The Florida State Department of Revenue has the responsibility of administering revenue laws of the state to its citizens as well as the laws that are related to the inspection of the books of accounts so that tax returns are submitted to the Taxation Authorities and it also facilitates the collection of the state sales taxes and the use of tax according to act section 20.20 chapters 212 so the government can have enough revenue to carry out the activities of the country. The mission of the Florida State Department of Revenue is to serve its citizens with respect, concern and to act professionally to citizens it also ensures that the tax and support laws are complied with and are understood by all the citizens of the country so that they can understand the importance of taxes so that they can not hesitate to pay the taxes to the state. The department also ensures that the laws are fair and are consistently followed so that the affairs of the country can be conducted efficiently and effectively. It also provides excellent services to all its citizens in an efficient and at a low cost so that the administration of the tax can be carried in a cost-effective manner. The sales taxes are referred to as the levy that is placed by the states on the goods or services that are purchased from the business. The purpose of the sales tax is to ensure that the goods and services that are purchased are taxed whether they are brought locally or from the outside traders. The residents of Florida are required to pay sales tax on the merchandise that is brought from the businesses.
The purposes of the Florida State Department of Revenue are to collect taxes from the residents of the country in an accurate and timely manner and to collect fees from the taxpayers, to distribute the funds collected from the citizens to government agencies so that they can provide services to the public. The funds collected from the citizens are used for financing the education sector, health care, transportation prisons, environmental protection, and other programs so that the development of the country can be experienced in the country. The government monitors the collection of the sales tax by registering the taxpayers and maintaining the tax return filling database that is used to mail returns to the taxpayers so that the state can have an easy time submitting their returns to the state (Jerry, A. 2003). The accounting departments of various companies are responsible for the processing of the necessary paperwork and the submitting of the collected taxes to the tax revenue department so that it can submit it to the relevant departments that require the revenue for development purposes.
In the year 1998, Florida’s sales and tax collections increased because of the good organizational structures of the state that promptly collected their returns but in the year 2003 the state experienced sales losses due to the fact that the country experienced high levels of consumption on the citizens of the country, the state also increased the rate of the sales taxes exemptions that reduced the returns of the economy. The state of Florida did not tax its resident’s personal incomes but the income of the states depended on sales tax returns. The state also repealed the idea of having the implementation of the estate tax since it did not bring enough returns to the state.
The taxation authority processes the tax returns, other documents and deposits them to the accounting department so as to ensure that proper accounting is made and they also ensure that underpayment and overpayments are identified on the records o tax returns so that the state can have enough returns for running the affairs of the country. The remittance accountings are used by the accountants to record the accounts that are related to the sales, and then the accountants submit the sales returns to the taxation authorities so that they can ensure that financial data are associated with tax returns at the individual level are maintained and properly adjusted. The financial data are summarized so that they can be posted at the fund account level so as to distribute tax dollars to the state and the local government accounts. The state also ensures that the compliance enforcement laws are implemented into the organization so that they can ensure that the collection of the money that is owed by various organizations are properly accounted for properly, the collections assistance are also carried so as to ensure that the activities of the organization are carried out effectively The state carries out the audits of the taxpayers records so as to ensure their enforcement compliance policies are implemented. The Florida state also recognizes the unregistered taxpayers that do not adhere to the regulations and procedures of the law of submitting their tax returns at the proper time are dealt with accordingly. In the cases where the taxpayers do not comply with the submission of the tax returns then necessary action are taken so as to avoid the non-compliance, the tax authorities investigate the cases, they recommend the prosecution of the defaulters and the resolution of the disputed liabilities among the taxpayers so that the cases can not happen in the future. The business owners that collect sales taxes are required to collect sales tax and to submit the taxes to the state on a monthly basis failure to which would lead to tax frauds that could also lead to prosecutions of the state’s sales tax crimes. The state of Florida imposes the civil tax audit on the businesses since the state believes that the filling in of the sales tax returns can also reduce the cases of fraud in the organizations.
The reasons why the sales tax is audited are because the businessmen fail to collect state sales tax from the customers, they fail to properly report sales taxes, they fraudulently underreport the states sales taxes, they delay or fail to file the sales tax returns, fails to submit the tax returns to the state and this leads to prosecution of the persons that defaults to pay up the taxes. On the other hand, the state’s failure to collect and file the state sales taxes can lead to inadequate record-keeping or confusion on whether a transaction is subject able to sales tax on the basis of a defense to charges of tax fraud.
