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: Releases

Florida TaxWatch to Host 2023 Spring Meeting in Orlando Tomorrow, Thurs., May 18

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wed., May 17, 2023
CONTACT: Aly Coleman Raschid, aly@on3pr.com, 850.449.8862

 

MEDIA ADVISORY: Florida TaxWatch to Host 2023 Spring Meeting in Orlando Tomorrow, Thurs., May 18

 

Orlando, Fla. – Tomorrow, Thurs., May 18, from 12 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will host its 2023 Spring Meeting in Orlando. After the 2022-23 Principal Leadership Awards Luncheon – which will honor two winners from Orange and Brevard Counties – FTW board members and guests will engage in issue-specific panel discussions and hear from several high-profile speakers, including keynote remarks from the Department of Education’s Senior Chancellor Henry Mack and the Executive Office of the Governor’s Director of Policy and Budget Chris Spencer. A prominent leader of the Central Florida business community will also be surprised with the prestigious FTW Chairman’s Award.

 

Media is invited to attend the meeting anytime between 12 p.m. through 8:30 p.m. on Thurs., May 18. Please contact Aly Coleman Raschid at aly@on3pr.comor 850.449.8862 to RSVP and/or schedule a brief interview with FTW President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro onsite. Upon RSVPing, you will also receive the name of the individual being honored with the Chairman’s Award, under embargo until the time of the award presentation.


WHAT: 

Florida TaxWatch 2023 Spring Meeting

 

WHEN: 

Thurs., May 18

12 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

  

WHERE: 

Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld

6677 Sea Harbor Drive

Orlando, Florida, 32821

 

AGENDA AND SPEAKERS:

 

12-2 p.m. / Principal Leadership Awards Luncheon  

  • Celebration of the 2022-2023 Principal Leadership Award winners
  • Remarks from Cindy O’Connell, Director, Florida Prepaid College Foundation

 

2-4 p.m. / General Session

  • The Economic State of Florida Panel
  • Moderated by Karen Lake, Director of Tax Services, Berkowitz Pollack Brant
  • Participants:
    • Jeffery Binkley, Principal, Ryan
    • Dr. Jerry D. Parrish, Florida State University
    • Kurt Wenner, Senior Vice President of Research, Florida TaxWatch
    • Russell C. Weigel, III, Commissioner, Florida Office of Financial Regulation

 

  • Issues in Infrastructure Panel
  1. Moderated by Sonya Montgomery, CEO & President, The DeSoto GrouP
    • Participants:
      • Terry Gibson, Florida Programs Lead, DEPLOY/US
      • Peter M. Moore, President & CEO, Chen Moore & Associates
      • David Nicholson, Vice President Legal, General Counsel & Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, TECO
      • Ananth Prasad, President, Florida Transportation Builders Association

 

  • Closing Comments by Rasesh Thakkar, Senior Managing Director, Tavistock Group/Co-Founder, Lake Nona Impact Forum

 

4-6:30 p.m. / Break

 

6:30-8:30 p.m. / Chairman’s Reception & Dinner

  • Keynote address from Henry Mack, Senior Chancellor, Office of the Commissioner, Florida Department of Education
  • Keynote address from Chris Spencer, Director of Policy & Budget, Executive Office of the Governor
  • Surprise presentation of Florida TaxWatch’s Chairman’s Award

 

To learn more about FTW, please click here. To access FTW’s full research library and recent reports, 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 citizens 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 citizens it serves since 1979. For more information, please visit www.floridataxwatch.org.

 

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