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

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Florida TaxWatch Summarizes Roundtable Discussion with Distinguished K-12 Principals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tues., Aug. 1, 2023
CONTACT: Aly Coleman Raschid, aly@on3pr.com, 850.391.5040
 
Florida TaxWatch Summarizes Roundtable Discussion with Distinguished K-12 Principals
 
Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch released Fostering School Success: Unveiling the Effective Strategies of Florida’s Top Principals. This report provides a summary of a May 2023 roundtable discussion with five distinguished principals who were recognized through the government watchdog’s 2022-23 Principal Leadership Awards, which is an annual program – established in 2013 and still unlike any other program in the country – that identifies and rewards principals who are creating meaningful change in their at-risk K-12 schools across the state.
 
Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro said, “The role of the principal cannot be overstated. Next to teachers, they have the most significant influence on students’ academic achievement, and a truly effective principal has an impact equivalent to an additional three months of learning per year. They are also uniquely capable of empowering and inspiring those around them – both students and teachers – which enables them to transform mediocre or even at-risk schools into great schools.
 
“Florida TaxWatch’s one-of-a-kind Principal Leadership Awards program celebrates principals who are responsible for those kind of transformations here in Florida. We are immensely grateful to all the principals who have been recognized through this program to date, and we thank them for their willingness to share their experiences and insight, helping ensure their best practices may be replicated throughout the state.  
 
“While this report is not a ‘deep dive’ into the ideas and issues presented by the 2022-23 winning principals, Florida TaxWatch proudly presents it as a starting point for further discussion among those in the education realm, particularly policymakers, and we stand ready to assist them as appropriate before, during, and after the upcoming 2024 Legislative Session.”
 
The roundtable participants discussed philosophies, strategies, challenges, and best practices of effective principals, including:
 
  • Attracting and retaining high-quality teachers;
  • Developing teachers;
  • Building a productive school culture;
  • Building relationships with stakeholders beyond the building; and
  • Managing time and personnel.
 
To access the full report, please click here. To learn more about Florida TaxWatch’s Principal Leadership Awards, please click here.
 
About Florida TaxWatch
As an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog and taxpayer research institute for more than forty years and the trusted eyes and ears of Florida taxpayers, Florida TaxWatch works to improve the productivity and accountability of Florida government. Its research recommends productivity enhancements and explains the statewide impact of fiscal and economic policies and practices on taxpayers and businesses. Florida TaxWatch is supported by its membership via voluntary, tax-deductible donations and private grants. Donations provide a solid, lasting foundation that has enabled Florida TaxWatch to bring about a more effective, responsive government that is more accountable to, and productive for, the taxpayers it serves since 1979. For more information, please visit www.floridataxwatch.org.
 
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