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Focus on Florida

  1. Lawsuit Against Community Planning Act Filed by Yankeetown, Florida Could Impact Florida Growth Management Laws

    On June 2, 2011, Florida changed the way it handled Growth Management, putting more control over local issues in the hands of the local government. The new legislation, House Bill 7207 (known as the “Community Planning Act”), was supported by a broad range of groups from the Association of Florida Community Developers to the Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties. The law was decried by some in the anti-development community. Now, the Community Planning Act has been challenged in court.

    by Brian Seymour, August 26, 2011
  2. Florida’s International Trade Sees Growth, Continued Challenges

    This month’s Florida Trend magazine features a portrait on international trade and highlights some good news within an important sector for Florida’s economic recovery. According to Enterprise Florida, in 2010, Florida-origin exports grew to an all-time high of $55.2 billion which is an increase of 17.8% over 2009.

    by Boardroom Brief Staff, August 16, 2011
  3. Florida Shoppers Enjoy Higher Price Points for Back-to-School Tax Holiday

    On your mark…get ready…SHOP! This year the three day, back-to-school tax free weekend is returning to Florida starting at midnight on Friday, August 12 and ending just before midnight on Sunday, August 14.

    by Boardroom Brief Staff, August 11, 2011
  4. HSBC Warns U.S. Clients with Offshore Accounts to Comply with U.S. Tax Laws

    Last week, the IRS said it would give foreign financial institutions another six months to start complying with a new law to prevent offshore tax evasion by Americans. HSBC’s former head of services for Indians living outside of India sent letters to Indian-American clients confirming that the IRS is seeking names of Americans who have accounts with the bank.

    by Martin Press, August 01, 2011
  5. Reforms to Florida’s Unemployment Compensation Program Assists Both Employers and Unemployed

    On June 27, 2011, Governor Rick Scott signed into law reforms to Florida’s Unemployment Compensation Program aimed to provide relief for rising unemployment costs for employers and to assist Florida’s unemployed in finding jobs. The law better protects employers from paying out unemployment benefits with the intention that unemployed persons will rely less on unemployment money and increase their efforts to obtain work in a more expedient manner.

    by Tanya Reed, August 01, 2011
  6. Downtown Miami Home to Hidden Food Hotspots

    With over 30,000 new residents living in downtown Miami, locals are turning the downtown and Brickell areas into a destination for unique restaurants. Condos in the area are more than 85% occupied, therefore turning restaurants from ‘off the beaten path’ to the new neighborhood destination. Kevin Levy, a Gunster attorney and self-professed foodie, shares his taste for the local fare which is feeding south Florida.

    by Boardroom Brief Staff, July 11, 2011
  7. A New Internet Age – How New Top-Level Domains Change “Everything”

    We are all used to website domains ending in familiar top-level names such as .com, .net and .org. What we’re used to, and the Internet itself, is about to change. This is because the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) recently approved a plan to allow the creation of top–level domains (TLDs) including just about any word, in any language or alphabet.

    by Gaida Zirkelbach, June 29, 2011
  8. Florida Growth Management Changes: Much Ado About Nothing

    On June 2, Gov. Scott signed HB 7207, revising our state’s growth-management laws. There has been much teeth-gnashing about the end of growth management and environmental oversight. The Post editorialized “Veto this anti-jobs bill.” The Post’s John Kennedy reported, “The measure eliminates state oversight of local planning except when proposals with statewide impact are involved.” This is not quite accurate.

    by Brian Seymour, June 22, 2011
  9. Sanctions on Iran will add to foreign banks’ compliance costs

    Last July, President Obama signed into law the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA), which builds upon certain United Nations Security Council resolutions by strengthening U.S. sanctions with respect to the Iranian energy industry and potentially imposes serious limits on a foreign financial institution’s access to the U.S. financial system if they engage in certain transactions involving Iran.

    by Andy Fernandez, June 09, 2011
  10. Protecting Your Company’s Intellectual Property Against Employee Claims

