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

Supporting Sunshine State Shoppers

Sales tax holidays have become a popular method for reducing the burden on taxpayers. During these holidays, which typically last three to ten days, certain goods that are usually subject to the sales tax are exempt. The most common holiday is the Back to School Sales Tax Holiday, when sales of clothes and sometimes school supplies, books, and computers are exempt. 

Support in the Florida Legislature (generally bi-partisan) has grown for these holidays over time, to the extent that they have become standard, with holidays skipped only in years of recession and budget deficits. The 15 Back to School Sales Tax Holidays held in Florida have saved taxpayers an estimated $543 million.

The impact of increasing discretionary spending in the Sunshine State is very real, as the retail industry is extraordinarily important to Florida’s economy. Florida’s 273,000 retailers employ 2.7 million people, providing one out of every four jobs in the state, pay $49 billion in annual wages, and contribute $155.4 billion in gross domestic product. The sales tax is the most important revenue source for the state of Florida, bringing in $25.2 billion annually. It also provides 78 percent of the state’s General Revenue; the main funding source for education, human services, and public safety.

With the increased use of sales tax holidays, it is essential that the impact on taxpayers, the retail industry, and the state of Florida is thoroughly assessed.

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