The Florida Retail Federation hopes to get $20 million from BP -- perhaps by paying for tax-free holidays -- to help make up for Northwest Florida retailers' lost sales and vitality during the oil spill.
According to an analysis by Florida TaxWatch, retailers in the region missed out on $454 million in sales because of the spill that resulted after BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in April. Some $239 million of those sales were taxable, which means Florida lost out on $15.4 million in sales taxes due to the spill.
Rick McCallister, president and CEO of the FRF, said the money would be used on marketing Northwest Florida and targeting potential tourists who live within driving distance of the region.
"We're asking for marketing dollars in those 'drive' markets. We need those people coming back in for day trips, weekend trips and weeklong stays," McCallister said.
Area retailers are seeking help because many have already busted their marketing budgets in the wake of the spill.
"They have spent way beyond their budgets just trying to hold their own," McCallister said.
Northwest Florida was rebounding faster than the rest of the state from the burst of the housing bubble and credit crisis, but was knocked back by the spill. Florida TaxWatch shows that Northwest Florida had a year-over-year increase in taxable sales of 5 percent in April when the oil spill began. By August, when the leaking well was finally capped and tarballs had shown up along Panhandle beaches, the region's taxable sales had a year-over-year decrease of 4.5 percent.
Retailer Laurie Olshefski, who along with her husband owns retail stores in Seaside and Panama City, is part of those statistics. She saw the dropoff after the spill firsthand.
"We were in a double-digit growth pattern in our business. When the oil spill hit, people cancelled their reservations. Some of the people did come in June before our area saw the tarballs and you could tell they were reserved in their spending," Olshefski said.
Olshefski has filed two claims with BP, one of which was denied, the other still pending.
McCallister said that while BP has been responsive in issuing claims to industries related to tourism and the environment, it has been reluctant to recognize the impact on retailers.
"It's been a little more difficult for retailers to get through to BP about the losses they have suffered," McCallister said.
Florida TaxWatch is also backing federal government spending to help out another group hurt by the spill -- jobless Northwest Floridians. The group is opposed to the extension of unemployment benefits nationwide, but backs a move to get federal unemployment assistance for those Northwest Florida residents who lost work because of the oil spill.
Florida pays the first 26 weeks of unemployment benefits before they are taken over by the federal government, so any benefits issued because of the spill would save the state money.
Florida Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, has filed a memorial bill urging the U.S. Congress to pass a bill providing unemployment benefits for Northwest Floridians who lost their job in the aftermath of the spill.
Dominic Calabro, CEO of Florida TaxWatch, praised Gaetz's efforts because Florida taxpayers give $6 billion more to fund federal unemployment claims than they get back each year.
"These are people with very legitimate claims. The people of Florida had nothing to do with this thing," Calabro said.
For McCallister, the $20 million sought from BP will go toward re-establishing Northwest Florida as a tourism hub, not toward damages. Some of the money could also go toward funding sales tax holidays in the area.
"We're asking BP to simply reimburse the state for sales taxes not collected in that period," said McCallister.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
