The TaxWatch Research Blog

The TaxWatch Research Blog is a forum where our research staff can address topics and issues in a short format. Keep an eye on this space during Legislative Session for frequent posts making sense of the activity at the Capitol. 

Statement by Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro on Four Sales Tax Holidays Beginning Friday, July 1, 2022

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The statement below, to be attributed to Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro, pertains to the four sales tax holidays beginning Friday, July 1, 2022 – Freedom Week, Energy Star Appliances, Diapers and Baby Clothes, and Home Hardening. To learn more and/or schedule an interview with President and CEO Calabro, please contact Aly Coleman at aly@on3pr.com or 850.391.5040.

Florida TaxWatch Evaluates Economic Impact of Florida’s Manufacturing Sector, Outlines Opportunities for Growth

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) is releasing an economic commentary entitled Built for Success: Manufacturing’s Role in Florida’s Economy. The report evaluates the significant impact of manufacturing on Florida’s economy and outlines opportunities for growth, which the taxpayer research institute notes will require a collaborative approach, involving both the public and private sectors, as well as strategic investment in human capital. 

Florida TaxWatch Analyzes Economic Impact of International Trade in Florida, Identifies Opportunities for Growth

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) is releasing an economic commentary entitled International Trade as a Catalyst for Florida’s Economy. The report outlines changes in Florida’s international trade over time – underscoring the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic – while analyzing the economic impact in the state and presenting it as a global trading hub. The trusted taxpayer research institute also identifies opportunities for future trade growth.

Florida TaxWatch Releases 2022 How Counties Compare

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, during Florida TaxWatch’s (FTW) spring meeting in Tampa, the taxpayer research institute released 2022 How Counties Compare. Complementing the larger How Florida Compares research series, this report analyzes Florida’s 67 counties and the myriad of local governments within the state, offering community leaders, elected officials, and members of the media insight into tax rates, tax collections, other revenue sources, and government expenditures.

Florida TaxWatch Releases 2022 Budget Turkey Watch Report

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released its 2022 Budget Turkey Watch Report, an independent review of the state’s Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget. Since 1983, FTW has provided Floridians with¬¬ this additional level of oversight that identifies individual appropriations that circumvent a thoughtful and thorough budget process.The annual practice is based on the principle that, because funds appropriated by the legislature belong to Florida taxpayers, the process must be transparent and accountable, and every appropriation should receive proper deliberation and public debate.

Florida TaxWatch Analyzes Public Safety Net Programs and the Economic Impact of Reducing Benefits Cliffs in New Report

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) is releasing a new report entitled At The Cliff’s Edge: How Reducing Benefits Cliffs Can Stimulate Workforce Participation and Economic Growth, which analyzes public safety net programs and benefits cliffs, a scenario in which a small increase in wages results in the partial or total loss of public benefits. The report presents implications for hiring and retaining workers in Florida’s tight labor market, as well as the overall impact on the economy. In the report, FTW also offers recommendations to mitigate these problems and thereby expand economic self-sufficiency, advancement, and mobility over time. 

Florida TaxWatch Releases Report Assessing Implications of Disrupted 2020 Census The taxpayer research institute also introduces a new Census Institute with a mission to improve critical planning dat

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) is releasing an economic commentary entitled The Economic and Fiscal Significance of the U.S. Census and American Community Survey (ACS). The report underscores the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on 2020 Census data collection efforts, including disruptions to the ACS, and highlights how this impacts federal funding and critical decision-making among policymakers and business leaders alike.

Florida TaxWatch Announces Thurs., April 14 as 2022 Florida Taxpayer Independence Day

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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. 

Florida TaxWatch Announces Manatee Charter School Principal Bonnie Brett as a 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards Winner

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Bradenton, Fla. – Today, Tues., April 12, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will proudly announce that Principal Bonnie Brett of Manatee Charter School in Manatee County is among the nine winners of the Florida TaxWatch 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards (PLA). Through the program, Principal Brett has also identified one deserving student to receive a full two-year Florida College Scholarship.

