September 24, 2021
Floridians who are paid lower wages spend significantly more of their income on state and local taxes than those with high income. This is because the state lacks a personal income tax and relies mostly on the sales tax to raise revenue. The state’s upside-down tax code also exacerbates racial inequity because Floridians with low […]
March 4, 2021
Finally, the state budget could take a hit if wage theft persists. Sales tax revenue as an effect of higher minimum wages is particularly relevant to highlight in Florida. The state lacks a personal income tax and over 75 percent of its general revenue fund is comprised of sales tax revenue. General revenue supports critical […]
March 3, 2021
Florida, lacking a personal income tax, relies on sales tax revenue to support critical areas like education and health and human services. More than 75 percent of Florida’s General Revenue Fund, which finances most of these vital services, is comprised of sales tax revenue. Furthermore, Florida households are the highest contributors to sales tax collections, […]
November 18, 2020
Through smart investments, it is possible to make up billions of dollars without cuts. FPI proposes initiatives to close corporate loopholes such as “combined reporting”— already implemented by 28 states and D.C.— and the “throwback rule”— adopted by 22 states and D.C. — that would generate more than $500 million in general revenue. Read more […]
October 30, 2020
As Florida Policy Institute and many others have demonstrated, gradually increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026 would help lift households out of poverty and reduce pay inequities long experienced by women, people of color, and immigrants. Additionally, a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that Amendment 2 […]
May 4, 2020 • By Stephanie Clegg
Florida politicians deliberately rigged the unemployment system after the Great Recession to avoid raising taxes on businesses. Now, in a pandemic, some out-of-work residents are left waiting more than six weeks for unemployment benefits while more than 280,000 others have been inexplicably denied. What’s happening in Florida underscores deeper challenges with systems that should help those in need, but instead are designed to fail them.
January 31, 2020
State EITCs are better targeted to people with low income than blanket tax exemptions, so they help to reduce the disproportionate impact of sales and excise taxes. According to new data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a state EITC at 30 percent of the federal credit would reduce the share of income […]
October 23, 2018
Florida’s unfair tax system, which forces low-income residents to contribute the most as a share of their household incomes, along with the state’s worst-in-the-nation per-person investment in public services, would be locked in under Amendment 5.
October 19, 2018
Florida is the third largest state in the country, and according to a new report, has the third-most unfair state and local tax system in the U.S. That data comes from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonpartisan, nonprofit tax policy organization.