Wal-Mart Subsidy Report for Florida

Subsidies received by Wal-Mart
There are no centralized databases of economic development subsidies, but Good Jobs First found 12 deals worth a total of about $59.2 million in Florida. They include the following:

Good Jobs First has compiled data on Wal-Mart subsidies in the following cities
Alachua, FL : $2.6 million
Arcadia, FL : more than $23.8 million
Bartow, FL : $2.6 million
Brooksville, FL : $2.3 million
Crescent City, FL : n.a.
Fort Pierce, FL : $14.2 million
Macclenny, FL : $8.7 million
Palatka, FL : $1.05 million
Sarasota (Newtown), FL : at least $2.6 million
Warrington (Pensacola), FL : n.a.
Winter Haven, FL : $774,000
Zephyrhills, FL : $600,000

Hidden taxpayer costs
Many Wal-Mart workers are ineligible for health coverage from their employer or choose not to purchase what is available, because it is too expensive or too limited in scope. These workers often turn to taxpayer-funded health programs such as Medicaid. In March 2005 the St. Petersburg Times published a summary of data it obtained from the Department of Children and Families on the employers in the state with the most workers who were enrolled in Medicaid or KidCare Insurance (Florida's version of SCHIP). Leading the Medicaid list was Wal-Mart with 12,300 employees or their dependents enrolled in the program. Wal-Mart also accounted for 1,375 employee children enrolled in KidCare (second only to Miami-Dade County with 1,518). Source: Sydney P. Freedberg and Connie Humburg, "Lured Employers Now Tax Medicaid," St. Petersburg Times, March 25, 2005 plus a spreadsheet with additional data provided by the authors to Good Jobs First.

For an estimate of how much Wal-Mart is costing the state of FL for taxpayer-funded healthcare, see http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/feature/healthcrisis/map.html#FL

Property Tax Appeals

Arcadia, FL
Brooksville, FL : $47,540
Brooksville, FL : $7,193
Lehigh Acres, FL : $16,263
Bradenton, FL
Bradenton, FL
Palmetto, FL
Sarasota, FL
Ocoee, FL : $4,906
Venice, FL : $22,531
New Smyrna Beach, FL : $19,436

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