A Florida legislative bill has recently become a law affecting everyone who either owns a timeshare in Florida or plans to exchange for a Florida Timeshare. The bill named HB 61 was introduced in the spring of 2009 but recently was made into a law and addresses two main issues that timeshare owners may face, the first is paying taxes on timeshare exchanges and the second issues involves the offering of debt cancellation products by timeshare resorts. Even though there are currently no states that collect taxes for timeshare exchanges it is refreshing to see a state government taking the initiative and preparing in advance for an issue that could become a problem in the future.

Why was this bill written?
The bill has been lobbied for by one of the most well known timeshare organizations in the United Stated, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), this organization was formed to protect consumers in the timeshare industry and fight for their rights. In the current economic condition many state and local governments are looking for alternate means to supplement low revenue, charging timeshare owners a tax for timeshares that were exchanged or the party exchanging into the timeshare was one of the foreseeable methods. This would have effectively raised the rates of timeshares across the state of Florida, which contains some of the most popular timeshare destinations such as Orlando timeshares. Thanks to this bill there will be no added taxes for exchanging timeshares. The second issue addressed in this law was giving resorts the ability to offer debt cancellation products, basically these would act as a safety net for purchasers of timeshares, allowing them to return the timeshare to the resort if they lose their job without negatively impacting their credit. Many people will be familiar with these types of programs as they have been offered by automobile manufacturers in the past to encourage people to purchase a car.

I feel the passing of this bill shows that the citizens of Florida are taking the initiative to ensure a great future for the timeshare industry and Florida tourism as a whole. If you are interested in renting or purchasing a timeshare in this state please visit our Florida timeshares section.

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