Building a Florida for All

Building A Florida

HowFor Communities, All: Essential Services And Workers Can Thrive If Corporations Pay What They Owe

May 2021 THE PEOPLE’S BUDGET FLORIDA IS A COALITION OF UNIONS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND POLICY EXPERTS FIGHTING FOR A STATE THAT WORKS FOR ALL OF US, NOT JUST CORPORATIONS, THE COALITION INCLUDES FLORIDA FOR ALL, FLORIDA RISING, SEIU, SEIU1199, SEIU-FPSU, THE FLORIDA IMMIGRANT COALITION, THE FLORIDA POLICY INSTITUTE AND OTHERS.

Building A Florida For All | 2 Florida is facing unprecedented challenges. The coronavirus has changed life as we know it and brought untold tragedy and hardship to countless families--killing more than 33,000 Floridians as of April 2021 and causing one-third of Floridians to lose wages or their job entirely. Black, Latino, Asian, Native and immigrant communities have been hit hardest by this pandemic—becoming ill, dying and losing jobs at higher rates than white and non-immigrant Americans — in large part because they are disproportionately putting their lives on the line to do the essential, and frequently underpaid, work our society relies on.

The difficulties of 2020 have shown Floridians just how much we depend on each other and how important the people providing essential services are for our local communities, whether it’s for day-to-day needs like groceries or child care, for cleaning and sanitizing the places where we work or go for necessities, maintaining our schools and colleges, staffing libraries, and for help with critical benefits like unemployment or lifesaving services like healthcare.

At the same time, the pandemic has demonstrated the deep cracks and divides that have long existed in our system; and it has brought into focus predictable results of past and present choices. Corporations--like Disney and Publix--and the wealthy have demanded tax cuts for decades, while at the same time taking advantage of loopholes in the tax code to avoid paying their fair share. As a result, 99% of companies in Florida pay no corporate taxes, including many that make over $1 billion in profits a year.1

Decades of state leadership supporting corporations have resulted in cuts to services, thinning of critical staff, delayed planning for our communities’ future and hobbling the capacity for our governments to respond to crises like the pandemic. Corporate tax cuts and bailouts have also shifted the burden of supporting our cities, counties and state to working people over the last few decades--even as many of these same corporations lowered working peoples’ wages and benefits, outsourced work and starved our communities of the resources we need.

Building A Florida For All | 3 99% OF COMPANIES IN FLORIDA PAY NO CORPORATE TAXES, INCLUDING MANY THAT MAKE OVER $1 BILLION IN PROFITS A YEAR.

In fact, Florida is one of the hardest places for working people to support a family because our elected leaders have created one of the most unfair state and local tax structures in the country. Historic and current injustices resulting in huge disparities in income and wealth across race and ethnicity are further exacerbated by this unfair tax structure.2 To maintain their power, the rich and powerful hide these truths and then turn around and use race to divide us by fear of one another, even though most of us want and need the same things.

It is time to demand that our elected officials invest in our communities and not impose austerity measures. We need to stand up to corporations and demand that our elected leaders in Florida reverse and end the bad tax policies that have allowed corporations to operate without paying their fair share in taxes. To achieve this, our elected leaders need to stand up for our communities and Protect Us, Respect Us and Pay Us, instead of caving into corporate lobbyists.

1. Floridians Want Investments in our Communities No matter where we come from or the color of our skin, most of us want the same things—to be able to make a decent living, give our kids a good start in life and live in a safe community with good neighbors. That means we want a government that invests in our communities rather than subsidizing corporations.

The People’s Budget Florida is a project that has brought together community organizations, labor unions, small business, policy organizations, and newly elected state representatives, to give ordinary Floridians the opportunity to voice what they want from their state budget. During the first month of the legislative session more than 10,400 Floridians from across the state and representing the breadth of the political spectrum responded. Overwhelmingly, respondents expressed a desire for investment in critical public services, with 83% expressing a desire for the state to increase or maintain investment.3

• Accessible Health Care: 67% of respondents want the state to increase investment in health care. • Affordable housing: 59% of survey respondents want the state to increase investment in affordable housing. • Public Transportation: 53% of survey respondents want the state to increase investment in public transportation.

Building A Florida For All | 4 • Public Education: 74% of survey respondents want the state to increase investment in education to support the 2.5 million students dependent on state education funding. • Public Higher Education (community colleges, universities and vocational schools): 60% of respondents want the state to increase investment in our public higher education institutions. • Climate Change: 52% of survey respondents want the state to increase investment to offset the impact of climate change.

2. Profiting at the Expense of Workers and Communities Florida clearly has the resources needed to build the strong, equitable public services our communities need and deserve. Florida is the fourth wealthiest state in the nation based on GDP.4 Over the past decade Florida’s economy has grown by nearly 50%.5 The state has 2.7 million business establishments;6 and it is home to twenty-three Fortune 500 companies that together generated $26 billion in annual earnings before taxes according to their most recent annual filings.7 Together, the 23 CEOs of these companies collectively took home over $400 million in compensation in 2019 (most recent data).8

Corporate Profiteering Both the profits and the CEO earnings come at the expense of the workers who in most cases earn only a tiny fraction of what these CEO’s take home.9 Here are some examples of Fortune 500 companies headquartered or with a significant presence in the state:10

2020 Calendar Year profits CEO 2020 compensation CEO: median worker Company (during pandemic) ($ millions) pay ratio ($millions)

NexEra (Florida Power & Light) $2,900 $23.7 N/A

Comcast (Universal) $10,500 $32.7 461:1

Walmart $13,510 $22.6 983:1

HCA (for-profit hospitals) $3,800 $30.4 478:1

Publix $3,700 $2.6* 84:1

GEO Group (private prison) $113 $2.0 159:1

*2018 compensation (most recent)

