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

GETF Measures Move Forward

As part of the ongoing negotiations between House and Senate leaders, it is our understanding that the House has agreed to support the Senate’s proposed pay raises for state employees in exchange for the Senate’s support of two measures consistent with recommendations by the constitutionally-mandated Government Efficiency Task Force (GETF).

The first GETF measure (reference HB 7007) will require the Department of Management Services (DMS), beginning in the calendar year 2020, to offer as part of the State Group Insurance Program four health insurance coverage levels with specified actuarial values: (1) Platinum level, which will have an actuarial value of at least 90 percent; (2) Gold level, which will have an actuarial value of at least 80 percent; (3) Silver level, which will have an actuarial value of at least 70 percent; and (4) Bronze level, which will have an actuarial value of at least 60 percent.

The state will make a defined contribution for each employee toward the cost of purchasing one of these health plans. Employee contribution rates will be established in ways that reflect the actuarial benefit differences between the plans, and that bring employee premiums and plan benefits more in line with industry benchmarks.

The second GETF measure (reference SPB 7030) changes the default benefit plan from the pension plan to the investment plan for members of the Florida Retirement System (FRS) who initially enroll after January 1, 2018. If, after the end of the five month initial election period, a new FRS member does not select a pension plan, the new member will automatically default to the defined contribution (investment) pension plan.

New members who elect to participate or default into the defined contribution pension plan will be able to contribute and invest funds over time to save for retirement. The contributions can be invested, at the member's direction, in select mutual funds, money market funds, annuities or stock offered by the plan. This will allows the member to better align their investment risks and rewards. 

As is the case with most things at this stage in the legislative process, this understanding is subject to change. Stay tuned…

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