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

Expanding Florida's High-Tech Manufacturing Sector

As a state, Florida is home to one of the nation’s strongest economies. With a Gross State Product of nearly $911 billion in 2016, the state’s economic success has helped Florida become one of the best places in the nation to work and live. However, some questions remain on whether or not Florida is properly situated to compete in an ever-changing global economy. Currently, Florida’s economy relies heavily on the tourism, real estate development, and financial industries; and while these sectors are vitally important to the state’s economy, Florida should also look to invest in sectors that have significant growth potential. One sector that could benefit from state investment and has been touted in the past by government officials is manufacturing.

In 2015, Florida was home to more than 12,100 manufacturers that employed approximately 335,700 individuals. While these numbers sound impressive on the surface, manufacturing jobs only account for 4.2 percent of non-farm employment in the state, placing Florida at the 7th lowest percentage in the nation. When it comes to the southeast, Florida ranks last in terms of manufacturing as a percentage of total employment.

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