SUMMARY: A Tax Foundation report ranked Florida fourth in tax competitiveness, highlighting its lack of a personal income tax as a key advantage. Florida scored first for individual taxes, 14th for sales taxes, 16th for corporate taxes, and 21st for property taxes. The state has a competitive 5.5% corporate income tax and a 4% sales tax, with an average combined local tax of 7%. Critiques included the limited first-year expensing of machinery and a low personal property exemption of $25,000. Despite methodological changes in the report, Florida maintained its ranking since 2020, leading the Southeast region.

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SUMMARY: In the third quarter of 2024, Florida welcomed 34.6 million visitors, marking a 1.7% increase over the previous record, despite hurricanes Debby and Helene. This follows strong tourism growth in the first two quarters, totaling 109.7 million visitors so far this year. Last year, over 140 million people visited, with 92.1% being domestic tourists. International traffic also rose by 1.8%. Florida’s tourism is supported by priorities like public safety and freedom. Notably, 38.1% of visitors traveled by air, with Orlando and Miami seeing the highest numbers of enplanements.

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SUMMARY: Anthony Hill reports from downtown Tampa, where a protest against president-elect Donald Trump is underway. Demonstrators express opposition to Trump’s policies, viewing him as a divisive figure whose stances on immigration, women’s rights, and racism are unacceptable. Protesters carried signs voicing their resistance to his agenda. While some drivers showed support for the protest, others backed Trump. Meanwhile, Evan Power, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, dismissed the protests as radical leftist reactions to Trump’s victory, asserting that Trump unites the country and calling for unity under his leadership. Tensions remain high following the contentious election.

Dozens of people protested against President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday outside of city hall in downtown Tampa.

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