Building A Florida For All | 5 PANDEMIC PROFITEERS These large corporations have continued to profit throughout the pandemic on the backs of essential workers, showing little regard for their workers’ lives. • Publix: While Publix’s sales increased by $4.6 billion during the pandemic,11 it was among the last grocery store chains in Florida to offer its workers protective gear and did not offer them any hazard pay.12 • Walmart: While the Walton family which owns the majority of Walmart stock13 increased its wealth by $30 billion14 during a year of pandemic, the company delayed implementing CDC guidelines around social distancing and PPE.15 • GEO Group: One of the largest private prison systems in the U.S., the company’s business strategy to maximize profits is based on promoting high incarceration rates and occupancy guarantees on the public’s dime.16 Already subject to several government audits, during the pandemic, GEO has shown little concern for inmate and staff safety. In just the first few months of the pandemic in Florida alone, one of Geo’s Florida facilities was the site of all five of the first inmates to succumb to COVID, and in another of its Florida facilities, thirty-nine staff members had been infected, more than in any other prison.17

Billionaire Bonanza Florida is home to sixty billionaires with a combined wealth of $235 billion as of April 2021.18 While the rest of us have struggled to keep afloat during the pandemic, the combined wealth of these sixty billionaires increased by $46 billion during a year of the pandemic.19 Many of these billionaires have made their fortunes elsewhere, while residing in Florida where they can avoid income taxes and hoard their wealth. Here are some examples of pandemic profiteering and wealth: • Thomas Peterffy: With a net worth of $24.7 billion, Peterffy is the richest person in Florida. Since the onset of the pandemic, his wealth has increased by 73%,20 that’s an increase of more than $1 million dollars per hour. • Carol Jenkins Barnett: Heir to Publix supermarkets,21 net worth $2.5 billion.22 • Micky Arison: Carnival Cruise chairman of the board and previous CEO of Carnival Cruise, net worth increased by $1.7 billion to $6.8 billion during the pandemic23 while the company laid off thousands of workers.24 • Barry Sternlicht: Chairman and CEO of private equity firm Starwood Capital Group,25 increased his wealth by 23% during the pandemic to $3.7 billion,26 while his company filed at least one eviction notice at 60% of its affordable housing Florida properties.27

Building A Florida For All | 6 $45 BILLION = + + RENT RELIEF MORTGAGE RELIEF AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The $45 billion in pandemic wealth, if available for public investment, could, for example, greatly alleviate the housing crisis in our state. For those most affected by the pandemic, the money could provide one year’s rent relief to the one million Florida families behind on their rent28 and one year’s mortgage relief to the nearly 400,000 Florida families behind on their mortgage.29 There would still be enough left over to cover the construction cost of 200,000 affordable housing units (50% of statewide need).30

3. A Tax System Skewed Toward Corporations and the Wealthy:

Florida’s tax code makes it easy for corporations and the wealthy to skip out on contributing to the public good, making use of multiple loopholes to game the system and further concentrate their wealth and power. Rather than contributing to the public good, corporations--like Comcast, Walmart and Publix --and the wealthy have for years waged war against the public sector, systematically defunding government, while enriching themselves and increasingly placing the burden on working and middle class families. Corporations have demanded tax cuts that have resulted in cuts to critical services, thinning of critical staff, and delayed planning for our communities’ future. Despite their enormous wealth, Florida’s billionaires pay a lower share of their income in taxes than the rest of us. In fact the tax rate paid by the wealthiest Floridians is less than a fifth of the tax rate paid by Floridians at the bottom of the income scale.31 Together corporations and Florida’s billionaires and millionaires have rigged the rules in their favor and hobbled the capacity of governments to respond to our everyday needs and to crises like the pandemic.

Massive Corporate Tax Avoidance Despite the fact that Florida has a corporate income tax, more than 99% of Florida corporations pay no corporate income tax including some of the largest corporations in the state.32 According to information from the state Department of Revenue: • More than 360 companies earning over $50 million in profits paid no corporate tax in the state in each of the past four years.33 • Between 25 and 41 corporations (depending on the year) that made over a billion dollars in income in each of the past four years paid zero in corporate taxes in Florida.34

Building A Florida For All | 7 Billions in profits, $0 for Florida communities*

Number of Florida corporate filers with $1 Number reporting $zero in Tax Year billion + in federal taxable income Florida corporate income tax

2016 147 31

2017 124 25

2018 196 44

2019 205 33

*Information provided by Florida Department of Revenue

How is this possible? Corporations take advantage of a myriad of loopholes in the tax code and employ numerous forms of accounting manipulation to avoid paying their fair share. According to the Florida Policy Institute, corporate tax loopholes cost the state $1.8 billion each year.35 Corporations further rob our communities of resources by garnering massive tax breaks and subsidies to their advantage, even during the pandemic. Here are some examples of corporate tax avoidance:

• Comcast: $0 in state taxes. During the past four years (2017-2020), Comcast, the parent to Universal, paid absolutely no corporate income taxes in Florida, despite earning $75 billion globally over the same time period.36 • Verizon Wireless: $23 million taxes avoided. Between 2000 and 2014, Verizon, a Fortune 500 company with $128 billion in annual revenues,37 in partnership with the British telecom company Vodafone, used a corporate structure for Verizon Wireless, known as a “pass through” that allowed the cell phone company to avoid paying any corporate income taxes in Florida despite earning hundreds of millions in the state.38 The structure allowed the company to avoid $23 million in tax payments to the state.39 Since 1996 when Florida law exempted pass-throughs from corporate income taxes, the number of companies structured as pass-throughs has ballooned from 4000 to more than 1.4 million, costing the state an estimated $1 billion in revenue annually. 40 • HCA: $28 million in taxes avoided. HCA, a for-profit hospital company, has 45 hospitals and 32 surgery centers in Florida.41 By moving hundreds of millions a dollars between a network of its own subsidiaries, HCA with $52 billion in annual revenues42 deprived Florida of more than $28 million in corporate tax revenue.43

CORPORATE TAX LOOPHOLES COST THE STATE $1.8 BILLION $1.8 BILLION EACH YEAR.

