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 Announces Middleburg Elementary School Principal Becky Wilkerson as a 2022-23 Principal Leadership Awards Winner

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Middleburg, Fla. – Today, Fri., March 24, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will proudly announce that Middleburg Elementary School Principal Becky Wilkerson is among the nine winners of the Florida TaxWatch 2022-23 Principal Leadership Awards (PLA). Through the program, Principal Wilkerson has also identified one deserving student to receive a full two-year Florida Prepaid College Scholarship.

Florida TaxWatch to Honor Evans High School Immediate Past Principal and Palm Bay Elementary School Principal with 2022-23 Principal Leadership Awards

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Orlando, Fla. – On Mon., March 27, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will honor Rolando Bailey – Evans High School Immediate Past Principal, now Orange County Public Schools’ Area Superintendent for the Southeast Learning Community – with the Florida TaxWatch 2022-23 Principal Leadership Award (PLA), which identifies Florida’s most effective principals in high-risk K-12 public schools, recognizes and rewards their work, and promotes their transformational practices throughout the state. The following day, Tues., March 28, the taxpayer research institute will also present Palm Bay Elementary School Principal Michael Mahl with the same award.

Florida TaxWatch to Honor Middleburg Elementary School Principal Becky Wilkerson with a 2022-23 Principal Leadership Award on Fri., March 24

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Middleburg, Fla. – On Fri., March 24, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will honor Middleburg Elementary School Principal Becky Wilkerson with the Florida TaxWatch 2022-23 Principal Leadership Award (PLA), which identifies Florida’s most effective principals in high-risk K-12 public schools, recognizes and rewards their work, and promotes their transformational practices throughout the state. 

Comments by Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro to Chair Joe Gruters and Members of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee on Tues., March 21, 2023, Regarding SB 1432 – Communicat

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Florida TaxWatch has done considerable research on the communications services tax (CST) and has concluded that Florida’s CST rate is very high, relative to both other states and the sales tax on the purchase of other goods. A reduction in the tax rate would provide several benefits for taxpayers and the state.

Florida TaxWatch Analyzes the Trends of Supply and Demand in Florida’s Housing Market

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Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released Florida’s Housing Market: Trends of Supply and DemandThis commentary analyzes the increasing cost of buying a house due to supply and demand issues in Florida, building upon FTW’s January 2023 report, Economic Commentary: An Update on Florida’s Housing Rental Market, which evaluated Florida’s challenges with the ever-rising cost of rent. In this report, the taxpayer research institute examines the slowly developing supply of housing units, the growing and evolving demand for housing stock, and the consequences of the high housing and rental prices.

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