FYI Miami: December 7, 2023

Below are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

TAXES UP, SAVINGS LAG: State general revenue tax collections in October topped projections by $163.5 million, while Floridians continued saving relatively small amounts. A report from the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research said net general revenue in October totaled $3.436 billion, exceeding a projection issued in August by 5%. But the report said persistent inflation will eventually suppress collections as some consumers limit spending to non-taxable necessities like food and health care. Also, as they have repeatedly over the past two years, economists used the report to caution about lagging consumer savings. During the 2018-2019 fiscal year, before the Covid-19 pandemic caused upheaval in the economy, 7.9% of personal income went into savings. The new report said Floridians had a “subpar” savings rate of 3.8%, a slight improvement from 3.7% in September.

GEORGIA LOOKS TO MIAMI: Georgia topped US states in October for residents searching for residential real estate to buy using the Miami Association of Realtors site, the association reported this week. The other states among the top 10 searching for Greater Miami residences on the site were, from the top down, Virginia, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Kentucky. The top five US cities searching the site were Atlanta; Ashburn, VA; New York; Orlando; and Los Angeles. In recent years Orlando has attracted more Miamians moving north than did Miami luring residents of Orlando, while New York has seen a steady stream of residents moving to Miami.

CHALLENGE CALLED BAD BET: Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative leaders have urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject a challenge to a deal that allowed the Seminole Tribe to offer online sports betting statewide, saying it does not violate a 2018 constitutional amendment that restricted casino gambling. State lawyers disputed arguments by the pari-mutuel companies West Flagler Associates, of Miami, and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., which have fought the sports betting plan in state and federal courts, contending they could be hurt financially if the tribe offers online sports betting statewide. The battle centers on a 2021 deal between the state and the tribe that allowed gamblers to place mobile sports wagers anywhere in the state, with bets handled by computer servers on tribal property. The deal said bets “using a mobile app or other electronic device, shall be deemed to be exclusively conducted by the tribe.”