Tallahassee, Fla. – Florida TaxWatch today announced five taxpayer priorities for the 2021 Legislative Session, which will begin on March 2 and adjourn on April 30.

Last month, Florida TaxWatch released an independent research report entitled “The Best Defense Is A Good Offense: The Economic Impact of Protecting Responsible Floridians from COVID-Related Civil Liability.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, comments from Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro were delivered to the Honorable Ed Hooper, Chair, and members of the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee in support of SB 50 (Sales and Use Tax). The proposed legislation follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling (South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.) that states can apply reasonable requirements for remote vendors to collect sales and use taxes on sales to residents even if the vendor does not have a physical presence in the state. Currently, Florida is one of only two states that has not taken the steps to implement these requirements. Not collecting sales taxes on remote sales not only costs Florida governments millions in legally owed revenue, it also puts Florida retailers at a competitive disadvantage, distorts purchasing decisions, is unfair to Floridians that do pay the tax, and makes millions of Floridians – often unwittingly – lawbreakers.

My name is Dominic M. Calabro, and I am President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, taxpayer research institute and government watchdog which, for 40 years, has worked hard to improve the productivity and accountability of Florida government.  Last week, Florida TaxWatch released an independent research report entitled, “The Best Defense Is A Good Offense: The Economic Impact of Protecting  Responsible Floridians from COVID-Related Civil Liability.”  Copies of the report have been made available to members and staff of the Committee and are available at FloridaTaxWatch.org/Research.  We look forward to discussing the findings with you and your staff as the Liability Shield protections conversation progresses.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro released the following statement upon Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing his budget vetoes for the FY2020-21 budget totaling more than $1 billion.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released its latest report, BRINGING FLORIDA’S BUDGET BACK FROM COVID-19 A Roadmap for a Responsible Recovery, outlining major budget and policy recommendations and options to reduce state spending and maximize existing revenue sources as Florida fights to recover from the significant fiscal impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The recommendations put forward today by FTW can conservatively produce a combined nearly $6 billion in annual positive impact on the budget and include proposed legislative actions for both short-term (FY 2020-21) and long-term consideration by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature.