Legislation could let Canadian ‘snowbirds’ stay longer

Author: The News Service of Florida / WINK News
Published: Updated:
Flag of Florida. Photo via Wikipedia.
Florida state flag.

You may have heard of the endless summer, but what about the endless season? U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott want to allow Canadians to be able to stay longer in the United States.

The Florida Republicans announced Thursday they had introduced legislation dubbed the “Canadian Snowbirds Act,” which seeks to allow Canadian citizens over age 50 who own or rent U.S. homes to spend up to eight months a year in the country. Currently, the annual U.S. stay is capped at six months or 182 days. The senators pointed to the impact of Canadians on Florida’s economy.

“Tourism is a crucial part of Florida’s booming economy, creating and supporting thousands of jobs all across the Sunshine State,” Rubio said in a prepared statement. “This bill will be a huge boost to our state’s economy by allowing the millions of Canadian snowbirds who visit Florida each year to stay two months longer.”

Scott noted that Canadians accounted for 3.5 million of the 126 million visitors to Florida in 2018. Canadians who stay beyond six months now are considered U.S. residents for tax purposes and must pay federal taxes on income, regardless of where the money was earned.

Chris Blauvelt, owner and operator of The Standard Restaurant in Fort Myers, said the season right now is excellent. However, having people come earlier than October would be even better for the restaurant’s bottom line.

“I feel great about it,” Blauvelt said. “Anything we can do to support the bill is just going to help all local businesses downtown.”

But, while some welcome the boom, others are hesitant about the busyness, including Jennifer Gallo and Christine Lavelanet. They each said it even though it is good for business, it gets exhausting with the influx of snowbirds coming in during peak times.

Another potential problem they say is traffic.

“So for the residents,” Gallo said, “it gets a little…”

“Trying,” Lavelanet said.

“Exhausting, yeah,” Gallo said.

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