DeSantis signs sales tax break for 2023 Daytona 500 tickets

Among a sweeping package of sales-tax breaks signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis Friday was one sure to get NASCAR fans' motors running: Daytona 500 tickets.

The state will not collect its customary 6% sales tax on ticket sales to the 500 and three other races during Speed Weeks 2023.

The impact to the state budget is estimated at $6 million.

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DeSantis signed the $1.2 billion tax relief package at an event in Ocala Friday.

The lawmakers assembling the budget and the governor — who has the power to veto it, line by line — have benefited from better-than-expected state revenue in addition to billions in federal pandemic relief funds. In addition to eliminating tax collections on Daytona 500 tickets, they approved a similar break for people buying tickets to the Formula 1 race in Miami Gardens.

DeSantis and other key lawmakers focused their comments on other items included in the plan, including sales-tax holidays for gas, diapers, disaster preparedness and tools.

DeSantis said the tax breaks are justified as a way of "fighting against inflationary policies imposed on us by the Biden administration,” while acknowledging a state economy that's outpaced the rest of the nation.

“In Florida, we are going to support our residents and help them afford the goods that they need," DeSantis said. "Florida has been fiscally responsible, so we are in a good position to provide meaningful relief for families, right now.”

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House Speaker Chris Sprowls called the tax package "the largest middle-class tax relief package in the history of the state," helping Floridians as inflation has reached its highest rate in decades.

Senate President Wilton Simpson said the tax breaks are aimed at easing the pain of Floridians who've seen costs rising faster than their wages.

"This bill supports growing families, Floridians looking to prepare their homes for severe weather, and the blue collar working men and women of our state who are trying their best to get by amid record-high gas prices and inflation that many of us have not seen in our lifetime," Simpson said.

What date is the Daytona 500 in 2023?

In recent years, the Daytona 500 has typically been held the second or third Sunday of February. This season, it was specifically moved to the third Sunday so it wouldn't compete with the Super Bowl.

Because the NFL has added an extra week to the season going forward, don't be surprised if the 500 stays in that spot.

The date of 2023's race has not yet been announced, but is expected in the coming weeks.

How much are tickets to the Daytona 500 in 2023?

Daytona 500 tickets are usually among the most expensive on the NASCAR schedule. The 2022 race, which was the first 500 back to full capacity (101,500) since 2020 due to the pandemic, ticket prices during the week of the race started around $90.

Motorsports writer Zach Dean contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona 500 tickets to be sales-tax-free in 2023 after DeSantis' OK