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…
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.
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 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.
Easing the tax burden for Florida families and businesses would also attract business investment, create Florida jobs and grow the state’s information-based economy, according to this report, which highlights the state’s Communications Services Tax, the fourth highest in the nation.
This Budget Watch analyzes Governor Scott’s FY2015-16 budget recommendations.
According to this Budget Watch, lawmakers are expected to have $30.6 billion in General Revenue, plus unspent reserves, to create a state budget in 2015. An historic $30.6 billion budget would be $2.2 billion more than the current spending plan, an increase of 7.9 percent.
A new national report ranking Florida’s business climate as 5th best in the nation highlights the state’s strengths but may overstate the attractiveness of Florida’s tax system, according to this report. The ranking is from the Tax Foundation’s 2015 Business Tax Climate Index, an annual publication that analyzes how tax structures compare across states.
For over 45 years, donor support has made Florida TaxWatch the state’s leading independent voice for taxpayer accountability. There are many ways to support our mission.
