Eliminating Enterprise Florida; AFP’s Decade-Long Campaign to Saving Florida Residents Millions
For decades, many Florida residents had no idea they were bankrolling corporations that already made millions in revenue through Enterprise Florida—a program that turned working families’ tax dollars into handouts for some of the state’s wealthiest companies.
At its core, Enterprise Florida was an agency created to attract businesses and jobs to the state. However, the agency’s methods, which relied heavily on taxpayer-funded incentives, often benefited large corporations at the expense of small businesses and residents.
Americans for Prosperity has been an outspoken opponent of tax subsidies that benefit only a select few since their founding in 2004 and had been working for over a decade to eliminate Enterprise Florida. After ten years of relentless activation around the issue, knocking on doors and testifying before the legislature, AFP propelled HB 5 past the finish line, eliminating the Enterprise Florida program and saving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
Enterprise Florida: Corporate Welfare by Design
Since its inception in 1996, Enterprise Florida has always been a misguided approach for economic development. The program provided tax incentives for businesses moving to Florida, undermining free market forces and prioritizing corporate interests over meaningful economic opportunities for residents. By providing subsidies to, among others, professional sports teams and multi-billion-dollar entertainment companies in the state, the program effectively transferred wealth from hardworking taxpayers to huge corporations.
Not only did Enterprise Florida line corporate pockets, the program failed to follow the requirements for selecting and funding new projects. Despite guidelines requiring businesses to secure private funding matching taxpayer money each year, a 2016 report revealed Enterprise Florida never did. The program also laid out job creation requirements for companies receiving the subsidy, intended to boost local economies and increase employment rates. Despite this requirement, a 2022 OPPAGA report found over 64% of projects receiving the handouts never met these standards. Floridians were footing the bill for a flawed and corrupt program.
Americans for Prosperity Ends Corporate Welfare in Florida 
For a decade, AFP repeatedly called attention to the inefficiencies of Enterprise Florida while face-to-face with decision makers. They spent years sounding alarm bells and raising awareness around the government using taxpayer money to generate profits for private businesses. They knocked on doors educating neighbors and recruited activists to speak to their lawmakers at the Capitol. As AFP’s awareness campaign took off, more and more residents became aware of the severity of the issue and publicly voiced their disdain for a program that failed to do what it promised.
Little by little, AFP made successful gains in reducing the funding allocated to corporate welfare programs, including Enterprise Florida, to curb their authority and save residents money.
Over time, AFP’s meaningful relationships with lawmakers in the statehouse allowed them to assemble ironclad coalitions in both the House and Senate that would champion HB 5 to dismantle Enterprise Florida for good. 
AFP, alongside like-minded allies, crafted HB 5. The bill passed in 2023, effectively ending Enterprise Florida and halting any open contracts.
HB 5 also ended 16 other incentive programs that had long been criticized for their ineffectiveness and lack of accountability. Ending Enterprise Florida alone saved Florida taxpayers over $12 million annually.
“We commend the Florida legislature for eliminating Enterprise Florida, an ineffective program that did more for existing corporations than for small businesses and job creation,” emphasizes Skylar Zander, AFP-FL State Director.
AFP’s decade-long commitment to amplifying the voices of Floridians and empowering them to hold their legislators accountable led to the demise of Enterprise Florida, putting an end to corporate handouts, ensuring residents keep more of their hard-earned income, and holding the government accountable.