The Florida State Department of Revenue obtains most of its revenue from the sales taxes but not the income taxes thus in order for the state to guard and pursue the revenue, it conducts the audits by carrying out assessments of the penalties and the interests that are associated with non-compliance with the sales tax so that all persons that carry out the businesses in the country pay up their taxes and this enables the state to generate as much revenue as possible to run the affairs of the country in an effective and efficient manner. The Florida Planning and Development Laboratory at the Florida State University develops a policy whose objective is to finance risk-based mechanisms that can be used for financing local emergency management costs that are associated with hurricanes. The state introduces the initiative through the Florida Planning and Development Laboratory so that the organization that follows the tax-benefit-equity principle that derives more revenue to the economy than the costs related to the collection of the taxes by the state hence leads to the growth of the economy (Bollens, S. A. 1994).
Florida’s state real estate market faces so many tax-related problems that are a result of the exacerbated rising cost of the property, insurance, and the nationwide problems that are associated with the sub-prime mortgage markets. The property taxes values rise due to the commensurate reductions of the tax rates, rapid increases in the property tax burden on the properties that are not involved in the homestead exemption thus the property tax burden is shifted to the renters, seasonal residents, owners, and the tenants of the commercial properties. The property owners asked for tax relief since the tax burden that was subjected to them was too heavy for them to bear since the returns they derived from the investment was minimal as compared to the costs that were incurred in putting up the investment projects. The state’s initiative to increase the property tax exemption from $25000 to $50000 was a relief to the residents of Florida since the tax burden on the resident’s reduced their morale to produce goods and services in the country that would improve their living standards in the country (Pagano M. A. and Forgette R.)
The Florida state establishment of the Taxpayer Protection Amendment that would reduce the rising rate of the state spending that led to the large number of people in the country that limited the growth of the economy and also to reduce the rate of inflation into the country. It also ensures that the surplus revenue those are accrued from the amount invested in the emergency and budget stabilization funds or returned to the taxpayers are higher than the operations of the organization so that the state do not run into deficits. The Taxpayer Protection Amendment also ensures that the voter’s approval for the any issue do not go beyond the standards that are set by the state and for any issue that weakens the amendment’s limits the state carries out corrective measure to curb their occurrence as it can affect the performance of the organization. The amendment can limit the level of the growth of revenue and spending and it also stabilizes the budget so that the living standards of the citizens of the state are not be affected and also the state is in a better position to carry out its activities effectively.
The taxes that are collected by the tax authorities from the citizens are properly maintained and implemented as the citizens can avoid to pay their taxes if the state does not utilize its resources effectively that can be able to meet their needs and desires of the residents of the country. The States of Florida can ensure that the taxes collected are properly utilized by ensuring that they elect qualified taxation authorities who are held accountable for their deeds for example the tax burdens that are imposed on the residents are not be too much to deny the citizens the chance to develop themselves and also to increase the returns of the economy of the country. The flaw that exists in the legislatures of tax in Florida to provide property tax relief are as a result of the annual increases of the assessed value of the homestead property to 3% a year or the change in the consumer price index whichever has a lesser value. The homeowners that are eligible to pay of taxes are also eligible for the homestead escalation thus they are exempted from the property tax burdens and this improves their level of productivity. The property taxes rise as a result of an increased appraisal values or the higher property taxes of the property of the state and this hinders development into the country. The most effective way in which the state of Florida can constrain the growth in the number of the tax burdens that are to impose on the effective tax system that are favorable for all citizens of the country and one that can limit the level of spending among the state officials and the citizens level of consumption so as to reduce the amount of taxes that are subjected to the residents of the country. The imposition of the Constitutional Revenue Limit can also reduce the amount of taxes that are imposed on the citizens of the country since it can negotiate on behalf of the state and the citizens on how to reduce the tax burden of the residents and thus improve on their living standards so that the productivity of the country can be increased hence bring in more returns to the government.
The municipal authorities has the authority to impose tax on the retail sales or on the commercial transactions, but the problem with them is that they can not differentiate the different categories of the consumers who earn different levels of income thus the tax burden can not be evenly distributed to the residents of the country thus it can lead to adverse affects on the performance of the residents of the country since the taxes are unfairly distributed to the residents of the country.The sales taxes increases affects the poor since they consume the commodities that are produced by the companies in the country whose sales tax are high , but the sales tax do not affect the rich since their earnings are higher than those of the rich thus the effect can not be felt by them as that of the poor.
