Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Friday's Afternoon Update

Taxes and Florida: How the state compares nationally on rates, revenue

A new report from Florida TaxWatchlooks in-depth at how Florida's tax rates and structure stacks up nationally. There's detailed analysis on per capita state personal income tax collections, corporate income tax collections, plus state tax rates on items such as cigarettes, beer, candy and soft drinks, and much more. Some key findings:

  • Floridians’ per capita state and local own source revenue collections total $5,579, ranking 38th nationally..
  • Florida’s state government collects signifcantly less revenue per capita than the average state.
  • While Florida’s state tax burden is very low compared to the other states, its local tax burden is much higher.
  • Florida relies more heavily on local revenue to fund government than almost all other states.

» See an overview of the report here, or link directly to the PDF.

Sen. Marco Rubio gives thumbs-up to Trump's VP pick

Florida Senator Marco Rubio praised presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's decision to pick Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate. "Great pick," the onetime Trump rival tweeted, calling Pence "rock solid." Rubio has said he'll support the GOP nominee over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, though he is skipping next week's convention to campaign for reelection to the Senate. Read more at the Hill.

Families of deceased Pulse patrons to get highest payments

The families of the victims slain at the Pulse nightclub will get the most money from a fund established to help the victims' families and survivors of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The fund has about $20 million. The exact amount each family will get is to be determined by how much is raised by the end of September. More at the AP

Tallahassee Doubletree to get new topper

Fresh off a $8 million makeover, the downtown DoubleTree by Hilton is primed to get a brand new topper that promises to radically alter Tallahassee’s skyline. Once finished, the stark white box will appear to float over the downtown landmark on South Adams Street. Read more at the Tallahassee Democrat.

Appeals court: Florida must provide prisoners kosher food

The state of Florida cannot use the vague threat of potential budget shortfalls to deny thousands of prisoners kosher meals they request for religious reasons, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Justice Department and against the Florida Department of Corrections. Read more at the AP

Opinion
What to expect at the national party conventions

microphoneAn FIU instructor at their Department of Politics and International Relations discusses five things to watch for at the 2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. One quote from Dr. Sara Moats:

"For the Republicans, unification has proved extremely difficult. Republican Party leaders are very uneasy about the notion of Donald Trump as the nominee. The divisions within the party are so deep that several high-ranking Republicans such as John McCain, Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio are planning to skip the Republican Convention. It is necessary Trump find common ground with Republican leadership. If the party does not present a united front behind his campaign, it will appear weak and indecisive to the voters. Thus, next week it is expected that Trump will appear more polished and presidential, less abrasive and argumentative."

Read more at Florida International University.

Out of the Box
Florida researchers draw parallels between baseball cards, stock markets

A new study finds that the market for baseball cards shows some of the same kinds of anomalies, or factors, as the stock market. The study, authored by researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of California, finds baseball cards that out- or under-perform in value tend to keep on rising or falling, a phenomenon called momentum. As well, newly issued baseball card sets and those of rookies, like Initial Public Offerings, tend to underperform the broad market for a sustained initial period. [Source: Reuters]
» Download the study, "Stock Market Anomalies and Baseball Cards," here.