Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Want to know how taxes in Florida stack up to other states? Florida TaxWatch has a report for that.
2021 How Florida Compares: Taxes analyzes Florida’s state and local tax rates, tax collections, and other government revenues and compares the data to the 49 other states and the national average.
The data show that Florida is middle of the road on property taxes, ranking No. 24. Sales taxes account for 81.5% of Florida tax collections, far above the national average of 48.2%.
Much of the tax burden in Florida is due to costs that state and local governments don’t classify as taxes, such as special assessments, charges for services, and impact fees levied by local governments. About half of local tax collections come from such sources.
Notably, businesses pay 53% of all state and local taxes in Florida, which is No. 9 highest percentage in the U.S. and higher than the national average of 44%.
“As outlined in this one-of-a-kind report, Florida continues to be a relatively low tax state, with extremely low per capita state taxation but considerably higher local taxes. While our ‘Per Capita State Tax Collections’ rank rose from 50th to 49th, our per capita amount still decreased by just over $100 per Floridian. On the other hand, our ‘Per Capita Local Tax Collections’ ranks 28th, as we rely more heavily on local revenue to fund government than any other state,” Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro said.
“Florida TaxWatch is hopeful that this comprehensive data and the insight it offers will serve as a resource for taxpayers and policymakers alike, allowing them to understand the costs of our state and local governments and how they stack up on a national level.”
Evening Reads
“The Democratic unraveling began with schools” via Zachary D. Carter of The Atlantic
“Divided Democrats call for new strategy after disaster in Virginia” via Alan Fram of The Associated Press
“Reeling Democrats see threat to House and Senate control as Republicans crack their 2020 coalition” via Sean Sullivan of The Washington Post
“Ron DeSantis says Republican ‘wave’ is building in 2022, will be bigger than 2010” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“So far, Texas-style abortion bill in FL seems headed nowhere in the Legislature” via Issac Morgan of the Florida Phoenix
“‘Last decade of restoration’: Everglades Foundation imagines future after Lake O water flows south” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“Gov. DeSantis goes on the offensive: ‘I’ve only begun to fight’” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics
“DeSantis proposes law enforcement office in ‘election integrity’ follow-up” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics
“Lois Frankel presses Army Corps to delay Lake O decision, Commander ‘confident’ in December timeline” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“Dana Trabulsy files bill to include history of African American cemeteries in public schools” via Daniel Figueroa IV of Florida Politics
“Experts blown away by Orlando theme parks’ swift bounce-back” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics
“$5M insurance payout awaits University of Florida’s Keyontae Johnson” via Mark Long of The Associated Press
Quote of the Day
“And I do think this wave is building. I think it was strong last night. But I think it’s going to keep building all the way into 2022. And if you go back to the 2010 wave that Republicans had, I think there’s more dissatisfaction with what’s going on now in D.C. today than there was this time in that election cycle.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, on what the off-year elections mean for 2022.
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