Florida TaxWatch celebrated Taxpayer Independence Day on Monday, April 20, 2015. Taxpayer Independence Day is the first day in the calendar year that Florida taxpayers, on average, begin earning income that does not go toward federal, state and local taxes. Yesterday, the Florida Senate, led by Senator Jeff Brandes, recognized that Florida remains a low-tax state by adopting Senate Resolution 1668.
Florida has always had the reputation of being a low tax state. While this common perception is borne out by the newest available data contained in this report, the full picture is more complicated. This report provides detailed tax ranking information for Florida as compared to the rest of the nation.
“Florida taxpayers and their children are facing more than $10.5 billion in debt due to increasingly rich and consistently over-promised government pensions. These obligations will be paid by taxpayers who don’t have access to similar benefits in the private sector, because pension plan beneficiaries take on no risk, yet the taxpayers indemnify losses…
With Florida’s crime rate at its lowest point in nearly five decades, this report recommends policy improvements to reduce cost and improve the efficacy of the criminal justice system. The data from the report show the contrast between Florida’s falling crime rate and rising prison population.
Limited health care resources combined with an increased demand for quality care in Florida has led to essential innovations in our current health care delivery system. Telemedicine is one such innovation that Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare has implemented to expand access to care and extend the reach and impact of health care providers.
There are so many words that I could use to detail the challenges facing the banking industry in Florida and throughout the country. But, sometimes, a picture really is worth a thousand words…
To bring attention to the current state of Florida’s infrastructure, and whether it can continue to meet the needs of both residents and visitors, this report looks at evaluations of the capacity of various components that support the tourism industry, including airports, roads, and cruise terminals.
The Florida Legislature has once again proven its commitment to increasing accountability in state government by ensuring the state’s inspectors general are best equipped to serve the state’s taxpayers as trusted, independent investigators…
Monday, April 20 Florida TaxWatch celebrates Florida Taxpayer Independence Day 2015: the day Floridians are finally earning money for themselves and not for the tax collector. This symbolic date assumes that every dollar earned since January 1 goes to pay federal, state, and local tax obligations. In 2015, for the average Florida household, paying its taxes takes 110 out of 365 days, or more than three and a half months.
Florida residents are keenly aware that tourism is an important economic engine providing power to the state economy, and several Florida TaxWatch publications provide economic data supporting this observation. Tourism is one of the top providers of jobs for Floridians and a serves as a major source of tax revenue for the state.
Florida taxpayers and their children are facing more than $10.5 billion in debt due to increasingly rich and consistently over-promised government pensions. These obligations will be paid by taxpayers who don’t have access to similar benefits in the private sector, because pension plan beneficiaries take on no risk, yet the taxpayers indemnify losses. State laws have forced hard-working taxpayers into larger losses because of their mandates to increase required local government benefits.
As Florida House and Senate leaders prepare to negotiate the differences in their budget proposals passed last week, one potential sticking point will be tax cut packages. The latest Florida TaxWatch Budget Watch outlines the tax cut options thus far.
A nonpartisan report from Florida TaxWatch analyzes the opportunities to reform the state’s class size restrictions to better educate Florida students. The solution would reduce class size compliance costs and increase the investment in other, proven tools to increase student achievement. TaxWatch recommends that the state uniformly employ a class size calculation that is discriminately used for only some public schools, which would result in a multi-billion dollar savings for Florida taxpayers. By adjusting the calculation of class sizes to a school level average, schools would be able to keep classes small without handcuffing principals and administrators who are tasked with creating a positive learning environment for all students.
Greater oversight and additional measures to improve the accountability of the government agency responsible for providing cost-effective electricity to more than two million Floridians are needed, according to a new report from the independent watchdog institute, Florida TaxWatch.
The Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) was established in 1978 to provide competitively priced, reliable power and value-added services for its member municipalities. Concern over higher rates has caused some FMPA member municipalities to “break ranks” in pursuit of lower power rates. This report looks at the FMPA, and the oversight, or lack thereof, that currently exists.
A more than $4 billion dollar difference between the House and Senate budget proposals is detailed in the latest Budget Watch from Florida TaxWatch. The nonpartisan taxpayer watchdog group’s annual analysis of the initial budgets shows that the largest point of contention between the chambers is in funding the health and human services portion of the budget.
A more than $4 billion dollar difference between the House and Senate budget proposals is detailed in this annual analysis of the initial budgets, which shows that the largest point of contention between the chambers is in funding the health and human services portion of the budget.
Statement from Dominic M. Calabro, President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, the independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit taxpayer research institute and government watchdog: “Today, the Florida House Finance and Tax Committee unveiled their plans to cut Floridians’ taxes by $690 million this year. I commend the House leaders for their efforts to produce a broad-based tax cut package that will help save money for hardworking Florida families and the businesses that invest in our communities and provide jobs to our residents.
Hundreds of state employees gathered on Thursday at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in downtown Tallahassee at a luncheon honoring winners of Florida TaxWatch’s 2015 Prudential Productivity Awards. The 27th Annual event is designed to highlight and reward state employees who innovatively reduce costs and improve services for Florida taxpayers.
Florida delivers substance abuse and mental health services to the indigent and uninsured through a regional model managed by Behavioral Health Managing Entities (BHMEs). This report finds that this BHME model is a good behavioral healthcare system that provides a framework for future success.
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