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

A State of Incarceration: Florida's Crime and Incarceration Data Over Time

In the 1980s and 1990s, criminal justice and corrections policies were uniformly aligned across the nation, creating a sentencing landscape that reflected public fears following the advent of crack cocaine and the “war on drugs.” As times have changed, so have methods of sentencing, and many states have begun to take a more rehabilitative approach to dealing with offenders.

Florida has made great strides towards shifting sentencing strategies to address the root causes of crime through targeted intervention and diversion options, but many outdated and severe strategies left over from the 1980s and 1990s are still used, and continue to have lasting effects. This report identifies these consequences, explains them in the context of time and the nation, and provides recommendations to improve Florida’s criminal justice policy. 

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