Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro released the following statement regarding Senator Jeff Brandes' Florida First Step Act –

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Sunday, April 14, Floridians will celebrate the first day of the year where taxpayers are finally earning money for themselves and not for the tax collector. Taxpayer Independence Day, calculated by Florida TaxWatch, accepts that every dollar earned since January 1 goes to pay federal, state, and local obligations. This year, it will take the average Florida family 103 out of 365 days - or almost three and a half months - to satisfy its tax obligations. Looking at it another way, it takes two hours and 15 minutes of every eight-hour workday to earn enough to pay your taxes.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s premier, independent government watchdog of forty years, Florida TaxWatch, has released a new research report about the state’s affordable housing crisis. In the Sunshine State, there are only 26 affordable and available housing units for every 100 “extremely low-income” renter households. This is the sixth-smallest percentage of available units in the nation and well below the national average of 36 percent.

Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro released the following statement regarding public investment in FloridaMakes –

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida TaxWatch today released a new ‘Session Spotlight’ briefing encouraging the Florida Legislature to address inequities facing Florida-based business and taxpayers. The briefing by Florida’s premier independent government watchdog of 40 years urges the Legislature to take advantage of the opportunity to resolve the problem of uncollected sales taxes on remote sales, provided by the U.S. Supreme Court decision made last year in their Wayfair decision. In addition to the Session Spotlight briefing, Florida TaxWatch has also released a report, authored by Bob Goldman of Dean, Mead, and Dunbar, that goes further in-depth on the issue.