The Florida Intangibles Tax force that was created in the year 1990 by the Florida Tax Watch with the objective of examining the impact of the Florida’s tax on the economic development and the competitive position of the state so that it would help reduce any impediment that would limit the economic development of the country. It was noted by the Florida Tax Watch recommended the use of the tax system that had taxes revenue that outweighed the costs that are associated with the collection of taxes in the state in since it can bring in more returns to the state. The tax payers of the state of Florida uses the third-party contractors to carry out the taxpayer audits so that they can present the financial statements of the companies in a true and fair view and also ensure that the companies comply with the regulations of the state as failure to which can lead to tax fraud. The Tax Authorities of Florida found out during a evaluation test that the external auditors are denied the chance of accessing information that are crucial for carrying out the audits of the companies of the state and this lead to the auditors presentation of the financial reports that do not present fairly the operations of the company. The state invest its resources in training the external auditors on the particular state law and the changes therein so that they can be able to perform their work independently instead of being interrupted by the management of the organizations so that they can carry out their activities accurately and effectively (Jerry, A. 2003).
The Florida states introduced the certified audit program that can be to used to monitor the accounts of sales tax of the goods and services that are taxed because it carries out the auditing task effectively and less staff are required carrying out the auditing tasks thus it can be cost effective for the state to carry out their duties and responsibilities using the program. The state tax auditor utilizes the information sharing network so as to understand the information that pertains to the running of the affairs of an organization. The state tax auditor not only helps the companies to address the tough tax audits but they establish compliance strategies that are used to minimize the exposures that are associated with preparing and recording the sales taxes accounts. (Jerry, A. 2003).
The Florida state economy depends on the secure adequate and reliable supply of energy so as to enhance the carrying out of the activities of organizations in the country. It was reported that the country consumed a lot of energy in terms of electricity but the country was prone shortages of the energy supply than any other state since it did not own petroleum products that would the run the machines of various companies of the state, thus the state could not collect revenue that would be utilized to run the affairs of the country because the productivity had gone down to sustain the operations of the country. The states over reliance on the imported petroleum products hinders its growth since the transportation of the petroleum products are not sufficient enough because they use the sea as a means of transport that hinders the carrying out of the activities of the organization in an efficient and effective manner. It also leads to the fluctuations of the market mechanisms as fewer goods and services are produced as compared to the demand for the goods and services and this leads to inflation where high prices for goods and services arise since the supply of the goods and services are fewer since their production are affected by the less energy supply to run the machines of plants and equipments of different organizations in the state (Raymond J. B and. May. P. J. 1997).
The Florida State economy are affected by the issue of allocation of land since most of the resident of the country sold their land for the construction of buildings for residential purposes than utilizing the land for agricultural purposes. The idea affected the performance of the company because the citizens would not cultivate land for farm produce that would increase the returns of the organization. The effects of selling the land are that there are environmental degradation; inadequate ulitisatisation of the public utilities since the state can not implement new facilities in to the country as the tax returns are few hence development cannot take place in the country. The rate of sale taxes that are subjected on the commodities that are produced by the state are fewer since the productivity of the country are because the residents do not utilize their land for productive purposes, thus the returns of the country are not reported in the country.
The Florida State implement proper taxation procedures that can be followed by all residents of the country so that the revenue of the country can increase that can be used to improve the performance of the company and also to lead to its growth and development.
References
A Florida Government Accountability Report Oppaya an office of the Florida Legislature. 2008. Web.
State Sales Tax Crimes Florida Sales Tax Fraud Defense Attorney. Horwitz, M. L. 2008. Web.
Sales and Use Tax Demystified Avalara, Inc. 2008. Web.
The Case for Florida to Enact a Taxpayer Protection Amendment Dr. Poulson, B.and Sanchez R. F. 2008. Web.
Jerry, A. (2003). The Effects of Florida’s Growth Management Act on Housing Affordability. American Journal of the American Planning Association 69(3):282–95.
Bollens, Scott A. (1994). State Growth Policies and Suburbia: Regional Responsibilities Amid Political Fragmentation. Research in Community Sociology 4:173–94.
Scott A. B (2003) In through the Back Door: Social Equity and Regional Governance.Housing Policy Debate 13(4):631–57.
Raymond J. B and. May. P. J. (1997). Making Governments Plan: State Experiments in Managing Land Use. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
The Ohio Municipal Income Tax: Preliminary Observations. Pagano M. A. and Forgette R. 2008. Web.
Planning in the Wake of Florida Land Scams. Stroud, H. B.and. Spikowski, W. M. 2008. Web.