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

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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, Economic Development

A Second Look at Second-Stage Companies in FL

Launched in 2009 to help second-stage companies grow and create new jobs, GrowFL uses principles of Economic Gardening® to help growing companies throughout Florida overcome obstacles to mature and prosper. A January 2015 study by Florida TaxWatch forecast the economic impact of GrowFL and concluded that “Florida should continue this approach to economic development.” Since that report was published, three important things have happened: (1) the GrowFL program has continued to assist Florida’s second-stage companies; (2) the state has changed its strategy of investing in economic growth and development; and (3) a new academic analysis has estimated the job creation attributable to the GrowFL program since its inception in 2009. This study also found that the program has generated a net return on investment of more than 9-to-1.

These changes have prompted TaxWatch to revisit the 2015 analysis, using the REMI PI+ economic forecasting model, to calculate GrowFL’s economic impact over the next 10 years (2018-2027). The REMI analysis concluded that, over the next decade, GrowFL will:

  • generate $4.72 billion in additional Gross Domestic Product (GDP);
  • create 43,794 private sector, non-farm jobs statewide, with an average annual salary of $97,815;
  • produce $4.61 billion in additional personal income for Floridians; and
  • generate $345.14 million in additional state tax receipts.

This analysis shows that GrowFL plays an important part in the development of Florida’s entrepreneurial economy, producing tens of thousands of high-paying jobs across the state and helping to diversify the state’s economy. If lawmakers are committed to growing Florida’s economy from within, then a continued public investment in GrowFL would be a wise investment indeed. 

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