Building A Florida For All | 8 Millions in Corporate Giveaways at the Expenses of Critical Services Every year the state of Florida spends millions on subsidies and tax breaks for corporations with the goal of enhancing investment, creating jobs, and creating opportunities in impoverished areas of the state. According to recently required disclosures, Florida has lost $2.3 billion to tax credits in the previous four years.44 The vast majority of these credits went to large corporations.45 Over the past 25 years, the state of Florida has doled out over $4 billion in subsidies to businesses in the state. $1 billion of those subsidies went to just ten large, for-profit companies such as Amazon, Comcast (which owns Universal), Hertz and defense contractors like Northrop and Lockheed Martin.46 This is not surprising as Enterprise Florida, the agency responsible for economic development and tax incentives is in fact a public private partnership where many of these large corporations pay $50,000 for a seat on the agency’s board.47 In addition, these companies are able to negotiate these deals behind closed doors as the state’s economic development agencies are exempted from public records requests for two years.48

Some of the most profitable and powerful corporations in Florida like Universal, Walmart, Publix, Disney, U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystal have exploited subsidy programs enacted to support struggling communities in need of jobs49 or programs designed to support farmers.50 Corporate manipulation of these subsidies is often at the expense of communities of color that have suffered from neglect and disinvestment for decades. Here’s an example:

• Universal exploits tax credits and subsidies at the expense of Orlando’s low income black communities: In 1997, Florida established a tax credit program designed to foster business expansion in poverty-stricken, crime-ridden neighborhoods, by providing credits for each job created.51 The following year the city of Orlando created a special district around the low-income predominantly black neighborhoods52 of Parramore and Washington Shore. However, the city extended the boundaries of the district to include the International Drive tourist area, allowing Universal to exploit the tax credit meant for struggling neighborhoods.53 According to an investigative report, Universal has claimed nearly $17.4 million in tax credits from the program over the past two decades; and this represents 50% of the total credits for this program awarded by the state.54

Building A Florida For All | 9 But the story does not end there. During that same time period, Universal has benefited from an additional $160 million in property tax revenue, extracted from the county’s general budget through a special taxing district known as a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA). Like the job credit program, CRA’s are supposed to help poverty-stricken, blighted communities; yet the $160 million was not used to support struggling families in Orlando with investments like affordable housing or community programs; rather the money went exclusively to roadways and pedestrian bridges around the same International Drive corridor where Universal, along with other tourist companies are located.55 Then in late 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the county agreed to give Universal an additional $100 million from the tax district to support a road into the company’s new theme park.56

Low-Wage Corporations Cost Florida hundreds of millions annually For years corporations in Florida have fought efforts to raise the minimum wage, including spending heavily this past year in an effort to defeat a ballot measure to increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour.57 By paying poverty-level wages that disproportionately affect people of color and women, corporations are able to boost their profits. Hard-working Florida families are then forced to subsidize these corporations’ profits by supplementing their employees’ poverty-level wages with public programs such as health insurance, food assistance and cash supports needed to survive. According to a 2015 report from the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Labor Research and Education, the estimated subsidy to Florida companies in the form of working families’ enrollment in health insurance programs and TANF for the years 2009-2011 was over $1 billion annually.58 A recent GAO report shows that some of the largest employers in Florida, like McDonalds, Walmart59 and Publix,60 are among the corporations with the largest number of employees participating in these safety net programs in states where information is available.61

A RECENT GAO REPORT SHOWS THAT SOME OF THE LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN FLORIDA, LIKE MCDONALDS, WALMART AND PUBLIX, ARE AMONG THE CORPORATIONS WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN THESE SAFETY NET PROGRAMS IN STATES WHERE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE.

Building A Florida For All | 10 4. Corporate Greed is Starving our Communities

Over the past several decades, policy-makers have implemented austerity measures and cut back on critical services, and large corporations and the state’s wealthiest residents have amassed hundreds of millions in wealth, while failing to pay their fair share. Meanwhile, the vast majority of us see our taxes increase while at the same time being deprived of the quality public services that we need and deserve.

Florida is ranked 46th in the nation in support for public services, based on its per capita spending.62 The state is ranked 45th in the nation on K-12 spending63 and ranks last nationally in per student investment in higher education.64 The state’s healthcare system ranks 41st nationally,65 and over 1.5 million low-income Floridians are without health insurance.66 The state ranks 44th in affordable housing67 and has the country’s third largest homeless population, where millions of Florida families are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage.68 More than 21 million Floridians depend on public transit daily; yet Florida cities rank among the worst in public transportation.69 Florida is increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes, coastal flooding, sea-level rise and other impacts of climate change.

FLORIDA’S NATIONAL RANKINGS

th th st th AMONG 46 45 41 44 THE WORST

PUBLIC SERVICES K-12 SPENDING HEALTHCARE AFFORDABLE PUBLIC SUPPORT SYSTEM HOUSING TRANSPORTATION

The failure of the state to invest in critical public services falls predominantly on low income communities and especially communities of color; and the COVID pandemic has exacerbated these inequities. Florida has been ranked the 4th worst in the country in terms of racial gaps in access to resources and opportunities.70 Black and brown communities have had higher rates of illness and death from COVID while having less access to life-saving vaccinations.71 Compared to white Floridians, more than twice as many Floridians of color have reported going hungry72 and behind on their rent73 as a result of the pandemic’s economic fallout.

