TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) announced the appointment of its Executive Officers for the 2021 Board of Trustees and named former U.S. Senator George S. LeMieux as Chairman of the Board.
The 2019 Edition of this annual pocket guide gives taxpayers and elected officials great insight as to how Florida’s taxes compare to other states and the national average across a wide variety of metrics.
On Sunday, April 14, Florida TaxWatch joins the taxpayers in our state in celebrating Florida Taxpayer Independence Day 2019. On that day, Floridians are finally earning money for themselves–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.
Less than a week after the Senate Appropriations Committee heard a gloomy presentation on the outlook for the upcoming budget, the General Revenue Estimating Conference met on December 18 and increased the revenue projections by $461.5 million in FY2018-19 and another $380.5 million in FY2019-20. This means the 2019 Legislature will have an estimated $842 million more in General Revenue (GR) collections for the next state budget than was previously expected.
On November 6, 2018, Floridians voted on 12 proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. Eleven of the 12 passed with at least a 60 percent majority, all but Amendment 1, which would have provided an additional $25,000 homestead property tax exemption. But the amendments were not the only thing that voters had to agree on. In addition to the amendments, voters across Florida chose to put in place a number of local tax measures and new bond issues.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The 2018 election made its mark on Florida’s elected leadership, ushering in a new Governor, Attorney General, and Agriculture Commissioner, electing a previously appointed Chief Financial Officer, as well as new legislators and members of the Congressional delegation. However, the Florida legislative and executive branches are not the only ones welcoming in a new slate of leaders. Earlier this month, Florida TaxWatch welcomed the organization’s new chairman, Senator Pat Neal, at its 39 th Annual Meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach.
On November 6, 2018, Floridians will vote on 12 proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. This Florida TaxWatch Voter Guide is designed to provide voters with information about each of the amendments to help them cast well-informed votes.
Floridians will be voting on as many as 13 state constitutional amendments on November 6, 2018. The first on the list, Amendment 1 (A1), would create a new $25,000 homestead exemption from property taxes.
Actual net GR collections for the fiscal year that that just ended exceeded the last estimate (February 2018, adjusted for legislative changes) by $205.2 million (0.66 percent). This will be added to the unobligated FY2018-19 GR (cash reserve) balance of $1.026 billion to be carried forward to the next budget year (FY2019-20). These numbers, along with the current cycle of the state’s Estimating Conferences, can begin to define the fiscal outlook for the next state budget that will be developed by the 2019 Legislature.
Today, Florida TaxWatch released the Taxpayers’ Budget Guide to the FY2018-19 state budget, which went into effect July 1, 2018.
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.
