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

Download the Recommendations

Other Resources

Florida Disaster.biz
FEMA
Florida Department of Financial Services
Florida SBDC
Disaster Contractors Network
Florida Disaster Fund

Florida TaxWatch Statement on Hurricane Ian Recovery

Community Involvement

/ Categories: Op-Eds

We Must Continue Fight to Protect Public's Right to Maintain a Vigilant Eye on their Elected Officials

The cornerstone of our constitutional democratic republic is protecting citizens’ right to full and public notice when their elected officials are discussing or making decisions that could affect taxpayers’ daily lives.

As a nonpartisan government watchdog and taxpayer-research institute that focuses on promoting government accountability and transparency, Florida TaxWatch supports the use of public notices in local newspapers of record by government entities to notify all of their citizens of meetings and votes. Unfortunately, current proposed legislation would allow municipality websites to be the only required source for public notice posting.

Overall, the changes put forth in the proposed legislation mean that local newspapers would no longer be required to house and circulate public notices, thus causing Floridians to be less informed about current government issues.

Since newspapers and their websites possess a larger audience due to a wealth of information across a breadth of issues, the fact that these media outlets would no longer be required to house public notices results in less written information provided to the people. A recent scientific poll by Mason Dixon shows that Florida citizens overwhelmingly want wider access to the public notice information, as 83 percent of respondents want local governments to carry public notices in newspapers, and 82 percent said they would not seek out information on government websites.

In addition, the proposed legislation shifts delivering public-notice information from an active to a passive stance. Newspapers reach out to their audience through intentional delivery, also offering accessibility to those without the means to an internet connection. A notice strictly available on government-run websites would eliminate the critical neutrality and independence of a newspaper or other third party. It would be possible, likely even, for government entities to miss notification deadlines, leave out critical information or make changes electronically to items on their websites without public knowledge. When something runs in the newspaper, it is permanently printed and distributed for all to reference and reexamine anytime.

Here at Florida TaxWatch, we regard transparency as being of paramount importance when it comes to the state and local governments’ interactions with their citizens.

In order for residents to trust and hold their government accountable, taxpayers should be entitled to an unabridged and open flow of information concerning public notices in their communities. They should not be beholden by government websites to provide residents with critically important and timely information. This is why Florida TaxWatch promoted policies that expanded the use and access to public notice information through newspapers, their websites, and even email to residents who requested updated notices.

With the newspapers providing third-party verification, Florida taxpayers are ensured greater access to public-notice information, allowing them to stay in the know about their communities and just how their hard-earned dollars are being utilized.

Dominic M. Calabro has been president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch for nearly four decades. Former Sen. Pat Neal is chairman-elect of Florida TaxWatch and president of Neal Communities. This op-ed ran in numerous publications throughout the state including the Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times, Palm Beach Post and Tallahassee Democrat.

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