Even during the pandemic, Florida’s elected leaders have continued to benefit large, profitable corporations at our communities’ expense. Here are some examples:

• $543 million corporate tax refund: During the height of the pandemic, Florida’s most profitable corporations were able to wrest $543 million in tax refunds from the state coffers. Nearly $100 million went to just 10 companies.74 Meanwhile, tens of thousands of small businesses desperately in need of a lifeline, were unable to secure emergency loans.75 Rather than padding the already bloated corporate profits, the $543 million could have paid for $1500 direct payments to 360,000 Floridians unemployed due to COVID; or $2/hr. hazard pay for 6 months to 300,000 frontline essential workers.

Building A Florida For All | 11 • Charging us $1 billion to pay for our own unemployment: The Florida Legislature recently approved a new tax on all of us based on online purchases. The new tax is expected to raise $1 billion. However, these new revenues will not be invested in our communities. The legislature has earmarked the money to bail out businesses’ unemployment insurance fund rather than requiring companies, as stipulated by law, to pay into the fund. 76 As a result, large profitable corporations, making hundreds of billions in profits are forcing consumers to cover the cost with our hard earned money.77 Meanwhile for hundreds of thousands of Florida workers, the unemployment system remains broken and large profitable corporations continue to garner huge profits on the backs of workers and consumers.78 • Gutting critical services for corporate payouts: This year the legislature plans $223 million in cuts to affordable housing funds,79 $250 million in hospitals cuts and $400 million in cuts to universities and colleges,80 while doling out hundreds of millions in additional tax breaks to corporations.

5. Funding our Communities by Making Corporations and the Wealthy Pay their Fair Share For too long Florida’s working families have contributed the largest share of their incomes to support the collective needs of our communities, while corporations and the wealthy find multiple ways to avoid paying their fair share. Over the past few years, in many parts of the country, the public and their representatives have begun to fight back. In several states, legislators have enacted laws and voters have approved ballot measures to increase corporate accountability and require greater contributions to the common good, as well as ensuring that those individuals and households that hold the lion’s share of wealth also contribute their fair share. It is time for Florida to do the same.

Building A Florida For All | 12 The People’s Budget project asked Floridians across the state whether they supported raising revenue for critical services by closing corporate tax loopholes, restoring corporate tax rates, and implementing a small tax on accumulated wealth over $1 million. Overwhelmingly, people across the political spectrum were in favor of such measures.81 It is time for us to join together and demand that our elected officials make corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share. Here are some examples of how we could invest in our families and communities with the billions of dollars that corporations and the wealthy have hoarded for their own benefit.

• Close corporate tax loopholes could generate $1.8 billion:82 Closing corporate tax loopholes could nearly restore funding to 2008 levels (prior to the previous recession) providing $430,000 additional funding to every K-12 school in the state.83 That money would allow us to expand the number of support staff, reduce class size, provide student support services, and allow for across the board salary increases for teachers and support staff. • Tax on wealth over $1 million could generate $367 million:84 Taxing wealth could cover 50% of the total cost of the state’s higher education Bright Futures Scholarship program,85 providing our youth with the support they need to embark on a career and become productive members of our state. Studies have demonstrated the importance of a post-secondary degree in significantly increasing earnings;86 and higher education rates are linked to an increase in civic engagement and quality of life in communities.87 • Eliminate corporate income tax rate reduction could generate $444 million:88 Eliminating the temporary corporate tax rate reduction could fully cover the annual state cost of Medicaid expansion that would benefit over 800,000 low income while generating $124 million in net savings and bringing in $2.1 billion additional federal funds all of which would be available for critical health care services.89

