Kurt Wenner

Kurt Wenner is a mainstay on the Tallahassee state budget watchdog scene and is the second-longest serving staff member of Florida TaxWatch, celebrating his 30th anniversary in March of 2011.

Kurt began as an intern in 1981 when our organization was called the Citizens Council for Budget Research. He was part of the so-called "Little Band of Researchers" when the organization disclosed state government boondoggles while developing its budget, tax, and program evaluation muscle. In the years since, Kurt has worked as a Research Analyst, a Senior Research Analyst, Director of Tax Research, and in 2010 was promoted to Vice President of Tax Research.

Kurt has authored all of the major tax publications produced by Florida TaxWatch, including a 1989 & 1990 two-volume report on Florida's Intangibles Tax, which kicked off the modern effort to repeal the tax, and led to the final repeal in 2007.

Kurt is also TaxWatch's go-to guy on sales, property, and business tax issues. He was the principal author of a 2003 joint TaxWatch task forces report, which recommended $4.2 billion in revenue through tax modernization, productivity cost savings, and sales tax exemptions review. The report is still referenced today in the current debate on eliminating exemptions and taxing services.

For more than three decades, Florida's taxpayers, along with Florida TaxWatch members, have relied on Kurt's keen taxpayer-driven analysis, through his popular tax manual, "How Florida Compares", the annual "Taxpayer Independence Day" report on tax burdens, and the annual "Budget Turkey Watch", a favorite among legislators.