The TaxWatch Research Blog

On April 17th, Floridians will celebrate Taxpayer Independence Day 2017, the first day of the year where taxpayers are no longer working to pay off their tax bill but are working for themselves. This symbolic date, calculated by Florida TaxWatch, assumes that every dollar earned from the start of 2017 went to pay taxes at all levels of government.

It would be difficult to find a more clear and widespread competitive disadvantage faced by many Florida businesses than the Business Rent Tax (BRT). This report looks at how to provide relief.

This annual report details how Florida stacks up against the rest of the nation in terms of taxes and fees.

The 2017 Legislature is considering SB 378, a bill that would eliminate the insurance premium tax (IPT) credit. This report examines the issues involved with repealing the salary credit and concludes it should be maintained.

Good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle. This report looks at the effect of food deserts on Floridians' health and life expectancy.

The General Revenue (GR) Estimating Conference met recently to determine how much money will be available to the 2017 Legislature for the new state budget.

Florida tourism is an absolutely critical industry to the state, employing millions of people and contributing millions of dollars to state coffers. Despite its importance to the Sunshine State, tourism is in the crosshairs of the Florida House, a costly decision according to this report.

This report analyzes the effects of applying a border-adjusted tax to reinsurance transactions, and estimates the impact of such a tax on Florida’s policyholders, the property insurance market, taxpayers, and the economy.

Per-student spending is an easy-to-use measure by which taxpayers can evaluate public school spending and efficiency. This report finds a more accurate number for taxpayers to use.

This Briefing revises high-tech manufacturing, one sector that could benefit from state investment and has been touted in the past by government officials as a way to expand Florida's economic diversity.

The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy’s Teen Trendsetters program is one great example of a high-quality mentor initiative. This Florida TaxWatch fiscal and economic analysis quantifies the value of the increases in reading scores and positive social impacts of the program.

This Economic Commentary looks at the potential impact on taxpayers from the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Governor Rick Scott recently released his $83.474 billion proposed budget, which will be considered by the Legislature as it crafts the state’s new spending plan.

Florida residents come out in droves to take advantage of sales tax holidays, the subject of this report. These ever-popular tax breaks allow Florida shoppers to take advantage of tax-free purchases on certain items.

With an addition of 257,000 jobs in 2016, Florida continues to rise from the Great Recession. Over the past year, nearly all of Florida's major industries have seen employment gains, and the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.8.

To identify areas in need of improvement, this report is a longitudinal analysis of the state’s sentencing, incarceration, prisoner, and correctional budget histories.

The 2016 Annual Report - Bridging the Gap Between Taxpayers and their Government

As we close the door on a strong 2016 for Florida’s economy, it is time to look at what could lie ahead for the state in 2017.

Leading a corrections department and prisons is challenging. A successful leader mustwork with government entities, employees, unions, and their accompanying agendas, all while simultaneously dealing with individuals that our society cannot tolerate. An effective corrections leader must balance what is good for inmates and staff with what is good for our shared society.

Lawmakers received a small measure of positive fiscal news from state economists this week. The General Revenue (GR) Estimating Conference met on December 12, 2016 and increased its revenue forecast by $119.3 million in the current year (FY2016-17) and by $22.6 million for the next budget year (FY2017-18).

Honey bees enable the production of more than 90 commercially grown crops here in the United States. Around the world, more than one-third of food production relies on pollination, which is important to understand because, over the past 60 years, the number of honey bee colonies in the United States has decreased steadily.

Every year, Florida public agencies are required to develop so-called strategic plans. But instead of being strategic and linking to adding measurable value to Floridians, these efforts shift to the planning of tactics and assume that existing agency goals are useful or even correct. And each year we are often disappointed with what our agencies deliver to our citizens. This disappointment comes from agencies not asking and answering the right questions.