Florida
Sales Tax Holidays Miss the Mark When it Comes to Effective Sales Tax Reform
• By Miles Trinidad
Sales tax holidays are often marketed as relief for everyday families, but they do little to address the deeper inequities of regressive sales taxes. In 2025, 18 states offer these holidays at a collective cost of $1.3 billion.
Two in Three Americans Live in States with Variable-Rate Gas Taxes
• By Carl Davis
As inflation and fuel efficiency undercut traditional gas tax revenue, many states are rethinking how they fund transportation. Lawmakers across the country are beginning to modernize outdated gas tax systems to keep pace with rising infrastructure costs and changing driving habits.
How Much Would Every Family in Every State Get if the Megabill’s Tax Cuts Given to the Rich Had Instead Been Evenly Divided?
• By Michael Ettlinger
If instead of giving $117 billion to the richest 1 percent, that money had been evenly divided among all Americans, we'd each get $343 - or nearly $1,400 for a family of four.
Florida Policy Institute: What Floridians Should Know About the FY 2025-26 Tax Package
• By ITEP Staff
Once again, policymakers are pursuing tax cuts and plan to pay for them with budget cuts. All the while, three-quarters of Florida prisons do not provide A/C; over 2.5 million Floridians are without health coverage; thousands of homebound adults and disabled individuals are stuck on long waitlists for home and community-based care; and the state’s affordable housing crisis continues.
Analysis of Tax Provisions in the Trump Megabill as Signed into Law: National and State Level Estimates
• By Steve Wamhoff, Carl Davis, Joe Hughes, Jessica Vela
President Trump has signed into law the tax and spending “megabill” that largely favors the richest taxpayers and provides working-class Americans with relatively small tax cuts that will in many cases be more than offset by Trump's tariffs.
Local Tax Trends in 2025
• By Rita Jefferson
As federal aid ends and economic uncertainty grows, local governments face tough budget choices. Now is the time for localities to protect vulnerable residents and build stronger, more equitable fiscal foundations.
Trump Megabill Will Give $117 Billion in Tax Cuts to the Top 1% in 2026. How Much In Your State?
• By Michael Ettlinger
The predominant feature of the tax and spending bill working its way through Congress is a massive tax cut for the richest 1 percent — a $114 billion benefit to the wealthiest people in the country in 2026 alone.
How Much Do the Top 1% in Each State Get from the Trump Megabill?
• By Carl Davis
The Senate tax bill under debate right now would bring very large tax cuts to very high-income people. In total, the richest 1 percent would receive $114 billion in tax cuts next year alone. That would amount to nearly $61,000 for each of these affluent households.
State Rundown 6/25: The Numbers Don’t Lie, State Budget Edition
• By ITEP Staff
Many states are reaching their end-of-June budget deadlines, and major tax policy changes look to have big implications as states are forced, per federal policy, to do more with less.
State Rundown 6/20: Federal tax policy heats up, states wrap sessions and weigh impacts
• By ITEP Staff
As state legislative sessions come to a close, decisions on tax policy are being made. Several southern states have cut taxes, while the northeast is making some more measured reforms.
State Rundown 6/11: States in The Eye of a Fiscal Hurricane?
• By ITEP Staff
State legislatures are enjoying a relatively quiet period right now, though it is merely a temporary calm before the storm of the federal tax and budget debate begins raging again.
State Rundown 6/5: States Wrap Sessions, Some Prepare for Fiscal Uncertainty
• By ITEP Staff
States use the final hours of their legislative sessions to address deficits and preserve revenue in preparation for the times ahead.
Florida Policy Institute: 4 Things That Floridians Should Know About the US House Reconciliation Bill
• By ITEP Staff
As the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy notes, the top 1 percent of Floridians (those with income of more than $1.1 million annually) would receive an average tax cut of $86,320 in 2026. As a share of the tax cuts, in 2026, the top 1 percent would receive 25 percent of the total tax cuts.
