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 Releases Quarterly Report for Broward SMART Program

/ Categories: Broward BOC, Releases

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch released its review of the Broward County School District's Safety, Music & Art, Athletics, Renovations and Technology (SMART) program in its report Monitoring and Oversight of General Obligation Bonds to Improve Broward County Schools: SMART Program Quarterly Report Review for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2023.   

Florida TaxWatch Releases 2023 Budget Turkey Watch Report

/ Categories: Releases

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released its 2023 Budget Turkey Watch Report, an independent review of the state’s $117 billion Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget. Since 1983, FTW has provided Floridians with­­ this additional level of oversight by identifying individual appropriations that circumvent a thoughtful and thorough budget process. The annual Budget Turkey Watch Report is based on the principle that, because funds appropriated by the legislature belong to Florida taxpayers, the process must be transparent and accountable, and every appropriation should receive proper deliberation and public debate. 

Florida TaxWatch Presents APRNs as Solid Solution to Palliative Care and Hospice Physician Shortage

/ Categories: Releases

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released Physician Shortages: Better Utilization of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in Palliative Medicine Could Provide Relief, a briefing explaining how fully utilizing the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) workforce has the potential to significantly mitigate the existing physician shortage and similar issues that may arise in the future, particularly in palliative care and hospice facilities.

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