Thursday s Afternoon Update | 3/11/2021
Who’s bailing out Florida’s depleted unemployment fund? You, if you shop online
State leaders have unveiled a plan to shore up the state’s unemployment trust fund by having Floridians pay sales taxes on their online purchases, a unique idea that amounts to roughly $1 billion in annual tax breaks for Florida businesses. The idea, proposed by the leaders of Florida’s House and Senate, would require nearly all out-of-state companies to start collecting online sales taxes in Florida. Florida is one of the few remaining states that doesn’t require online companies, aside from large ones like Amazon, to collect sales taxes. State economists estimate it would add $1 billion in annual revenue to state coffers. More from the Miami Herald.
Wednesday s Afternoon Update | 3/10/2021 Carbon farming could soon be new cash crop for Florida growers
President Joe Biden wants to reward farmers for using climate-friendly practices on their lands. Big agriculture companies are already paying growers in the Midwest to plant crops that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and use techniques to keep that carbon in the soil. Those developments and others have spurred hope that the business of carbon may soon come to Florida. More from WJCT.
Spouses of foreign workers in Florida, nationwide seek help with visa process
The H-4 visa for spouses and children, and the primary H-1B visas, were designed for foreign workers on temporary stays in the U.S. The H-1B visa, which allows employers to hire highly skilled, college-educated foreign workers, lasts for three years and can be renewed for another three years. The renewal can continue past those six years if the employer sponsors the H-1B visa holder and his or her H-4 depen
Wednesday s Daily Pulse | 3/10/2021
Florida vaccine supply to rise again with Moderna, Pfizer while next shipment of J&J uncertain
Continued increase in the Pfizer vaccine means Florida will once again see a jump in supply next week. The data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday nearly 20,000 more doses of Pfizer over this week’s allotment. An equal number of second doses for each of the two vaccines has also been allotted, with first doses usually arriving from Monday-Wednesday each week. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
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Florida strawberry farmers rebound after Covid lockdown caused financial devastation
Tuesday s Daily Pulse | 3/9/2021 Cash Crunch: Lawmakers challenge will be to balance the budget
Florida lawmakers returned to Tallahassee this month for a 60-day session that will focus in large part on the economic fallout from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Their biggest chore is filling a $2.75-billion budget gap driven largely by declines in sales tax dollars related to tourism and recreation. “The budget picture will be bleak, and funding will have to be more carefully prioritized around helping people recover and doing things that are most likely to re-stimulate the economy,” says Dean Cannon, a former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and president and CEO of GrayRobinson, one of the state’s largest law firms. [Source: Florida Trend]
Tuesday s Afternoon Update | 3/9/2021
Judge tosses out lawsuit against the state, Deloitte over flawed unemployment website
A Leon circuit court judge has dismissed a potential class-action lawsuit against the state and Deloitte Consulting stemming from the meltdown of Florida’s online unemployment compensation system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Judge John Cooper, for the second time in less than six months, said plaintiffs could not overcome legal hurdles to pursue the case against the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Deloitte, a contractor that helped put in place the CONNECT online system in 2013. More from the News Service of Florida.
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