Florida TaxWatch Announces Montclair Elementary School Immediate Past Principal Hollie Wilkins and Pine Forest High School Immediate Past Principal Laura Touchstone as 2021-22 PLA Winners

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Pensacola, Fla. – Today, Fri., April 1, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will proudly announce that Hollie Wilkins, immediate past principal of Montclair Elementary School, and Laura Touchstone, immediate past principal of Pine Forest High School, are among the nine winners of the Florida TaxWatch 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards (PLA)

Florida TaxWatch Announces Dunnellon Middle School Immediate Past Principal Delbert Smallridge as a 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards Winner

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Dunnellon, Fla. – Today, Fri., March 25, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will proudly announce that Delbert Smallridge, immediate past principal of Dunnellon Middle School in Marion County, is among the nine winners of the Florida TaxWatch 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards (PLA). Through the program, Smallridge – who is now retired – has also identified one deserving student to receive a full two-year Florida College Scholarship.

Florida TaxWatch Releases Report Analyzing Significant Rise in Prices in Florida’s Rental Market

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) is releasing an economic commentary entitled Too Expensive to Rent: Florida’s Rental Market and Eviction Moratorium. The report analyzes the accelerated demand for rental properties in Florida and the significant rise in prices since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It presents concerns relating to such rapid rent growth, focusing on the impact of a lack of affordable workforce housing, while also considering the prevalence of evictions throughout the state now that the federal eviction moratorium has expired.

Florida TaxWatch Announces Columbia Elementary School Immediate Past Principal Rachel Roberts as a 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards Winner

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Palm Bay, Fla. – Today, Wed., March 23, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will proudly announce that Rachel Roberts, immediate past principal of Columbia Elementary School in Brevard County, is among the nine winners of the Florida TaxWatch 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards (PLA). Through the program, Roberts – who now serves as Director of Elementary Leading and Learning with Brevard Public Schools – has also identified one deserving student to receive a full two-year Florida College Scholarship. 

The award and scholarship will be presented to Roberts and the student at a ceremony on the Columbia Elementary School campus at 9 a.m. today. Local media are invited to attend and asked to contact Aly Coleman via email at aly@on3pr.com or by phone at 850.391.5040.

Florida TaxWatch Announces Mater Academy Charter High School Immediate Past Principal Jose “Tiger” Nunez as a 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards Winner

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Hialeah Gardens, Fla. – Today, Fri., March 18, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will proudly announce that Jose “Tiger” Nunez, immediate past principal of Mater Academy Charter High School in Miami-Dade County, is among the nine winners of the Florida TaxWatch 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards (PLA). Through the program, Nunez has also identified one deserving student to receive a full two-year Florida College Scholarship.

Florida TaxWatch Announces Dania Elementary School Principal Lewis Jackson as a 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards Winner

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Dania Beach, Fla. – Today, Thurs., March 17, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) proudly announced that Principal Lewis Jackson of Dania Elementary School in Broward County is among the nine winners of the Florida TaxWatch 2021-22 Principal Leadership Awards (PLA). Through the program, Principal Jackson has also identified one deserving student to receive a full two-year Florida College Scholarship.

Florida TaxWatch Releases Updated Analysis of Consumer Data Privacy Legislation

The taxpayer research institute incorporates recent empirical findings to present potential impacts of HB 9 and SB 1864

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) is releasing a Session Spotlight report entitled The Impacts of Consumer Data Privacy on Florida’s Economy. In the report, FTW analyzes HB 9 and SB 1864, proposed legislation that would enact consumer data privacy and provide sweeping changes to how certain Florida businesses interact with their customers’ personal information. The taxpayer research institute builds on an October 2021 report, Who Knows What? An Independent Analysis of the Potential Effects of Consumer Data Privacy Legislation in Floridaand incorporates recent empirical findings to present potential impacts of these bills.

Florida TaxWatch Releases Examination of Ocklawaha River Restoration Alternatives

he government watchdog recommends breaching of the George Kirkpatrick Dam and partial restoration of Rodman Reservoir to expand the river habitat

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) is releasing A River (No Longer) Runs Through It: Ocklawaha River Restoration, a report wherein the government watchdog examines the recreational, economic, and environmental impacts of full retention and partial restoration of the Ocklawaha River, which flows north from central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka. 

Florida TaxWatch Releases Briefing on Florida’s Child Welfare Case Manager Retention Crisis

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released a comprehensive briefing on Florida’s child welfare case manager retention crisis, A System in Crisis: Stabilizing Florida’s Child Welfare Workforce, wherein FTW presents factors contributing to high attrition rates and considerations for stabilizing this critical sector of the state’s workforce.   

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