October 10, 2018 is a date everyone in the Florida Panhandle remembers. Hurricane Michael hit our counties hard at a category 5. It was the 3rd strongest hurricane every recorded to hit the US. Almost 8 months later and we are still trying to rebuild. Most of us were without power for close to a month. So we have already bought generators and gas cans. However for those new to the area, this is a great time to buy one. Hurricane season starts this Saturday June 1st. The 2019 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday was passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. The sales tax holiday begins tomorrow, Friday May 31st and extends through Thursday June 6th. You can click the link below for more information. This is for everyone in the state of Florida not just the Panhandle.
As I read the list of things that are tax exempt I thought of a few more things I used daily that were not on this list that I plan to add to this years hurricane kit. Heavy duty lawn trash bags, we went through boxes of those during clean up and they can also be used as a temporary tarp if needed. Wet wipes, with no water for those on city water we got dirty from clean up and the heat from no ac made us all need personal wipes of some kind. Also when the trees went down so did the bee hives and we were swarmed and those ants were everywhere. So bug spray, for the air and for yourself. This tax break is a great time for everyone in Florida to get a hurricane plan in place. Be proactive and prepare early!