This week, we toured the state stopping in Clermont, Tampa, and Boca Raton to highlight my “Four Pillars of IRS Protection”to safeguard Florida families and small businesses from overreach by the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). With 87,000 new IRS personnel there is absolutely no doubt that some of those new agents are going to target Floridians. It’s simple – Washington has a spending problem - and they’re sending these new IRS agents to our state to help fund it off the backs of honest taxpayers. Not on my watch. Thanks to all of our partners including the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), Florida TaxWatch, Senator Blaise Ingoglia, and Representative Toby Overdorf who joined me in supporting Florida families and small businesses.

On Wednesday, Feb 1^st, I supported proposed legislation to ban TikTok from Florida’s K-12 schools. Our children are the future, so I’m not sure why we would ever allow something as addicting and useless as TikTok to be allowed in our K-12 institutions. I call it digital fentanyl because you can see how addicting it is – and it especially targets our children. So as schools are using more-and-more technology and parents are giving their children smartphones and other devices, Florida schools should take a hard stand that this isn’t an acceptable application to be used on school grounds.

Lastly, I applauded Governor Ron DeSantis’ Framework for Freedom budget this week, and I believe Washington could learn a thing or two from our Governor on how to craft a budget. This budget serves as a complete contrast to the kind of failures that are happening in states like New York and California. While those failed states defund law enforcement, burn through their reserves, and keep feeding bloated bureaucracies, this budget fights inflation by providing $1.5 billion in tax relief, it keeps our reserves funded at $6.9 billion – and it supports our law enforcement, first responders and education.

-- Jimmy Patronis
Chief Financial Officer