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

Water Infrastructure Projects are Vital

Develop and Fund a 3-5 Year Strategic Work Program

Water Infrastructure Strategic Plan Report Cover

Florida faces a $160.5 billion water infrastructure funding gap through 2040, according to this Florida TaxWatch analysis. The report calls for a strategic 3-5 year work program to prioritize critical water projects, mirroring the state’s successful transportation planning model. Key findings reveal:

  • $201.5 billion needed for stormwater/wastewater infrastructure through 2040
  • ASCE grades Florida’s water systems: Wastewater (C), Stormwater (C-), Drinking Water (C)
  • 910 local water projects ($1.1B) funded via legislative earmarks in past 5 years
  • $11.6 billion required for water quality compliance by 2043

The analysis highlights successful models like FDOT’s Five-Year Work Program and the Resilient Florida Grant Program, recommending a coordinated statewide system to:

  • Prioritize projects using objective criteria
  • Create multi-year funding certainty
  • Require local matching funds (waived for disadvantaged communities)
  • Integrate 268 annual member projects into structured planning

With water demand projected to outpace supply by 14% by 2040, the report urges adoption of a strategic funding mechanism to address Florida’s $90.5 billion unfunded water infrastructure needs.

Meet the Authors:

Kurt Wenner
Kurt Wenner
Senior Vice President of Research
LinkedIn
Meg Cannan
Meg Cannan
Senior Research Analyst
LinkedIn

Documents to download

Print
4454 Rate this article:
5.0