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

Download the Recommendations

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, Voter Guides

Amendment 2: Florida's $15 Minimum Wage Initiative

With nearly every general election in Florida, there are a number of constitutional amendments facing voters, and this year is no different. Among this year’s slate is one that would significantly change (over time) the minimum hourly wage that a worker can be paid, an issue that has been at the forefront of national politics for several years now.

Like many amendments, the increased minimum wage comes with both positive and negative impacts. While it would help lift many workers out of poverty and increase wages even for those not making minimum wage, it would also increase the cost of doing business in the state, and the cost of being a consumer in the state. Many jobs would pay more, but there are likely to be less of them as a result.

Florida is one of 28 states that has established a minimum hourly wage that differs from the federal minimum hourly wage. Florida’s current minimum hourly wage ($8.56) increases on January 1 of each year to match inflation. On November 3, 2020, Florida voters will have an opportunity to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment (Amendment 2) that, if approved by 60 percent of the voters, will increase the state’s minimum hourly wage incrementally (by $1 per year) to $15.00 per hour by September 30th, 2026. From then on, the minimum hourly wage would be adjusted annually for inflation.

Florida TaxWatch has been resolute in our stance that issues that can be solved by the Legislature through the Florida Statutes should be, and that the state’s constitution should be left as a foundational document, the baseplate upon which our state builds its laws and rules, its rights and responsibilties. Changing an item in the constitution means less flexibility for the Legislature, both in good times and bad, and it is incredibly hard to remove. Additionally, given what we have all experienced in the first half of 2020, we know that the business climate in any state can be upended without notice, and what was once a stable environment for local businesses can evaporate overnight. Is this the time to be saddling the state’s small mom-and-pop businesses with increased costs, when simply staying in business is far from a certainty?

In this report, Florida TaxWatch examines the potential impacts of raising Florida’s minimum hourly wage to $15 on Florida businesses and taxpayers. Florida TaxWatch is pleased to present this report and its findings and looks forward to engaging policymakers in discussion during the next legislative session and beyond.

Documents to download

Print
6487 Rate this article:
No rating

x