The Florida TaxWatch Annual Report for 2019 is the 40th-anniversary edition and details the work of the organization over the past 40 years, including the history of the organization and its founding, and how that work ties into today's efforts. 

Local taxing and spending is a major part of Florida government operations. More than half of all Florida government revenue (53.1 percent) is raised at the local level, one of the highest shares in the nation. Florida’s 66 county governments (plus Jacksonville’s consolidated government), more than 400 municipal governments, and approximately 1,000 independent special districts spend nearly $80 billion annually. This report compares the magnitude and makeup of Florida’s local governments’ fiscal operations. It does not attempt to compare or evaluate levels of service. 

Distributed to the Bond Oversight Committee on December 16, 2019, this report examines the SMART program quarterly report for Q1 of FY2019-20.

Governor Ron DeSantis has released his $91.4 billion recommended spending plan for FY2020-21, providing a starting point for budget negotiations for when the next legislative session convenes on January 14, 2020. This could be considered his first recommended budget, since he released the last one less than a month after he took office, and agencies had submitted their budget requests three months before.

In today’s world of immediate access to information and ten-minute news cycles driven by social media, it is easy to forget that when it comes to government policies, we are all playing the long game. Florida’s low-tax, business-friendly climate and taxpayer-friendly policies have allowed our state to become one of the most desirable places in the world to call home. But it was not always this way. On the way to becoming the Sunshine State we all know and love, there were more and higher taxes, a more volatile constitutional amendment process and less-informed elected leaders.

The slogan “Made in America” has always meant jobs for Americans. Manufacturing is the transformation of raw materials into new products and it ranges from small, home-based businesses that make products by hand to the largest, most technologically sophisticated factories and plants. The Manufacturing sector is made up of 21 subsectors which provide more than 12.5 million high-paying jobs. Manufacturing jobs pay an average of 12 percent more than other jobs. In 2017, persons employed in U.S. Manufacturing jobs earned an average of $84,832 (includes benefits) annually.

As we approach the holiday season, countless Floridians will shop online for the perfect gift. During Cyber Monday and through the weeks ahead, many of these shoppers will unknowingly come short on the taxes owed for these remote purchases. This is why the 2020 Florida Legislature should finally address the most significant tax compliance and collection issue facing Florida — the collection of sales taxes on remote sales. This can be done by taking the burden of remitting the tax off the consumer and putting it where it belongs — on the seller.

As of 2010, there were 2.5 million Floridians in their 50s, 2.1 million Floridians in their 60s, 1.4 million Floridians in their 70s and almost 1 million Floridians in their 80s and above. There is every reason to believe that these numbers will continue to rise. Recent estimates predict that Florida’s 65 and older population will represent 24.1 percent of Florida’s overall population by the year 2030. As Florida’s population continues to age, the elderly population will require vastly different and more costly forms of health care, such as long-term care for chronic conditions, more frequent examinations and follow-ups, and services and care for cognitive and mental impairments.

The 2019 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.

It appears the 2020 Florida Legislature will have a little money left over after funding a continuation budget for the next fiscal year, but lawmakers need to be careful about spending it. State economists estimate that there will be a General Revenue (GR) budget surplus of $289.3 after funding the base budget plus “critical needs” and “high priority needs”—a conservative continuation budget.

Distributed to the Bond Oversight Committee on August 30, 2019, this report examines the SMART program quarterly report for Q4 of FY2019.

Moderated by our Vice President for Research Bob Nave, the panel discussed obstacles to effective school leadership; ways to attract and retain high-quality teachers; professional development for principals; how to get the most from teachers; and principal autonomy.

Florida has a history of trying to woo people and businesses to move to the Sunshine State, and it appears to be working.  In addition to its many other selling points, Florida has also had the reputation of being a low-tax state. Recent federal tax law changes have made our state even more attractive from a tax standpoint to many Americans. 

The General Revenue (GR) Estimating Conference met on August 14 to develop a new revenue forecast for Florida. It was a challenging and complex conference for the state’s economists.  The uncertainty surrounding corporate income tax collections, the loss of Indian gaming revenue, a weaker economic forecast, and the impact of Hurricane Michael were some of the factors they were dealing with.

The Space Coast of Florida was once the center of the universe; however, since the historic mission fifty years ago, the region has gone through significant change.

The 2019 Budget Turkey Watch Report: An Analysis of the Transparency and Accountability of the Budget Process is the result of an annual independent review of Florida’s new budget by Florida TaxWatch. The report started in 1983, and having been published annually since 1986, promotes additional oversight and integrity in the state’s budgeting process based on the principle that: because money appropriated by the Legislature belongs to the taxpayers of Florida, the process must be transparent and accountable, and every appropriation should receive deliberation and public debate. The budget review identifies appropriations that circumvent transparency and accountability standards in public budgeting. 

Distributed to the Bond Oversight Committee on June 3, 2019, this report examines the SMART program quarterly report for Q3 of FY2019.

The 2019 Florida Legislative Session is over. Lawmakers approved 197 bills this year, setting a record for the fewest bills passed (at least since 2001, and likely long before that). The amount of bills passed has been steadily declining. This is probably a good thing, but it also reflects the use of “trains,” strike-all amendments, and adding brand new issues to bills at the last minute, things that certainly occurred this year. Still, there was some good legislation that passed and, as always, some missed opportunities and some great ideas that became less so as the process wore on.

On Thursday, May 2, the Senate took up the tax package passed by the House (HB 7123) and adopted a strike-all amendment that put the Senate package on the bill. It kept many of the provisions (with some changes), added some new provisions, and removed one controversial provision, and changed another.

Year after year, families across the nation and the world choose Florida as their top vacation destination. As the Sunshine State, it is not hard to see why. When you consider tourist attractions like Miami Beach, Walt Disney World, Clearwater, the World Golf Hall of Fame, the Florida Keys, Universal Studios and Sea World, not to mention an expanding economy with a steady supply of jobs, Florida seems to have it all.