March 19, 2024

Wednesday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 10/18/2017

Florida Trend Exclusive
The state of finance in Florida

Money piles

A broad look at the state of banking and finance in Florida includes: Consolidation is hot, deregulation is not; A Winter Park bank is the first nationally chartered bank to open in Florida since 2009; How some investors are helping fund technology companies. Plus: Banking deregulation lags; the lowdown on sales tax holidays; financing marijuana; bank holding companies; accounting firms. Read the full report from Florida Trend, here.

Florida has fourth-most competitive tax code

Florida's tax code is the fourth most competitive in the country, according to a study released Tuesday by nonprofit group Tax Foundation. The Sunshine State had the most competitive individual income tax structure and the second-most competitive unemployment insurance tax structure. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

See also:
» 2018 State Business Tax Climate Index

Florida TV tax fight taken to US Supreme Court

Pointing to “protectionism,” a major satellite-television company is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a constitutional challenge to a Florida law that sets different tax rates for cable and satellite TV services. [Source: Ledger]

Exodus of Puerto Ricans could change Florida politics but only if they stay

Hurricane Maria's ruinous sweep through Puerto Rico sent its stricken residents fleeing to the U.S. mainland. As tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans arrive in Florida, the question remains: Will these U.S. citizens resettle here permanently or return, eventually, to their native soil? The answer may depend on age and attitude. Younger people seeking a brighter future will be more inclined to stay. "You're going to have a demographic bulge. It's just very bad for Puerto Rico," said Anthony Suarez, president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association of Florida. [Source: US News & World Report]

Majority of Floridians favor tax earmarked for environmental protection

Floridians say the environment is a top five issue for the state, and they’re willing to put their money where their mouth is. That is according to a new Sunshine State Survey released by USF and Nielsen Tuesday which showed that 56 percent of Floridians favor a tax whose revenue would be used to address environmental issues. See a brief of the latest survey from USF and Nielsen, here. Also read more at the Tampa Bay Times.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› A Florida county of 15,000 people is the least healthy place in America
Union County, Florida could be in trouble. Located about an hour southwest of Jacksonville, the county of roughly 15,000 people is the least healthy in the United States, ranking at or near the top of numerous causes of death.

› Summer troubles had $40M impact on Spirit Airlines
A perfect storm of mass flight cancellations from absent pilots and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria all together negatively impacted Spirit Airlines Inc.'s third quarter revenue by $40 million, the company said Monday in an investor update. Also read more at the South Florida Business Journal.

› On new Forbes 400 list of U.S. billionaires, 35 now call Florida their home
The latest Forbes 400 richest people in America was unveiled Tuesday, with 35 billionaires on that list calling Florida home. That's actually down from 40 Florida billionaires listed last year when a full 10 percent listed declared they were Floridians by residence. Below is a preview of the top 10 richest Floridians. See a list of the 35 Floridians on Forbes' list, here.
» Related: Forbes ranks Jaguars owner Shad Khan as 72nd richest American

Floridians on Forbes' ranking of richest Americans:
U.S. Rank Name Net Worth Age Residence Source
31 Thomas Peterffy $15.1 B 73 Palm Beach discount brokerage
43 David Tepper $11 B 60 Miami Beach hedge funds
50 Micky Arison $9.4 B 68 Bal Harbour Carnival Cruises
72 Shahid Khan $7.1 B 67 Naples auto parts
87 Charles Johnson $6 B 84 Palm Beach money management
97 Robert Rich, Jr. $5.5 B 76 Islamorada frozen foods
118 Reinhold Schmieding $5 B 62 Naples medical devices
132 Dirk Ziff $4.8 B 53 North Palm Beach investments
150 Nick Caporella $4.5 B 81 Plantation beverages
156 Russ Weiner $4.4 B 47 Delray Beach energy drinks
Source: 2017 Forbes 400 richest Americans


› Fort Myers startup part of $3 billion urban project in Tampa
A Fort Myers-based startup business has been selected to be in a business accelerator tied to a high-profile, $3 billion urban redevelopment effort in downtown Tampa.

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