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

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Florida’s economy has rarely been stronger than it is now with our state’s unemployment at 5 percent and strong growth predicted for the state’s future. However, there is a critical segment being left behind in this economic expansion. Floridians with disabilities account for more than 20 percent of the population, yet only 30 percent of those are employed.

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Too few Floridians have the time to keep an eye on Tallahassee to make sure lawmakers are making prudent decisions with your money. That’s why Florida TaxWatch – the state’s premier independent government watchdog group – is on the job. It is part of our mission is to ensure that your money is invested wisely in schools, transportation and many other areas while protecting the public’s right to know.

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With four of Florida ports among the nation’s top 25 container ports and three among the top cruise ports in the world, the economic vitality of Florida’s ports should be an important focus of our state leaders. These ports are hubs of commerce and tourism that generate high-paying, sustainable jobs for Floridians while cementing our role and brand as the gateway for the Americas.

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The cornerstone of our constitutional democratic republic is protecting citizens’ right to full and public notice when their elected officials are discussing or making decisions that could affect everyone’s daily lives. As a non-partisan research taxpayer research institute that focuses on promoting government accountability and transparency, Florida TaxWatch supports the use of public notices in local newspapers of record by government entities to notify citizens of meetings and votes.
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