Florida has remained in good financial standing this past fiscal year. This is also true of the state’s debt position. FY 2021-22 marks the ninth consecutive year with a debt ratio below the six percent target established by the Legislature. In addition:
Where and how well our school districts spend our education dollars can have a profound impact on student academic achievement and success. Historically, education makes up about one-fourth of Florida’s total budget. Florida TaxWatch believes that shifting education spending away from administrative and other expenses and toward classroom/instructional expenses is beneficial.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Tomorrow, Thurs., Jan. 5, 2023 – following the recent announcement of all 2022 Florida TaxWatch (FTW) Productivity Award winners – FTW will present 18 awards to individual and team winners from District Four and District Six of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released The Taxpayers’ Guide to Florida’s FY2022-23 State Budget, providing an overview of Florida’s Fiscal Year 2022-23 state budget, which was passed by the Florida Legislature during the 2022 Legislative Session and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on June 2, 2022.
Florida TaxWatch is pleased to present taxpayers with a guide to the FY2022-23 state budget, which went into effect July 1, 2022. The report includes all appropriations for the new fiscal year— the General Appropriations Act (GAA), “back-of-bill” spending, and general bills—net of the Governor’s vetoes.
Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released its 2022 Budget Turkey Watch Report, an independent review of the state’s Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget. Since 1983, FTW has provided Floridians with¬¬ this additional level of oversight that identifies individual appropriations that circumvent a thoughtful and thorough budget process.The annual practice is based on the principle that, because funds appropriated by the legislature belong to Florida taxpayers, the process must be transparent and accountable, and every appropriation should receive proper deliberation and public debate.
The $112.1 billion budget passed by the Florida Legislature for FY2022-23 contains 166 appropriations items worth $281.0 million qualifying as Budget Turkeys. These are only a portion of the record-setting more than 1,200 member projects in the new budget worth $2.8 billion. In addition, the Legislature created a new program to allow members to request at least $80 million in additional local projects from the federal State Fiscal Recovery Fund.
On Thursday, April 14, Florida TaxWatch joins the taxpayers in our state in celebrating Florida Taxpayer Independence Day 2022. 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. This measure of tax burden is based on the relative size of all taxes paid in Florida to our state’s total personal income. In 2022, for the average Florida household, paying its taxes takes 103 out of 365 days, nearly three and a half months.
Tallahassee, Fla. – Florida TaxWatch announced that tomorrow, Thurs., April 14 marks the 2022 Florida Taxpayer Independence Day. This symbolic occasion assumes that every dollar Floridians earned since the start of the year goes to pay local, state, and federal taxes, but now, they will finally begin earning for themselves. Based on the relative size of all taxes paid in Florida to the state’s total personal income, it took taxpayers an average of 103 days to satisfy their tax obligations this year, four more days than in 2021.
The 2022 legislative session is over, even if it ran a little long. Florida TaxWatch and the state’s taxpayers had a number of successes. Many bills and budget issues supported by our research and recommendations passed. Our research and input that raised concerns with legislation, helped to improve them or fail passage, including changes to the tax audit system and a very costly approach to improving data privacy
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