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

/ Categories: Blog

Citation Today, Jail Tomorrow

“Traditional” sanctions that keep offenders behind bars have cost the U.S. and its taxpayers millions, despite limited returns on investment regarding public safety.  Recognizing this, many states have implemented alternative sanctions that focus on reserving prison beds for dangerous offenders and prioritizing treatment for lower-level offenders.

Florida is no different.  The Sunshine State has utilized a number of diversion sanctions meant to prevent certain populations of adult offenders from costly incarceration, particularly juveniles.  Florida’s juvenile civil citation program now allows misdemeanant juveniles to receive treatment or other alternatives in lieu of incarceration.  While similar to adult alternatives, juveniles’ options differ in one key way: they don’t create an arrest record.  The day someone turns 18, that changes.

When an adult is diverted, his or her original arrest still exists and can pop up on everything from a google search, to a background check for a school or job application.  These records afford the public a measure of safety in some cases, but can cast the subject of inquiry in an unfair light.  Not all arrests are the mark a hardened criminal.  Possession of alcohol under age 21 (also called a minor in possession, or “MIP”), for example, is a second degree misdemeanor and can land you not only an arrest, but up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Understanding this, DISC Village and the Civil Citation Network  implemented an adult civil citation program in Leon County that serves local adult misdemeanants, prevents the creation of an arrest record, and saves taxpayer dollars by paying for itself.  Adults convicted of misdemeanors like MIPs, trespassing, or possession marijuana are all eligible for the program, which can include everything from community service to drug screenings and treatment.  As of August 2015, rates of rearrest for Floridians who had completed the program was just 6 percent statewide, a low number even when compared to other adult diversion programs like pretrial release (15 percent).  Despite the impressive outcomes seen in participants, as well as the potential for significant cost-savings due to the self-sustaining nature of the model, adult civil citation has yet to be expanded statewide

To learn more about what adult civil citation means for the state of Florida, read our briefing here.  For more about the Leon County adult civil citation program, click here.

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