A new proposal announced Thursday by Gov. Rick Scott aims to give college students a break on the cost of textbooks.
Speaking at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Scott said he wants to exempt all textbooks used by students from state and local sales taxes.
“To make Florida the top destination in the world for jobs and opportunities, we must continue to make the dream of earning a college education attainable for every student,” Scott said in a statement. “Eliminating the sales tax on college textbooks will directly help every Florida student with the cost of college by offsetting the rising price of textbooks.”
It’s estimated that the tax break could save full-time students as much as $60 a year, which assumes they are spending up to $1,000 on textbooks. The tax break is expected to cost more than $41 million if approved.
Scott also said he will ask legislators to set $23.5 million to expand Florida’s Bright Futures scholarship program so it would cover summer classes.