    Companies often pay close attention to certain methods for protecting their property, such as patents, trademarks and copyrights. These methods are extremely important and should always be considered as a part of a company’s overall strategy if they are available. Some companies, however, fail to take fairly easy steps that may provide substantial protection for [...]

    by Bob White, May 05, 2011
  11. Tax Court Decision May Create Double Taxation for Flight Crews on Trips Between Florida and Overseas

    South Florida is a center of international aviation. Miami airport is ranked second, and Fort Lauderdale is ranked fourteenth, among U.S. airports in terms of international passenger traffic. A U.S. Tax Court decision, however, has created turbulence in the legal climate concerning taxation of the flight crews that fly between Miami and Fort Lauderdale (and other U.S.) airports, and airports abroad.

    by Alan S. Lederman, April 19, 2011
  12. Lessons From the Epsilon Data Breach

    The recent Epsilon Data Management, LLC data breach showed the significant impacts of the accidental disclosure of personally identifiable information (“PII”) as well as the speed with which these events can occur.

    by Bob White, April 12, 2011
  13. IRS Increases Audits On Wealthy Taxpayers

    This is the time of year where taxpayers hold their breath hoping that they won’t be audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS is tired of being outgunned by sophisticated, high-priced tax lawyers, CPA’s and financial advisors, and they’ve taken steps to level the playing field by assembling a new army of auditors to target affluent taxpayers and scrutinize their finances.

    by Martin Press, April 06, 2011
  14. Time To Think About Growth Again

    The United States and Florida economies appear to be improving substantially. While there are significant lingering problems (e.g., high unemployment; depressed housing prices), for most of us things have gotten a lot more stable.

    by Bob White, March 29, 2011
  15. Financing Early Stage Companies – Dealing with the ‘New Normal’ Part ll

    A financing gap was created by venture capital and private equity firms that have shifted their investment focus to more established companies and are subjecting target companies to stricter investment criteria, especially in the financial area. The main contenders that I see working to fill this gap are business incubators, angel investors, “super angels” and seed capital funds.

    by Bob White, March 22, 2011
  16. Outside Financing for Early Stage Companies — Dealing with the ‘New Normal’

    We have recently experienced some of the worst financial and economic conditions that we (hopefully) will see in our lifetimes. Most of us have been touched personally by these conditions. Thankfully, it appears that things are improving, and that economic and financial conditions will continue to get better.

    by Bob White, March 04, 2011
  17. 2011-2012 Trends in Residential and Commercial Real Estate

    With economic indicators pointing to the beginning of a recovery, the real estate market is still lingering with an undetermined direction.  Existing home sales trickle higher, although home values continue to slide.  Commercial lending is available but with tighter lending restrictions and the flurry of real estate activity has not returned.  But we can see [...]

    by Daniel Mackler, February 28, 2011
  18. U.S. Banks Fear Loss of Foreign Deposits Due to Proposed IRS Regulation

    The IRS has proposed a regulation where banks must disclose foreigners’ interest income to the IRS, which could the share it with their homelands. Under current law, interest income earned by non-resident aliens on U.S. deposits is not currently subject to U.S. taxation. This brings up concerns about privacy and personal security to wealthy foreigners.

    by Clemente L. Vazquez-Bello, February 17, 2011
  19. Will Miami Be The New Technology Hub for Life Sciences?

    According to a recent article in Life Science Leader, the first phase of the University of Miami Life Science & Technology Park (UM-LSTP) is almost ready to open in the Miami health district. When completed, the UM-LSTP will be one of the largest medical footprints in the country.

    by Kevin M. Levy, February 03, 2011
  20. Growth Management In Florida in 2011:  Where are we going?

    Just about a month ago, Governor Rick Scott’s transition team recommended, among other things, that three of the largest state agencies be combined – The Department of Transportation (DOT), The Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

    by Brian Seymour, January 18, 2011
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