Florida’s taxpayers are being taken advantage of by profiteering individuals abusing the state’s public records laws for personal and financial gain, and by public records requests that serve no legitimate public interest other than harassing public agencies. This misuse of the Public Records Act costs taxpayers money and makes government less efficient, according to a new report by Florida TaxWatch.

Florida TaxWatch has long recommended smart tax policy that helps Floridians and boosts the state economy.

Telehealth – the use of technology to expand health care access to all Floridians – is finally receiving legislative support as lawmakers consider efforts to cut red tape and allow more healthcare providers to offer routine visits and check-ups via computers, telephones, and smartphone apps.

Amidst international market uncertainty, the state General Revenue Estimating Conference decreased its original estimate of General Revenue collections that would be available for the state budget. The Legislature will have $395.6 million less than previously estimated in October, with $31.257 billion available for the fiscal year 2016-17 state budget.

Coming off a strong 2015, Florida’s economy will continue to grow in 2016. According to the latest edition of Florida TaxWatch’s Economic Commentary, Florida’s Real Gross State Product is expected to grow 3.1 percent in 2016, higher than the national rate. Additionally, job growth is expected to continue to improve, with most experts predicting between 2.2 – 2.9 percent job growth in 2016.

On January 13, Florida TaxWatch, an independent nonpartisan research institute, held its State of the Taxpayer Dinner highlighting the issues affecting Florida taxpayers during the 2016 Legislative Session. The sold-out event attracted more than 140 taxpayers, business and community leaders, and lawmakers.

At its January 8th meeting, the Government Efficiency Task Force (GETF) approved its interim recommendation report in advance of the 2016 Legislative Session. The interim report includes recommendations that would generate substantial taxpayer savings and improve government efficiency.

With the looming sunset of the sales tax exemption on manufacturing equipment threatening to harm Florida’s economy, Florida TaxWatch testified before the Legislature to extend the tax exemption. The exemption on manufacturing equipment allows manufacturers to reinvest the money they would have given to the state back into their business. This promotes growth in the manufacturing industry and creates high salary jobs.

With an addition of 240,000 jobs in 2015, Florida continues to rise from the Great Recession, according to the December edition of Economic Commentary by Florida TaxWatch. Over the past year, all of Florida’s major industries have seen strong employment gains, with government being the only industry with a reduction in jobs. The unemployment rate has fallen to five percent, matching the national rate and reaching its lowest point since January 2008.

While Florida is known as a tax-friendly state, taxes don’t tell the whole story about how much the government costs its citizens. A better measure to calculate the overall cost of government is to use “own source revenue,” which includes not just taxes, but all other sources of revenue like fees, charges for services, special assessments, impact fees and net lottery revenue.

College students will have the opportunity to learn with the state’s premier non-profit government watchdog under a new program that honors Senator Ken Plante, a longtime advocate for education and a co-founder of Florida TaxWatch. The program will be named “The Senator Ken Plante Memorial Internship.”

Thanksgiving for most people often invokes images of family gatherings, turkey, and football. But for retailers, it invokes images of large crowds of shoppers and dollar signs. Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are cash cows for businesses, particularly the retail and food industries. Those days are also important for Florida, as the state will collect a six percent sales and use tax on most of the goods purchased by shoppers, except for most grocery items.

A recent study by George Mason University’s Mercatus Center reviewed the fiscal health of the United States, breaking down each state individually for comparison across several standardized metrics. In this month’s Economic Commentary, Florida TaxWatch analyzed the study and provided analysis focused on our state.

“The Governor’s budget includes smart, targeted tax cuts to stimulate business growth while investing in critical areas like child protection and education to ensure all Floridians have the opportunity to pursue success in school and in life,” said Dominic M. Calabro, President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch.

To continue our mission of sharing high quality, independent research and analysis with Florida’s taxpayers and public officials, Florida TaxWatch is proud to announce Joe Follick has joined our team as Director of Communications and External Relations

With changes being made to help ensure the safety of the state’s most vulnerable children and families, supporting those critical workers that we trust to protect our future is more important than ever, according to a new report from the independent watchdog institute, Florida TaxWatch.

An expiring sales tax exemption could have a devastating impact on the state economy, according to a new analysis by Florida TaxWatch. Florida manufacturers are exempt from paying taxes on machinery and equipment purchases, but unless lawmakers take action this spring that exemption will disappear, threatening the state’s manufacturing sector.

Attracting younger physicians to Florida could help close health care access gaps and improve the state economy, according to a report from taxpayer watchdog Florida TaxWatch. The report calls for increasing the number of Graduate Medical Education programs, more commonly known as medical residencies, to attract additional doctors.

Florida lawmakers will have a $635 million surplus when they craft the 2016-17 state budget, but in a new research report, Florida TaxWatch warns that spending the entire surplus will create a deficit in the near future.

South Florida’s economy has seen considerable growth in recent years, thanks to a wide variety of investment options for foreign and domestic investors, according to a commentary from Florida TaxWatch, the independent, nonpartisan research group. A burgeoning innovation sector, increased foreign investment and a bolstered financial services market have augmented the region’s rapid growth.