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

Making Room for 100 Million Visitors

Florida once again achieved record visitation figures in 2014, and is on track to hit the 100 million annual visitors mark this year. The growth in visitation has translated into more job opportunities for Floridians, further contributions to the Gross State Product, and an increase in state and local revenues. The tourism industry is also one of the most resilient sectors during economic downturns in Florida. 

In a previous report, Florida TaxWatch predicted further growth in visitation for the foreseeable future, creating jobs and increasing the state’s revenue; although when coupled with the nearly 900 people that move into Florida per day, such linear growth can be expected to put substantial pressure on the state’s transportation and tourism infrastructure, which will eventually cause this growth to subside.

To bring attention to the current state of Florida’s infrastructure, and whether it can continue to meet the needs of both residents and visitors, Florida TaxWatch has reviewed several studies that evaluate the capacity of various components that support the tourism industry, including airports, roads, and cruise terminals. This review finds that several issues could affect the experience of visitors and the quality of life of Florida residents, including: congestion on main roads; long wait times at immigration (passport control) checkpoints in international terminals; and connectivity issues around cruise terminals, especially those expecting greater demand in the next years.

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