Wednesday, April 20 Florida TaxWatch celebrates Florida Taxpayer Independence Day 2016: 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.
One key metric that is widely overlooked in the unemployment rate discussion is the labor force participation rate (LFPR), which measures the percentage of the total population aged 16 and above who are currently employed or are unemployed and actively seeking employment. While overlooked, the LFPR is one of the most important metrics to understanding the overall landscape of the job markets.
This week, President Obama announced the commutation of 46 nonviolent federal offenders, offering them a second chance. Eleven of these offenders who will be released early from their prison sentences are Floridians who have a unique opportunity to re-assimilate into their communities and become productive taxpaying citizens in the Sunshine 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…
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…
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.
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.
Florida’s latest cycle of revenue and expenditure estimating conferences show that Florida is still in a healthy post-recession recovery; however, the conferences have resulted in forecasts with slightly tempered expectations. Generally, projections of revenues were reduced from the previous estimates, even though the funds are expected to continue to grow year over year.
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