FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 CONTACT: Christina Johnson TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – During a ceremony held in Tallahassee on Tuesday, September 1, Florida TaxWatch […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, April 14, 2026 CONTACT: Christina Johnson Tallahassee, Fla. – Florida TaxWatch announced today that Friday, April 17 is Florida Taxpayer Independence Day (TID) 2026. This
Florida TaxWatch is pleased to present taxpayers with a guide to the FY2023-24 state budget, which went into effect July 1, 2023. The 2023 Legislature appropriated a total of $118.7 billion for FY2023-24. This Budget Guide includes all appropriations for the new fiscal year— the General Appropriations Act (GAA), “back-of-the-bill” spending, and appropriations made in general bills—net of the Governor’s vetoes.
Where and how well our school districts spend our education dollars can have a profound impact on student academic achievement and success. Historically, education makes up about one-fourth of Florida’s total budget. Florida TaxWatch believes that shifting education spending away from administrative and other expenses and toward classroom/instructional expenses is beneficial.
As Florida TaxWatch has been detailing in our Budget Watch series,1 the state’s fiscal circumstances have been steadily improving since the initial shock (and resultant revenue loss) at the beginning of the pandemic. Even with historic state spending and tax cuts over the last two budgets, record reserves still exist. Florida’s tax system continues to produce revenue at a breakneck pace, with actual collections beating the estimate in each month over the last two year. Lately, the magnitude of the overage has been staggering. In the last three months of FY2021-22 (April-June), collections exceeded estimates by $2.545 billion (23.9 percent).
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch released Building a Culture of Success: What Effective Principals Do – The 2022 Florida TaxWatch Principal Leadership Awards Roundtable Discussion Summary and Findings. The report provides a comprehensive summary of a May 2022 roundtable discussion with 10 distinguished principals who were recognized through the government watchdog’s 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards, an annual program that identifies and rewards educational leaders who are creating meaningful change in their K-12 schools across the state. During the conversation, the principals offered their thoughts on the philosophies, strategies, and leadership required to bolster the achievement of at-risk students.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch released Building a Culture of Success: What Effective Principals Do – The 2022 Florida TaxWatch Principal Leadership Awards Roundtable Discussion Summary and Findings. The report provides a comprehensive summary of a May 2022 roundtable discussion with 10 distinguished principals who were recognized through the government watchdog’s 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards, an annual program that identifies and rewards educational leaders who are creating meaningful change in their K-12 schools across the state. During the conversation, the principals offered their thoughts on the philosophies, strategies, and leadership required to bolster the achievement of at-risk students.
The Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) met on August 16, 2022, to develop the state’s new forecast for general revenue (GR) collections. After the close of FY2021-22, which wildly exceed revenue expectations, the REC increased the estimates for FY2022-23 and 2023-24 by a total of $5.3 billion.
In early June, Florida TaxWatch received the Bond Oversight Committee Quarterly Report for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2022 (“Quarterly Report”). This report provides updated information on the implementation of the District’s SMART Program and the use of general obligation bond funds to purchase and install technology upgrades, purchase music and arts equipment, improve school safety, upgrade athletic facilities, and renovate educational facilities.
Tallahassee, Fla. – Florida TaxWatch announced that tomorrow, Thurs., April 14 marks the 2022 Florida Taxpayer Independence Day. This symbolic occasion assumes that every dollar Floridians earned since the start of the year goes to pay local, state, and federal taxes, but now, they will finally begin earning for themselves. Based on the relative size of all taxes paid in Florida to the state’s total personal income, it took taxpayers an average of 103 days to satisfy their tax obligations this year, four more days than in 2021.
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