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

Budget Watch - Governor's FY2016-17 Recommended Budget

Florida legislators received news this week that they will have $395.6 million less to spend on the next state budget than originally anticipated. Citing weaker corporate profits and adverse developments in the international economy, the state General Revenue (GR) Estimating Conference decreased its estimates of GR collections in each of the six years in its forecast horizon. The estimates were decreased for the current year (FY2015-16) by $139.3 million (0.5 percent), and by $249.2 million (0.8 percent) for the upcoming budget year (FY2016-17). This amounts to $388.5 million less in revenue collections over the two years. Coupled with some additional minor adjustments, the reduction in available revenue climbs to $395.6 million. Total collections for the current year are now forecast at $28.275 billion, which represents growth of only 2.1 percent ($593.7 million) over the current year.

This marks only the second time since October 2011 that the conference has produced reduced GR estimates. Looking further out, the estimates for the next four years were also decreased significantly, with an average reduction of $279 million in each year between FY2017-18 and FY2020-21. Total GR collections are now expected to approach $35 billion by FY2020-21.

These estimates are important because the Legislature can only appropriate the amount officially forecast to be collected in the fiscal year. GR is the money for which legislators have the most discretion, as it can be spent on most anything in the state budget. GR is a major source of revenue for education, human services, and public safety and corrections. When there is a discussion of a state budget shortfall or surplus, it is generally GR that is being considered.

Documents to download

Print
2102 Rate this article:
No rating

x