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

Squeezing the Greening out of Florida Citrus

Florida is known for its tourist attractions, beautiful beaches, and what many around the world consider a staple of their morning routine: citrus fruits. Oranges in particular have become synonymous with the Sunshine State, so much so that Florida’s license plate prominently features an orange in the center, and in a partnership with the state, Marvel Comics recently added a new character to its Avengers team in a special series of comics: Captain Citrus, who is powered by oranges and Florida’s sunshine.

The citrus industry, which includes fruit production, processing, juice extraction, and packaging, is of great importance to the Florida economy, as it employed more than 62,000 Floridians in FY2012-13, and was valued at $10.7 billion. Currently, Florida produces more citrus than any other state in the nation, accounting for 59 percent of the total U.S. citrus production, and has been the top producer for decades. Despite this success, Florida’s citrus production has declined significantly for two crop years in a row (38 percent), due in large part to several citrus diseases, including Citrus Greening and Citrus Canker. Data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that Florida citrus trees are not as productive as they were a couple of years ago, and Florida’s four major citrus crops have experienced a decline in boxes of fruit per tree.

Recent federal projections show that 2014-15 grapefruit and tangerine production in Florida will experience a significant decline. In fact, Florida’s grapefruit growers will see the lowest production since the Great Depression in a growing season without a hurricane, continuing a downward trend in the industry generally, as in the 2013-2014 season alone, Florida’s share of national citrus production was down 21 percent from the previous season.

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