Building A Florida For All | 13 Endnotes

1 Florida Department of Revenue Response to Representative Angie Nixon, March 4, 2021, p. 2. 2 Davis, Carl, Misha Hill and Meg Wiehe, “Taxes and Racial Equity. An Overview of State and Local Policy Impacts,” Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, p. 5, - https://itep.org/taxes-and-racial-equity/, downloaded April 14, 2021. 3 The People’s Budget Florida, “Budget Report Card. Florida Residents’ Spending Priorities and Revenue Raising Preferences for the 2021 State Budget,” https://www.peoplesbudgetflorida.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/PBF_Challenge_FinalResults.pdf, downloaded April 19, 2021. 4 Statista, “Gross domestic Product (GDP) of the United States in 2019, by state,” https://www.statista.com/statistics/248023/us- gross-domestic-product-gdp-by-state/, downloaded April 9, 2021. 5 St. Louis Federal Reserve, “Total Gross Domestic Product for Florida,” https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FLNGSP, downloaded April 19, 2021. 6 Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, “Yearly Statistics,” p. 5, https://dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz/about-us/yearly-statistics/, downloaded April 19, 2021 7 Information from CapitalIQ, downloaded September 12, 2019. 8 Information from CapitalIQ downloaded March 31, 2021 9 Mishel, Lawrence and Jori Kandra, “CEO compensation surged 14% in 2019 to $21.3 million.” Economic Policy Institute, August 18, 2020, https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-compensation-surged-14-in-2019-to-21-3-million-ceos-now-earn-320-times-as-much- as-a-typical-worker/, downloaded April 25, 2021; AFL-CIO, “Company Pay Ratios,” https://aflcio.org/paywatch/company-pay-ratios#:~:text=Publicly%20traded%20companies%20are%20required,to%20create%20high%2Dwage%20jobs., downloaded April 7, 2021; Publix Store Career Opportunities, http://corporate.publix.com/careers/stores, downloaded April 7, 2021 10 CapitalIQ, key financials, downloaded April 8, 2021; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Schedule 14A for NexEra, p. 75; Comcast, p. 46; Walmart, p. 69; HCA, p. 71; Geo Group, p. 36; CapitalIQ executive compensation for Publix, downloaded April 28, 2021; AFL-CIO, “Executive Pay Watch,” https://aflcio.org/paywatch, downloaded April 19, 2021; CapitalIQ Publix executive compensation; Publix Careers and Jobs, https://www.zippia.com/publix-careers-35803/#, April 28, 2021. 11 WFLA 8, “Publix sales skyrocket $4.6 billion due to coronavirus pandemic,” March 2, 2021, https://www.wesh.com/article/publix-sales-coronavirus-pandemic/35699805#, Downloaded April 7, 2021. 12 DiNatale, Sara, “Last in line: Publix lagged behind competitors in COVID-19 safeguards,” Tampa Bay Times, April 30, 2020, https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/04/30/last-in-line-publix-lagged-behind-competitors-in-covid-19-safeguards/. downloaded April 28, 2021. “, downloaded April 7, 2021. 13 Top Walmart Shareholders, July 14, 2020, https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/060416/top-4-walmart-shareholders- wmt.asp, downloaded April 8, 2021. 14 Americans for Tax Fairness and Institute of Policy Studies, “ Total Wealth of billionaires During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Inequality.org, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zC0aoCCx-TtuYQx-2HcFsjzT-r1Gfx0pm5sdIPSCpE8/edit#gid=410584915, downloaded April 19, 2021. 15 United for Respect, “Walmart’s failure to prioritize employee and public health: A timeline of dangerous delays and critical mis- steps in Walmart’s COVID-19 response and what can be done today to save lives at Walmart,” p. https://united4respect.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2020-Walmarts-Failure-final.pdf, p. 2 (of PDF). 16 GEO Group Profile, produced by SEIU https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hcQXIbbH8D6KT9_ObxtJOjAlR8H3kaWu/view?us- p=sharing 17 Dasgupta, Shirsho, “Florida prison operator with worst COVID-19 safety record is money tree for politicians,” May 27, 2020, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/florida-prisons/article242338421.html, downloaded April 8, 2021; “NY Attorney General seeks court order in COVID probe of Queens private jailer,” Queens Daily Eagle, December 15, 2020, https://queenseagle. com/all/ny-attorney-general-seeks-court-order-in-covid-probe-of-queens-private-jailer, downloaded April30, 2021; Reutter, David M., “Federal Judge Slaps ICE, GEO Group Over ‘Abominable Performance’ and Officals Who Lied During Testimony,” Prison Legal News, February 1, 2021, https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2021/feb/1/federal-judge-slaps-ice-geo-group-over-abominable- performance-and-officials-who-lied-during-testimony/, downloaded April 30, 2021; LaCroix, Kevin M., “Private Prison Firm Hit with COVID-19 Outbreak-Related Securities Suit,” The D & O Diary, July 8,2020, https://www.dandodiary.com/2020/07/articles/coronavirus/private-prison-firm-hit-with-covid-19-outbreak-related-securities-suit/, downloaded April 30, 2021. 18 Americans for Tax Fairness and Institute of Policy Studies, “Total Wealth of billionaires During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Inequality.org, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zC0aoCCx-TtuYQx-2HcFsjzT-r1Gfx0pm5sdIPSCpE8/edit#gid=410584915, downloaded April 19, 2021. 19 Americans for Tax Fairness and Institute of Policy Studies, “Total Wealth of billionaires During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Inequality.org, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zC0aoCCx-TtuYQx-2HcFsjzT-r1Gfx0pm5sdIPSCpE8/edit#gid=410584915, downloaded April 19, 2021. 20 https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-peterffy/?list=rtb/&sh=7d4a5fe51c0f; Americans for Tax Fairness and Institute of Policy Studies, “Total Wealth of billionaires During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Inequality.org, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z- C0aoCCx-TtuYQx-2HcFsjzT-r1Gfx0pm5sdIPSCpE8/edit#gid=410584915, downloaded April 19, 2021.

