Less than a week after the Senate Appropriations Committee heard a gloomy presentation on the outlook for the upcoming budget, the General Revenue Estimating Conference met on December 18 and increased the revenue projections by $461.5 million in FY2018-19 and another $380.5 million in FY2019-20. This means the 2019 Legislature will have an estimated $842 million more in General Revenue (GR) collections for the next state budget than was previously expected.

On November 6, 2018, Floridians voted on 12 proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. Eleven of the 12 passed with at least a 60 percent majority, all but Amendment 1, which would have provided an additional $25,000 homestead property tax exemption. But the amendments were not the only thing that voters had to agree on. In addition to the amendments, voters across Florida chose to put in place a number of local tax measures and new bond issues. 

On October 10, Hurricane Michael slammed ashore on Mexico Beach with devastating impact. The impact was not limited to the coast, as inland counties also felt the high-end Category 4 storm’s wrath. Before leaving Florida for Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia, the hurricane killed at least 35 Floridians, knocked out power to 380,000 homes and businesses, and caused insured damages of $2.6 billion (and climbing). Florida’s agriculture industry, including cotton, peanut, and corn farms, suffered more than $150 million in damages and timber losses are estimated at $1.3 billion.

In this research report, TaxWatch looks at the success of the IMR program in California in an attempt to answer the question “what if IMR was in use in Florida?” TaxWatch is pleased to present policymakers and stakeholders with an independent analysis of a program we think may be helpful in keeping the costs of workers’ compensation insurance down while helping to ensure that injured workers receive appropriate treatment.

Distributed to the Bond Oversight Committee on December 3, 2018, this report examines the SMART program quarterly report for Q1 of FY2019.

While the TaxWatch maintains that incentives should not be used as a substitute for the fundamentals of good economic growth, TaxWatch does recommend that incentives for the film and television industry not be ignored as a part of the Florida’s overall economic development strategy.

The Handbook is, at its core, a compilation and translation of knowledge and experience from some of the people who have been through the extraordinary and unique endeavor which the new Governor is about to undertake, and a guide to the policy choices that will have to be made as the Governor of Florida.

Florida’s state forecasters estimate that the 2019 Legislature will have a $223.4 million budget surplus when it puts together the state’s new spending plan for FY 2019-20. However, this assumes the Legislature will transfer nearly $400 million from trust funds—money earmarked by law for specific uses—into the General Revenue (GR) Fund.

On November 6, 2018, Floridians will vote on 12 proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. This Florida TaxWatch Voter Guide is designed to provide voters with information about each of the amendments to help them cast well-informed votes.

Distributed to the Bond Oversight Committee on October 8, 2018, this report examines the SMART program quarterly report for Q4 of FY2018.

Floridians will be voting on as many as 13 state constitutional amendments on November 6, 2018. The first on the list, Amendment 1 (A1), would create a new $25,000 homestead exemption from property taxes.

Florida Taxwatch Chairman, Pat Neal, and President & CEO, Dominic Calabro, explain why on behalf of literally every resident of the Sunshine State, Floridians must vote “yes” on Amendment 2. Renters, business owners and consumers will be in for a major property tax increase if it fails to pass.

Remember the last special legislative session when the world was abuzz with the news that $100 million more was being added to the schools budget? Now, imagine at least 20 times that amount being added every year. It could happen.

Florida’s General Revenue (GR) Estimating Conference met on August 16 and forecast that the state would collect $13.1 million less than expected in FY2018-19 and $19.5 million less in FY2019-20. This reduces the estimated GR that the Legislature will have for the next state budget by $32.6 million, a change of less than one-tenth of 1 percent.

Actual net GR collections for the fiscal year that that just ended exceeded the last estimate (February 2018, adjusted for legislative changes) by $205.2 million (0.66 percent). This will be added to the unobligated FY2018-19 GR (cash reserve) balance of $1.026 billion to be carried forward to the next budget year (FY2019-20). These numbers, along with the current cycle of the state’s Estimating Conferences, can begin to define the fiscal outlook for the next state budget that will be developed by the 2019 Legislature.

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a ruling that paves the way for a successful resolution to an issue Florida TaxWatch has fought for more than 15 years.

The 2018 Edition of this annual pocket guide gives taxpayers and elected officials great insight as to how Florida's taxes compare to other states and the national average across a wide variety of metrics.