Introduction Many in the Florida Legislature have been rightly criticizing local governments for rapidly increasing property taxes and budgets. The property tax debate and the […]
Introduction According to Newton’s first law of motion, an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Florida’s manufacturing sector
Friday, April 17 is Florida Taxpayer Independence Day 2026 — the symbolic date when the average Florida household has earned enough to satisfy all federal, state, and local tax obligations for the year.
Each year, more than one hundred million visitors come to Florida to enjoy its beaches, warm temperatures, and its numerous parks, thrills, and attractions. Latest FloridaCommerce data confirm that Florida set a new all-time annual record in calendar year 2024 with 143 million visitors an increase of 1.7 percent over the previous record set in 2023. Out-of-state visitors to Florida spent $134.9 billion in calendar year 2024. For every $1 spent by a visitor, 99 cents stayed in Florida’s economy, with 59 cents supporting worker salaries. Tourism supported 1.8 million jobs in 2024 and generated $79.9 billion in wages, including $44 billion in direct wages. Tourism-related activity produced $33.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. Tourism accounted for 7.8 percent of Florida’s Nominal Gross State Product (GSP), contributing $133.6 billion to the state’s economy in 2024. Without tourism, Florida households would pay $1,730 more annually in state and local taxes alone to sustain current levels of revenue.
For millions of Floridians, the defining economic question of the mid-2020s isn’t about growth or GDP — it’s about whether they can still afford to stay.
For the second year in a row, the Florida Legislature ended its 60-day session without completing its only constitutionally required task — passing a state budget.
Florida’s economy reached $1.85 trillion in Q3 2025, ranking first among all 50 states and the District of Columbia in economic growth. This fourth installment of Florida TaxWatch’s quarterly economic forecast series — produced in partnership with the Regional Economic Consulting Group — examines whether that momentum is sustainable through 2035.
Florida’s Law Enforcement Apprenticeship Program (LEAP) is helping address persistent officer shortages, particularly in rural and fiscally constrained communities where recruiting and retaining qualified personnel remains a challenge. Traditional pathways into law enforcement often require candidates to pay for training upfront while forgoing income, creating barriers that limit access to the profession.
Manufacturing is one of Florida’s leading industries and a key driver of job growth and economic strength, contributing more than $80 billion to Florida’s annual GDP.
The City of Clearwater is considering acquiring Duke Energy Florida’s electric distribution assets to establish a municipal electric utility (MEU), citing potential rate reductions and increased local control. Florida TaxWatch’s independent analysis finds that the feasibility study supporting this proposal relies on optimistic assumptions that significantly understate legal, financial, and operational risks.
The General Revenue (GR) Estimating Conference met on January 23 to adopt Florida’s latest GR forecast—the estimate that tells lawmakers how much is available for the next state budget.
For more than 60 years, Florida’s Space Coast—anchored by Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS)—has served as a premier gateway to space, driving tourism, high-tech jobs, and statewide economic output. After major federal program shifts in the 2010s led to significant regional job losses, Florida’s modern commercial-space resurgence—supported by Space Florida’s strategy to diversify the supply chain, modernize infrastructure, and attract private capital—has positioned the Space Coast to lead the next era of aerospace growth.
Florida property tax levies have been rising rapidly—increasing by nearly 40 percent in just the last three years and more than doubling in the last ten years—with property taxes now totaling $59.2 billion (FY2025–26). With the Legislature’s increased focus on affordability, especially housing affordability, property taxes are expected to be a top issue during the 2026 legislative session.
Executive Summary Florida’s economy—valued at $1.76 trillion in Q1 2025—entered the year with strong momentum, but this Q3 2025 Florida TaxWatch forecast projects a return
In May 2025, Florida TaxWatch and the Florida Sheriff Association conducted a joint survey to local sheriff offices to learn more about law enforcement’s workforce challenges.
Setting water utility rates that incorporate the recovery of the costs associated with standard operating expenses and debt obligations is essential to ensuring the short-term and longer-term financial stability of the utility. Once these costs are covered, many publicly owned utilities make transfers to the General Fund (a practice known as “sweeping”) ostensibly to help pay for governmental services that do not generate revenue (e.g., roadway maintenance, public safety, etc.) and to help keep property taxes lower. Keeping property taxes low often means higher municipal utility rates to balance the general budget, a habitual practice that burdens utility customers with cross-subsidies and normalizes underinvestment in infrastructure.
NSU generated an estimated $293.1 million in state and local taxes within the Tri-County region in FY 2024-25 and an estimated $305.1 million in state and local taxes in FY 2024-25.
This report compares the revenue and expenditure profiles of Florida’s 67 counties to give taxpayers an overview of how their local government stacks up with the rest of the state.
Administered by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides funds to help low-income households afford low-cost, nutritious meals. In July 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (the OBBB Act), tightening SNAP policies that determine eligibility, benefits, and program administration. Florida TaxWatch undertakes this independent research project to better understand how the upcoming changes in SNAP requirements will impact Florida’s budget and its ability to provide much needed food assistance to needy Floridians.
LUCA Primer: The First Step in Preparing for the 2030 Census explains how Florida’s statistically significant undercount of approximately 750,000 residents in the 2020 Census cost the state an additional U.S. House seat, up to $21 billion in federal funds, and weakened the quality of the data that businesses and community leaders rely on for planning.
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