Building A Florida For All | 14 21 Forbes, “#1311 Carol Jenkins Barnett,” https://www.forbes.com/profile/carol-jenkins-barnett/?list=rtb/&sh=46e0148a8bcf, downloaded April 19, 2021. 22 Forbes, “#1311 Carol Jenkins Barnett,” https://www.forbes.com/profile/carol-jenkins-barnett/?list=rtb/&sh=46e0148a8bcf, downloaded April 19, 2021. 23 Forbes, “#396 Micky Arison,” https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#71ffa42f3d78, downloaded April 19, 2021. 24 “Carnival announces layoffs and furloughs as cruise industry works to stay afloat.” May, 14, 2020,https://www.clickorlando. com/news/local/2020/05/14/carnival-announces-layoffs-and-furloughs-as-cruise-industry-works-to-stay-afloat/, downloaded April 7, 2021; “Carnival Corporation,” Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K, for the year ended November 30, 2020, p. 17, downloaded April 30, 2021. 25 “Senior Executives, Starwood Capital,” https://www.starwoodcapital.com/team/senior-executives/, downloaded April 19, 2021. 26 Americans for Tax Fairness and Institute of Policy Studies, “ Total Wealth of billionaires During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Inequality.org, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zC0aoCCx-TtuYQx-2HcFsjzT-r1Gfx0pm5sdIPSCpE8/edit#gid=410584915, downloaded April 19, 2021. 27 Bargaining for the Common Good, Institute for Policy Studies, and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, “Cash- ing in on Our Homes. Billionaire Landlords Profit as Millions Face Eviction,” March 2021, p. 22, https://ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Cashing-in-on-Our-Homes-FINAL-revised.pdf, downloaded March 30, 2021. 28 SEIU analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey microdata for October 28-December 21, 2020. 29 Hurtibise, Ron, “Florida’s delinquent mortgages trigger fears of housing meltdown,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, June 26, 2020, https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/fl-bz-florida-fifth-highest-mortgage-delinquency-rate-20200626-vq4ewd2inzbgvp7uhzju- tasebm-story.html, downloaded April 8, 2021. 30 Hoyt, Hannah and Jenny Schuetz, “Making apartments more affordable starts with understanding the costs of building them,” Brookings Institute, May 5, 2020, https://www.brookings.edu/research/making-apartments-more-affordable-starts-with-understanding-the-costs-of-building-them/, downloaded April 8, 2021; 31 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, “Who Pays? 6th Edition- State-by-State Data: Florida, https://itep.org/whopays-map/, downloaded April 19, 2021. 32 Florida Division of Corporations, Yearly Statistics, https://dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz/about-us/yearly-statistics/, downloaded April 5, 2021; Florida Department of Revenue Response to Representative Angie Nixon, March 4, 2021, p. 2. 33 Florida Department of Revenue Response to Representative Angie Nixon, March 4, 2021, p. 2. 34 Florida Department of Revenue Response to Representative Angie Nixon, March 4, 2021, p. 2. 35 Florida Policy Institute, “An Equitable Tax Code. Shaping tax policy to build a brighter future for all Floridians,” https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5cd5801dfdf7e5927800fb7f/5fac14ff36c0b3c2c8080cee_Revenue%20Agenda%202021.3_compressed.pdf, downloaded November 17, 2020. 36 Comcast Corporation, Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K for the Fiscal years ending December 31, 2017. 2018. 2019, and 2020. 37 CapitalIQ downloaded March 31, 2021. 38 Garcia, Jason, “Companies pass profits out of Florida, costing the state millions,” Orlando Sentinel, November 20, 2019, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-florida-corporate-tax-avoidance-verizon-wireless-20191120-dimqlpk7wjc2fe47cnt5lahf- de-story.html, downloaded October 14, 2020. 39 Garcia, Jason, “Companies pass profits out of Florida, costing the state millions,” Orlando Sentinel, November 20, 2019, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-florida-corporate-tax-avoidance-verizon-wireless-20191120-dimqlpk7wjc2fe47cnt5lahf- de-story.html, downloaded October 14, 2020. 40 Garcia, Jason, “Companies pass profits out of Florida, costing the state millions,” Orlando Sentinel, November 20, 2019, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-florida-corporate-tax-avoidance-verizon-wireless-20191120-dimqlpk7wjc2fe47cnt5lahf- de-story.html, downloaded October 14, 2020. 41 Garcia, Jason, “Florida loses $50M a year to vague business deductions,” Orlando Sentinel, December 4, 2019, https://www. orlandosentinel.com/news/big-profits-tiny-taxes/os-ne-florida-corporate-tax-avoidance-anheuser-busch-20191204-agmqciizpjgb- zgshz7jbi3wqym-story.html, downloaded October 14, 2020. 42 CapitalIQ downloaded March 31, 2021 43 Garcia, Jason, “In Florida, 99% of companies pay no corporate income tax—with lawmakers’ blessing,” November 13, 2019, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-florida-corporate-tax-avoidance-20191113-sx37z4l3d5b6viugtl4thlqxem-story.html; Garcia, Jason, “Florida loses $50M a year to vague business deductions,” Orlando Sentinel, December 4, 2019, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/big-profits-tiny-taxes/os-ne-florida-corporate-tax-avoidance-anheuser-busch-20191204-agmqciizpjgbzgshz- 7jbi3wqym-story.html, downloaded October 14, 2020. 44 Good Jobs First, Tax Break Tracker, Florida 2017, https://taxbreaktracker.goodjobsfirst.org/prog.php?state=FL&state_jurisdic- tion1=&state_jurisdiction2=&state_jurisdiction3=&fiscal_year=2017; 2018, https://taxbreaktracker.goodjobsfirst.org/prog.php?state=- FL&state_jurisdiction1=&state_jurisdiction2=&state_jurisdiction3=&fiscal_year=2018; 2019, https://taxbreaktracker.goodjobsfirst. org/prog.php?state=FL&state_jurisdiction1=&state_jurisdiction2=&state_jurisdiction3=&fiscal_year=2019, downloaded August 20, 2020; 2020, https://taxbreaktracker.goodjobsfirst.org/prog.php?state=FL&state_jurisdiction1=&state_jurisdiction2=&state_jurisdic-

