in the state. AP
But the city initially envisioned by the Disney patriarch before his death “never came to pass, and to this day, Disney’s special district is essentially void of individual residents,” according to the auditors.
Among other things, Disney was advised by consultants to “limit the scope of democracy” within the district, so the company could be “freed from the impediments to change, such as … elected political officials.”
Under legislation signed by former Florida Gov. Claude R. Kirk Jr., the Reedy Creek Improvement District was an experiment to blend residential and commercial areas with a theme park. Getty Images
“Disney had wholly outmaneuvered the legislature and pulled off an incredible act,” the auditors wrote in their 72-page report delivered to DeSantis and the Florida legislature.
“It had established an extra-constitutional governing authority—‘an experimental absolute monarchy’—within the borders of the State of Florida, and, accordingly, the United States—one that strikingly resembled, without exaggeration, a kingdom of yore.”
The auditors described the special district as a “step stool” for Disney, from which the company would move on to develop additional parks in Orange County and Osceola County, Fla., and to eventually become an $82.7 billion media empire.
“Disney had wholly outmaneuvered the legislature and pulled off an incredible act,” the auditors wrote, in their 72-page report to DeSantis and the Florida legislature. CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“As of November 2023, institutional investors attribute over 85[%] of Disney’s current stock-market value to its theme-park and consumer-products related businesses,” the report also notes.
DeSantis, 45, signed a law in February dissolving the district’s former board and installing a new five-person panel, believing the district had been governed in a way “tantamount to corporate welfare,” the audit states.
That included “showering gifts and lavish spending” on board members and district employees, “creating the impression that these employees worked to achieve the interests of Disney, not of the District or other property owners.”
DeSantis, 45, signed a law in February getting rid of the district’s former board and installing a new five-person board, believing the district operated in a way “tantamount to corporate welfare.” Florida Governor’s Office
According to the audit, district board members, other employees and their families indulged in around $2 million worth of resort season passes and other perks in recent years, along with discounted Disney cruises, merchandise, food and beverages.
Former board members tried to resist the governor’s changes by ramming through 11th-hour district agreements for municipal services before exiting — and Disney sued DeSantis in April to try and keep those deals in force.
At least one of those agreements would have stretched on for 100 years, the report revealed.
Disney sued DeSantis fin April for eliminating the special tax district. REUTERS
Meanwhile, the DeSantis-appointed board filed a lawsuit against the media titan for having pushed the “backroom” agreements before the district changed hands.
Asked about the legal battle in August, DeSantis, a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said Disney should “go back to what [it] did well.”
“We’ve basically moved on, they’re suing the state of Florida, and they’re going to lose that lawsuit. So what I would say is drop the lawsuit,” he told CNBC in an interview.
Critics — including Disney CEO Bob Iger — dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, arguing it would threaten LGBTQ youth. REUTERS
Disney last year spoke out against DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education law, which banned classroom instruction about gender identity or sexual orientation before fourth grade.
Critics — including Disney CEO Bob Iger — dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, arguing it would threaten LGBTQ youth.
The Central Florida Tourism District has also awarded millions of dollars’ worth of contracts to local vendors as part of a new procurement policy to correct the anti-competitive actions of their predecessors.
Disney last year spoke out against DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education law, which banned classroom instruction about gender identity or sexual orientation before fourth grade. Getty Images
One case highlighted in the report showed that Reedy Creek contracted Disney for a $7.7 million road construction project involving a golf course owned by the media company.
“[Y]et no evidence existed to support any economic analysis of that price or a comparison between the cost of entering the agreement as opposed to going through a condemnation proceeding,” said William Jennings, a forensic accountant who provided expert testimony for the report.
Other legislative proposals passed in the district used “lofty rhetoric that disguised the underlying wealth transfer benefitting Disney,” according to one of the auditors, Donald J. Kochan, a law professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
DeSantis is currently polling in a distant second-place in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, trailing behind frontrunner and former President Donald Trump by 47 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Source link: https://nypost.com/2023/12/04/news/desantis-board-slams-disneys-tax-perks-corporate-cronyism/