Analysis of Tax Provisions in the House Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates
• By Carl Davis, Jessica Vela, Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff
The poorest fifth of Americans would receive 1 percent of the House reconciliation bill's net tax cuts in 2026 while the richest fifth of Americans would receive two-thirds of the tax cuts. The richest 5 percent alone would receive a little less than half of the net tax cuts that year.
Florida Policy Institute: Florida Budget Proposals in Brief (FY 2025-26): Tax and Revenue
• By ITEP Staff
The Legislature is at a standstill, with two seemingly competing visions for the future of taxes in Florida. On the one hand, the House of Representatives advanced House Bill (HB) 7033 with various changes to the state’s general sales tax, as well as changes to local tourist development taxes. Read more.
Trump 2025 Tax Law: Research and Resources
• By ITEP Staff
Want to know more about the tax and spending megabill that President Trump recently signed into law? We've got you covered.
State Rundown 5/1: State Tax Debates Wrapping Up, and Just Beginning
• By ITEP Staff
The rampant uncertainty this year extends far beyond the national economy and federal policy, as many state legislatures are declaring their tax and budget debates finished, and just getting started, sometimes in the same breath.
WUSF: Lawmakers Want a Nationwide Private School Voucher Program like Florida’s
April 23, 2025
Lawmakers and school choice advocates gathered in Tampa on Tuesday to promote a federal bill that would create the first nationwide school voucher program.
Trump Administration’s Decision to End Direct File is Another Gift to Big Corporations
• By ITEP Staff
Contact: Jon Whiten (jon@itep.org) According to multiple reports, the Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS Direct File program, a free electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency. Statement from ITEP Executive Director Amy Hanauer “The tax preparation industry has for years lobbied to prevent the IRS from providing a tool to […]
IRS Cooperation with ICE Will Damage Public Trust, Putting Tax Revenues in Jeopardy
• By Marco Guzman
Attempts by the Department of Homeland Security to secure private information from the IRS on people who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is a violation of federal privacy laws that protect taxpayers. It is also a change that could seriously damage public trust in the IRS, which could jeopardize billions of dollars in tax payments by hardworking immigrant families.
Newsweek: Florida Wants to Cut Property Taxes—But California Has a Warning
April 10, 2025
As state lawmakers consider cutting and even abolishing property taxes in Florida, California—which passed major reform in the late 1970s protecting homeowners against significant hikes—offers a cautionary tale of how well-intended tax revolts can backfire against those they should benefit. Read more.
State Rundown 4/9: A Progressive Pushback
• By ITEP Staff
Residents and state lawmakers across the country are pushing back against anti-tax measures and are looking for ways to protect revenue and advance proposals that would raise revenue in progressive ways. This comes at a time when federal policy brings significant risks for state tax revenue.
Sharp Turn in Federal Policy Brings Significant Risks for State Tax Revenues
• By Carl Davis
Summary The new presidential administration and Congress have indicated that they intend to bring about a dramatic federal retreat in funding for health care, food assistance, education, and other services that will push more of the responsibility for providing these essential services to the states. Meeting these new obligations would be a challenging task for […]
State Rundown 3/20: It’s March, Welcome to Tax Policy Madness
• By ITEP Staff
March Madness kicks off today and the pressure is on as many states’ legislative sessions are nearing the final buzzer. Some state lawmakers are seemingly competing for the title of most regressive state tax policies while others are looking to lift up best practices for more equitable outcomes. The Mississippi legislature landed on a […]
South Florida Sun Sentinel: Editorial: If Property Taxes are Doomed, an Income Tax is Fairer
March 15, 2025
Florida has a new and dubious distinction: The nation’s most unfair tax code. Gov. Ron DeSantis and some legislators aim to make it even worse. After years of ranking second or third, Florida is now considered the absolute worst in terms of how much less a percentage of their incomes Donald Trump and other wealthy […]
