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: Blog

Class Size Bill Clears Next Hurdle

 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Pre-K – 12 Education on SB 808, a bill related to maximum class sizes in public schools. Sponsored by Senator Debbie Mayfield, SB 808 revises the method for calculating financial penalties for school districts that fail to comply with the maximum class size limits established in the Florida Constitution.

Florida TaxWatch has written extensively on the need for class size reform. In March 2014, TaxWatch began a three-part series on the need to take a fresh look at class size limits to determine whether the anticipated student achievement gains had been realized and whether the costs associated with class size reduction were supported. Based upon this research, TaxWatch has consistently recommended that the state continue efforts to reduce class sizes to 18 students or fewer in pre-kindergarten through grade 3, and relax the maximum class size requirements in grades 4 through 12.

It is important to note that SB 808 does not change the maximum class size limits in the Constitution. It does, however, change the method for calculating the financial penalty for non-compliance from the class-size average to the school-wide average for all public schools. In so doing, SB 808 will dampen the financial burden on school districts that struggle to comply with the maximum class size limits. In many cases, these are districts that must make the choice between hiring more teachers to comply, or save vital programs and staff.

SB 808 is now scheduled to go to the full Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.

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