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

Other Resources

Florida TaxWatch Statement on Hurricane Ian Recovery

Community Involvement

Florida TaxWatch Examines Trend of Florida Voters Continuing to Approve Proposed Tax Increases

/ Categories: Releases

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released Florida Voters Continue to Say Yes to Proposed Tax Increases, a briefing examining the trend of Florida voters approving tax increases at the local level. This report builds on FTW’s February 2021 analysis, A Decade of Self-Taxing, which found that Floridians increased their own taxes 142 times since 2010. The new report focuses on voting patterns in the 2021 and 2022 elections, including voters’ propensity for authorizing county-wide sales and property tax increases, and more.

Florida TaxWatch Releases an Update on Florida’s Housing Rental Market

/ Categories: Releases

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) is releasing an economic commentary entitled An Update on Florida’s Housing Rental Market. The report builds on previous FTW commentaries, Beyond the Pandemic: Long-term Changes and Challenges for Housing in Florida (October 2021) and Too Expensive to Rent: Florida’s Rental Market and Eviction Moratorium(March 2022), to examine the current strain on Florida’s rental market and the resulting price growth. FTW notes that the circumstances, which are being experienced across the state, are the consequence of Florida’s significant population growth, a decade of slow housing construction, and a post-COVID-19 housing boom.

Florida TaxWatch Releases How Florida Compares: Taxes 2022

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released How Florida Compares: Taxes 2022, a comprehensive analysis of state and local tax rates, tax collections, and other government revenues for all 50 states, in addition to historical information for Florida. The annual report is part of the taxpayer research institute’s larger How Florida Compares series, providing balanced, nonpartisan information intended to help Floridians better understand where their state ranks in terms of taxes when compared to the 49 other states and the national average. 

Florida TaxWatch Presents Summary of 2022 MakeMore Manufacturing Summit and Focus Group Discussions to the Florida Legislature Manufacturing and Supply Chain Caucus

/ Categories: Releases

 

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, in partnership with Associated Industries of Florida, CareerSource Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Florida, and FloridaMakes, Florida TaxWatch is releasing a report entitled Producing More Talent: MakeMore Manufacturing Summit 2022 Summary Report. The report summarizes presentations made at the fourth annual MakeMore Manufacturing Summit in October 2022, themed “Producing More Talent,” as well as focus group discussions held prior to the Summit among representatives from a variety of companies across the state that depend on a strong manufacturing workforce. 

Florida TaxWatch Underscores Financial and Economic Benefits of Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) Grants

/ Categories: Releases

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released The Importance of Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) Grants. In the report, FTW underscores the financial and economic benefits of the EASE Grant Program, which was established by the Florida Legislature in 1979 to offset declining student enrollment at private colleges and universities.

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