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

Florida the Most Veteran-Friendly State

Florida has the third largest military veteran population in the nation. There are more than 1.6 million vets living in the Sunshine State, nearly 1 in every 12 adult Floridians; and 250,000 disabled veterans, also the third largest number nationally. There are more World War II vets in Florida than in any other state, and almost half of our veterans are over 65 years of age.

In 2014, the Legislature passed a Florida “G.I. Bill” with the goal of making Florida the most “veteran friendly” state in the nation. In addition to some of the benefits described below, the bill creates Florida Is For Veterans, Inc. to promote Florida to retired and recently separated military service members.

Florida is justifiably proud of our veterans. As a small token of the state’s appreciation for their service, over the years the Legislature and the people of Florida have created a number of tax and other benefits for veterans and active duty military men and women.

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