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

/ Categories: Research, Broward BOC, Releases, BOC

Monitoring and Oversight of General Obligation Bonds to Improve Broward County Schools

 

As the 2023-24 school year begins and students return to class, Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) begins Year 10 of the SMART Program. This is significant in that former Superintendent Runcie promised the taxpayers that all SMART projects would start within five years and be completed by year seven.

On May 9, 2023, the School Board of Broward County (SBBC) adopted Resolution Number 23-109, which acknowledged the commitment of the Bond Oversight Committee and Florida TaxWatch in monitoring the implementation of the SMART Program and acknowledged the work of the Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury in highlighting deficiencies in the SMART Program. The Resolution also expresses the expectation of the SBBC that the SMART Program will be completed no later than October 31, 2025. This expectation includes the financial close-out and the full expenditure of General Obligation Bond funds.

The rising financial risks and critical questions that need answers should remind us all why the Bond Oversight Committee exists and how critical the role of Florida TaxWatch is. I am extremely proud that the Grand Jury recognized Florida TaxWatch for its role
and actions as a trusted and constructive third party/independent fiscal watchdog I thank our professional staff and the volunteer leaders on the Bond Oversight Committee for their efforts to keep Broward County taxpayers informed on how their tax dollars are being spent.

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