Building A Florida For All | 15 tion3=&fiscal_year=2020, downloaded May 3,2021. 45 “Ways to Improve Florida’s Budget Resilience,” July 2020, pp. 4-5, confidential memo. 46 Good Jobs First, “Subsidy Tracker: State Summary of State and Local Awards,” https://subsidytracker.goodjobsfirst.org/ prog.php?parent=&statesum=&fedsum=&major_industry_sum=&hq_id_sum=&company_op=starts&company=&major_indus- try%5B%5D=&hq_id=&free_text=&subsidy_level=&subsidy_op=%3E&subsidy=&face_loan_op=%3E&face_loan=&subsidy_ type%5B%5D=&sub_year%5B%5D=&state=FL&program%5B%5D=&city=&county=&federal=, downloaded November 19, 2020. 47 Integrity Florida, “Crony Capitalism,” https://www.integrityflorida.org/cronyism/, downloaded April 16, 2021. 48 Good Jobs First, “Accountable USA – Florida,” https://www.goodjobsfirst.org/states/florida, downloaded October 19, 2020. 49 Garcia, Jason, “Universal Orlando claims millions in tax breaks via program meant to help struggling neighborhoods,” Orlando Sentinel, February 2, 2021, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-xpm-2013-02-02-os-universal-orlando-high-crime-tax- breaks-20130202-story.html, downloaded November, 16, 2020. 50 Garcia, Jason, “Cash Cows: Tavistock, Disney and others save millions through tax break meant to help farmers,” Orlando Sentinel, February 19, 2021, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-prem-ne-florida-farming-property-tax-break-20210217-xngx- wwbc4vakjlrbcq5sfltdcq-htmlstory.html, downloaded, February 22, 2021. 51 Garcia, Jason, “Universal Orlando claims millions in tax breaks via program meant to help struggling neighborhoods,” Orlando Sentinel, February 2, 2021, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-xpm-2013-02-02-os-universal-orlando-high-crime-tax- breaks-20130202-story.html, downloaded November, 16, 2020. 52 Population of Holden-Parramore, Orlando, Florida (Neighborhood), https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/Florida/Orlando/ Holden-Parramore/Population, downloaded April 16, 2021; Washington Shores neighborhood in Orlando, Florida (FL), 32805 de- tailed profile, https://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Washington-Shores-Orlando-FL.html, downloaded April 16, 2021. 53 Garcia, Jason, “Universal Orlando claims millions in tax breaks via program meant to help struggling neighborhoods,” Orlando Sentinel, February 2, 2021, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-xpm-2013-02-02-os-universal-orlando-high-crime-tax- breaks-20130202-story.html, downloaded November, 16, 2020. 54 Garcia, Jason, “Universal Orlando still claiming tax breaks meant to help struggling communities,” September 18, 2020, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-universal-studios-high-crime-tax-breaks-20200918-dbcjby2cpjdara6jednjnywpga-story. html, downloaded January 7, 2021. 55 Garcia, Jason, “Orange leaders weigh fate of tax district that steers millions to I-Drive tourism area,” Orlando Sentinel, March 8, 2021, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-orange-county-international-drive-tax-district-20210308-c7s- gl2yn7zgg7bw6uifh4bevb4-story.html, downloaded April 16. 2021. 56 Garcia, Jason, “Orange leaders weigh fate of tax district that steers millions to I-Drive tourism area,” Orlando Sentinel, March 8, 2021, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-orange-county-international-drive-tax-district-20210308-c7s- gl2yn7zgg7bw6uifh4bevb4-story.html, downloaded April 16. 2021. 57 “Money lines up in constitutional amendment fights,” Florida Politics, October 26, 2020, https://floridapolitics.com/ar- chives/377432-money-lines-up-in-constitutional-amendment-fights/, downloaded April 17, 2021. 58 Jacobs, Ken, Ian Perry and Jenifer MacGillvary, “The High Public Cost of Low Wages. Poverty-Level Wages Cost U.S. Taxpay- ers $152.8 Billion Each Year in Public Support for Working Families,” UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, April 2015, p. 8, http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/pdf/2015/the-high-public-cost-of-low-wages.pdf, downloaded April 19, 2021. 59 Walmart Location Facts: Florida, https://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/locations/united-states/florida?multi=false, downloaded April 7, 2021. 60 Kolmar, Chris, “The 100 Largest Companies In Florida For 2020,” January 29, 2020, https://www.zippia.com/advice/largest-companies-in-florida/#ranking-table, downloaded April 7, 2021. 61 United States Government Accountability Office, “Federal Social Safety Net Programs. Millions of Full-Time Workers Rely on Federal Health Care and Food Assistance Programs,” October 2020, Appendix II pp. 29+, https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-45, downloaded April 7, 2021. 62 Florida Policy Institute, “More Business Tax Cuts Will Not Spur Economic Growth in Florida,” February 14, 2017, https://www. floridapolicy.org/posts/more-business-tax-cuts-will-not-spur-economic-growth-in-florida?42f82863_page=13&d58b522a_page=2, downloaded April 19, 2021. 63 Dunkelberger, Lloyd, “Yet another national report ranks FL among worst in U.S. for K-12 education spending,” Florida Phoenix, June 7, 2019, https://www.floridaphoenix.com/blog/yet-another-national-report-ranks-fl-among-worst-in-u-s-for-k-12-education- spending/, downloaded April 7, 2021. 64 State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, “State Higher Education Finance FY 2019, p.25, https://shef.sheeo.org/ wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SHEEO_SHEF_FY19_Report.pdf, downloaded April 14, 2021. 65 Sexton, Christine, “Florida health system ranked among worst in the nation,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, September 11, 2020, https://www.sun-sentinel.com/health/fl-ne-nsf-florida-health-system-ranks-low-20200911-4pboykodonc6hkayeawhjs3sgu-story.html, downloaded April 14, 2021. 66 Florida Health Justice Project, “Why Medicaid Expansion Matters to Floridians Already on Medicare,” October 6, 2020, https:// www.floridahealthjustice.org/publications--media/why-medicaid-expansion-matters-to-floridians-already-on-medicare, Downloaded April 15, 2021.

