9 Actions Florida Should Take to Help Taxpayers Impacted by Hurricane Ian

1.     Postpone tax notices and waive penalties or interest for late tax filings in affected areas

2.     Extend the date for residents to take advantage of the tax discounts they would normally receive for paying property taxes and special assessments in November and postpone or defer the deadline for property tax installment payments

3.     Protect individual and business taxpayers from the risks for notices that they will likely not receive because their home or business addresses is not accessible anymore

4.     Issue no new audits in severely impacted areas, extend the statute of limitations and postpone existing audits that haven’t reached the assessment stage because these can’t be responded to while entire communities are still recovering

5.     Create procedures for fairly estimating taxes which can’t be calculated because records have been destroyed by the storm, moving away from the current method which significantly overestimates activity if no records are available

6.     Initiate procedures to offer payment plan assistance for late taxes, rather than resorting to the standard collection methods, like liens, levies, or bank freezes

7.     Retroactively apply the recently passed law that provides property tax refunds for residential property rendered uninhabitable as a result of a catastrophic event

8.     Provide tangible personal property relief and allow n on-residential properties rendered uninhabitable to receive property tax refunds

9.     Get Congress to pass a Disaster Tax Relief Act that includes provisions from past packages, including elements such as an Employee Retention Credit, an enhanced casualty loss deduction, and other relief provisions

Download the Recommendations

Other Resources

Florida Disaster.biz
FEMA
Florida Department of Financial Services
Florida SBDC
Disaster Contractors Network
Florida Disaster Fund

Florida TaxWatch Statement on Hurricane Ian Recovery

Community Involvement

/ Categories: Research, Taxpayer Guide, Voter Guides

2018 Voter Guide

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.

Proposed constitutional amendments No. 1, No. 2, and No. 5, which deal with homestead property tax exemptions; limitations on property tax assessments; and requirements for imposing, authorizing, or raising state taxes and fees, respectively, have been placed on the November ballot by joint resolutions of the Florida Legislature. Proposed constitutional amendments No. 3, and No. 4, which deal with voter control of gambling and the restoration of voting rights, respectively, have been placed on the November ballot by citizens’ initiatives.

Proposed constitutional amendments No. 6, No. 7, No. 9, No. 10, No. 11, and No. 12, have been placed on the November ballot by the Constitution Revision Commission. These six proposed amendments reflect the “bundling” of 17 separate issues. The Constitution Revision Commission bundled these issues to make the ballot shorter and more efficient. Instead of having 17 separate amendments to vote on, voters will have six.

Proposed constitutional amendment No. 13, which deals with wagering on dog racing, has been placed on the November ballot by the Constitution Revision Commission.

Proposed constitutional amendment No. 8, which bundles three public education-related issues, was challenged in court by the League of Women Voters. The lower court ruled that amendment No. 8 failed to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect of the proposal and must be removed from the ballot. The Florida Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s ruling and ordered proposed amendment No. 8 to be removed from the ballot.

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