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, Budget/Approps, Taxpayer Guide

Budget Watch - Governor's FY2018-19 Recommended Budget

Governor Rick Scott recently released his eighth and final budget recommendation. The $87.375 billion proposed budget will be considered by the 2018 Legislature as it develops the next state budget. The Governor’s spending plan for FY2018-19 represents an increase of 2.9 percent ($2.422 billion) over current year spending. General Revenue (GR) spending of $32.182 billion would be an increase of 2.1 percent ($0.673 billion) over the current year. The budget proposes to fund 113,392 state employee positions, 565 more than currently exist. The proposed budget is $2.648 billion less than was requested by state agencies this fall and funds 1,168 fewer positions than requested.

The budget is viewed by many as ambitious since the state forecasted a very tight budget year and costs due to Hurricane Irma are mounting. This Budget Watch highlights what is in the proposal and what it means for Floridians, examines how the Governor was able to balance a budget that includes tax increases and significant funding initiatives, and looks at budget issue conflicts that may arise during the legislative session.

Governor’s Proposed Budget Snapshot

Total Funding - $87.375 billion—$2.422 billion (2.9 percent) more than current year spending. General Revenue spending would increase by $673 million (2.1 percent), to $32.182 billion.

State Employees – 113,392 state employee positions, 565 more than currently exist. The Governor is recommending 596 new positions, while eliminating 269 (mostly vacant) positions. There is no across the board pay increase for state employees but the Governor is recommending funding for pay increases for the state’s sworn law enforcement offices, juvenile justice detention officers, and Forest Service firefighters.

Tax Cuts - $180 million in state and local tax cuts, $88.2 million of which is are one-time cuts from a 10-day back-to-school sales tax holiday and three one-week hurricane preparedness holidays. There are $87.8 million in recurring tax relief from a reduction in the cost of driver licenses. The Governor also proposes to provide an 18 percent reduction in some traffic fines if the driver takes a basic driver improvement class ($4.0 million).

Reserves - $5.1 billion, including $1.399 billion in unallocated General Revenue (cash) reserves.

Trust Fund Sweeps – The Governor proposes to transfer $168.0 million from trust funds to general revenue, most of it ($91.8 million) from the local affordable housing trust fund. Twelve other trust funds are swept, ranging from $500,000 from the (securities) Anti-Fraud TF to $25.0 million from the Professional Regulation TF.

Bonding – The Governor proposes to only issue new bonds for projects in the Department of Transportation work program (up to $739 million).

Tuition – No tuition increase for colleges or universities.

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