Building A Florida For All | 16 67 Ward, Brendan, “Report: Florida becoming one of the least affordable states in the nation,” Jacksonville Business Journal, April 13, 2021, https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2021/04/14/florida-becoming-one-of-the-least-affordable-state.html. 68 Florida Housing Coalition, “Home Matters Report from the Florida Housing Coalition 2019,” p. 4, http://mediad.publicbroadcast- ing.net/p/wusf/files/201902/Home-Matters-Report-2019-WEB.pdf, downloaded April 15, 2021. 69 McCann, Adam, “2019’s cities with the best and worst public transportation,” Metro Magazine, January 2, 2020, https://www. metro-magazine.com/10031012/2019s-cities-with-the-best-and-worst-public-transportation, downloaded April 15, 2021. 70 Barth, Cindy, “Florida one of worst states for black Americans,” Orlando Business Journal, August 4, 2016, https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2016/08/florida-one-of-worst-states-for-black-americans.html, downloaded April 15, 2021. 71 Florida Health Justice Project, “COVID-19 in Florida: A Disparities Dashboard,” https://www.floridahealthjustice.org/covid-19- dashboard.html, downloaded April 15, 2021. 72 SEIU analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey microdata for October 28-December 21, 2020. 73 SEIU analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey microdata for October 28-December 21, 2020. 74 Florida Department of Revenue Response to Representative Angie Nixon, March 4, 2021, p. 3. 75 “Florida has awarded $49 million in bridge loans to more than 1,000 small businesses. But more than 38,000 businesses applied for the emergency loans,” Tampa Bay Times, April 14, 2020, https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/04/14/florida-has- awarded-49-million-in-bridge-loans-to-more-than-1000-small-businesses/, downloaded April 7, 2021. 76 Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, “Legislature finds $1 billion in tax revenue, gives it away to big business,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, April 6, 2021, https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-florida-legislature-sales-tax-20210406-lp2qa- 5vb55b4zds62hgh2cn7n4-story.html, downloaded April 12, 2021. 77 Turner, Jim, “Florida Senate Oks $1 billion online tax to replenish unemployment fund.” Orlando Sentinel, March 25, 2021, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-online-sales-tax-unemployment-20210325-atqbz3ijafdadejjf3f5hed5qi-story.html, downloaded April 7, 2021. 78 Parsons, Tec, “Commentary: Legislature is quick to rescue business, but strands workers, on unemployment insurance.” The Palm Beach Post, April 7, 2021, https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/opinion/columns/2021/04/07/legislature-rescues-business-strands-workers-unemployment/4810398001/, downloaded April 7, 2021. 79 Morgan, Isaac, “FL legislature approves major cuts in dollars for affordable housing, amid COVID-19 and housing crisis,” Flor- ida Phoenix, April 9, 2021, https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2021/04/09/fl-legislature-approves-major-cuts-in-dollars-for-affordable- housing-amid-covid-19-and-housing-crisis/, downloaded April 15, 2021. 80 Rohrer, Gray, “Florida Senate eyes corporate tax cuts after reducing hospital, university funding,” Orlando Sentinel, April 14, 2021, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-florida-senate-tax-bills-20210414-3xtzpjy6jbcq3dxp733ohi7doi-story.html, downloaded April 15, 2021. 81 The People’s Budget Florida, “Budget Report Card. Florida Residents’ Spending Priorities and Revenue Raising Preferences for the 2021 State Budget,” pp. 11-15, https://www.peoplesbudgetflorida.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/PBF_Challenge_FinalRe- sults.pdf, downloaded April 19, 2021. 82 Florida Policy Institute, “An Equitable Tax Code. Shaping tax policy to build a brighter future for all Floridians,” https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5cd5801dfdf7e5927800fb7f/5fac14ff36c0b3c2c8080cee_Revenue%20Agenda%202021.3_compressed.pdf, downloaded November 17, 2020. 83 Florida Total K-12 Funding Data, ‘U.S. Census, “[Year] Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance Data.” Table 1, https:// www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html, and National Center on Education Statistics, Table 203.20. Enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by region, state, and jurisdiction: Selected years, fall 1990 through fall 2026, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d16/tables/dt16_203.20.asp. 84 Florida Policy Institute, “An Equitable Tax Code. Shaping tax policy to build a brighter future for all Floridians,” https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5cd5801dfdf7e5927800fb7f/5fac14ff36c0b3c2c8080cee_Revenue%20Agenda%202021.3_compressed.pdf, downloaded November 17, 2020. 85 DeLa, Jim, “Bright Futures advocates gear up for Thursday hearing,” The SunCoast, March 30, 2021, https://www.mysuncoast. com/2021/03/30/bright-futures-advocates-gear-up-thursday-hearing/, downloaded April 8, 2021. 86 Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education Preliminary Report, January 2018 , p. 5, http://dls.maryland. gov/pubs/prod/NoPblTabMtg/CmsnInnovEduc/2018-Preliminary-Report-of-the-Commission.pdf. 87 Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education Preliminary Report, January 2018, pp. 5-6, http://dls.maryland.gov/pubs/prod/NoPblTabMtg/CmsnInnovEduc/2018-Preliminary-Report-of-the-Commission.pdf. 88 Florida Policy Institute, “An Equitable Tax Code. Shaping tax policy to build a brighter future for all Floridians,” https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5cd5801dfdf7e5927800fb7f/5fac14ff36c0b3c2c8080cee_Revenue%20Agenda%202021.3_compressed.pdf, downloaded November 17, 2020. 89 Nuzum, Rachel et al, “Medicaid Expansion in Florida: Budget Buster or Deal of the Century?”, The Commonwealth Fund, Sep- tember 30, 2019, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2019/medicaid-expansion-florida-budget-buster-or-deal-century.

Building A Florida For All | 17 48870 05.11.21 jc