Florida TaxWatch: Local Governments Hurt Florida's Tax Rankings

Florida TaxWatch released a report on how the Sunshine State compared to other states when it comes to taxes and finds it ranks 33rd between local and state governments.

"One specific tax ranking cannot tell the whole story," said Dominic Calabro, the president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch. "It is our hope that this more comprehensive report will help taxpayers and policymakers better understand how states fund their governments and demonstrate that low taxes in one area often means higher taxes in another area."

The study finds local governments are far more burdensome with taxes than Tallahassee. Florida ranked 47th in 2012 when it came to per capita state taxes and 48th on state per capita revenue. But Florida is seventh in local per capita revenue and 22nd when it came to local taxes among the states.

"Because Florida relies more on local governments to fund public services than all but one state and uses nontax revenues more than most states, it is imperative to look at the whole picture of revenue collection when comparing the cost of government," said Kurt Wenner, the vice president of tax research at Florida TaxWatch. "When you consider combined state and local revenue, Florida becomes more of a moderate tax state than a low tax state."

"Florida TaxWatch pioneered the inclusion of the taxpayers' rights and responsibilities in our state laws through the adoption of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, Callabro said. It is our hope that the report will help taxpayers and policymakers understand how those responsibilities serve their government, how they compare to those in other states, and how important our tax and revenue structure is to making Florida a great place to live and work."

The report can be read here.