If the "Sequester" kicks in on March 1, the immediate cuts to the budget authority are $85 billion, and the Congressional Budget Office has indicated that spending will be reduced by $44 billion by the end of September 2013. It is incredibly important that everyone understands how detrimental these cuts will be to U.S.'s fourth largest economy and to its recovery from the Great Recession. This Economic Commentary details some of the effects of these automatic federal spending cuts on Florida.
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This Briefing looks at the history of the CST in Florida, compares Florida's rates to other states, finding that Florida is the fourth-highest state in the U.S. for this tax, and recommends that the Legislature look to reduce CST rates to "benefit a wide range of Floridians, affecting virtually all individuals and businesses."
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Due primarily to its substantial and unpredictable long-term costs, the Florida TaxWatch Government Cost Saving Task Force has made recommendations to reform the current Florida Retirement System (FRS) for the past several years. Given the complexity of this issue, this Report is a further expansion, clarification, and reinforcement of these recommendations.
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Some Florida cities are taking meaningful steps towards reducing their pension liabilities, according to this Report, released by Florida TaxWatch, and the LeRoy Collins Institute, housed at Florida State University.
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To address the steps that Florida has taken and should continue to take to match our graduates to the industries that need a workforce with skill-specific education, this Briefing looks at two aspects of the issue: how the right degree can make a difference in lifetime earning potential, and how Florida's Supply and Demand Portal can help students and employers achieve their goals.
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This Report includes a recap of the 2012 Justice Summit in Florida, as well as three pre-meeting recaps from the run up to the Summit.
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This Budget Watch looks at the details of the Governor's $74.2 billion proposed budget for FY2013-14.
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This month's Economic Commentary focuses on job growth in Florida during 2012. The analysis shows that Florida has continued its recovery from its most recent recession, showing strong job creation in a significant number of sectors.
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The economic modeling done in this Report, looking at the impact of investing more in Florida's tourism industry, indicates that the Florida tourism industry reaching the milestone of 100 million annual visitors would create 121,298 jobs, and increase overall personal income for Floridians by $5.3 billion.
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Continuing a legacy that has resulted in the savings of at least $3.5 billion in Floridians' hard-earned tax dollars over the last four years alone, Florida TaxWatch added more than $1 billion in cost-saving options for lawmakers this year, with the release of this Report. This year's Report is the fifth in as many years from Florida TaxWatch, the independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit taxpayer research institute and government watchdog headquartered in Tallahassee.
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This month's Economic Commentary focuses on the growing bioscience industry in Florida, which is bringing high-wage job opportunites to Florida faster than almost any other state.
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