I had the pleasure of witnessing an act that will help Florida manufacturers as a whole. On Friday, May 17, Governor Scott signed a Manufacturers’ Sales Tax Exemption Bill at the site of one of our clients, Heat Pipe Technology in Oldsmar.
The bill offers a new sales tax exemption for Florida manufacturers that are purchasing machinery and equipment. The bill won’t take effect until April of next year, but some manufacturers are already moving forward based on the additional profit they’ll receive because of the tax break in 2014. QTM, a machined metal manufacturer in Oldsmar has already purchased two pieces of equipment and hired nine people since the bill was signed.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us Florida is home to nearly 18,000 Manufacturing establishments that employ close to 371,000 people. Florida’s Manufacturing companies have a total payroll of more than $18.0 billion and an average wage of approximately $48,630.