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#Business Tax Preparation Miami-Dade County
asengineering · 2 years
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New York City, Ny Laws
He concluded with a review of the NYC Building Code provisions for resilience. We offered Advanced Project Delivery companies including connection engineering and Tekla modeling for SL Green’s newly opened One Vanderbilt, an iconic Class A office tower in Midtown Manhattan, to assist the project meet its aggressive building goals. HyperloopTT has announced a monetary funding from Thornton Tomasetti, a leading global scientific and engineering consulting agency that gives specialized safety, safety and threat administration providers. To better serve our mission of bringing businesses and folks together to offer cross-disciplinary options for our group and our clients, BRAVO expanded its curiosity in industry acknowledged Skyline Engineering. This merger increases BRAVO’s sources to supply further numerous providers to shoppers in search of more than simple project execution. He offers technical investigations, analysis, reviews, and testimony towards the decision of non-public injury litigation, development...
A portion of the course features distinguished guest lecturers who are experts in a variety of the methods and applied sciences included. Students in the structural engineering concentration structural engineer nyc are required to take four core programs , and four structural programs . The remaining 6 Credits may be taken as 2 electives, one elective and a 3-Credit Project, or as a 6-Credit Thesis.
Lobbying your legislature is quite a unique expertise until you hire somebody to do it for you. We don't have the cash to attempt this at this point, so this might be probably the most unnatural and challenging task for us to complete ourselves. I assume it's priceless for us to pay attention as a gaggle on some things that we all have an interest in making extra widespread from state to state. Glendale’s classical repertory company A Noise Within commissioned a 33,000 sf three-story theater constructed within the footprint of a partially demolished Stuart Pharmaceutical Company, the landmark designed by Edward Durell Stone. The New World Center indeed creates a brand new world of music and light-weight, and is true at residence in South Beach. The 100,641-sq.-ft facility is the new state-of-the-art house of Miami’s New World Symphony and was constructed as part of the City Center Redevelopment Project in a public/private partnership with Miami Dade County and the City of Miami Beach.
GMS served as structural engineer for this new brand to establish their first property in the US at 1201 K Street NW in Washington, D.C. Designs construction to meet estimated load necessities, computing size, shape, strength, and sort of structural members, or performs structural evaluation of plans and buildings prepared by other engineers. ERI'scompensation dataare based mostly onsalary surveysconducted and researched by ERI. Cost of labordata in the Assessor Series are based mostly on precise housing sales knowledge from commercially out there sources, plus rental rates, gasoline prices, consumables, medical care premium prices, property taxes, efficient revenue tax rates, and so on. Structural Engineer - Entry-Level access_time Posted 2 days in the past account_balance Bala Consulting location_on New York Bala is seeking formidable degreed Structural Engineers who thrive on challenges and need to grow their career. The qualified candidate will have a BS in Civil Engineering and software knowledge together with ...
In the neighborhood, Conry is involved in quite a few fundraising occasions for the American Cancer Society. An avid runner, he has accomplished the New York City Marathon, the Long Island Gold Coast Triathlon, and several other half marathons. He has also participated in racing events benefitting charitable organizations, together with several Tough Mudder obstacle courses for the Wounded Warrior Project as properly as the annual Tunnel to Towers run. Conry is an energetic member of ASCE and the Structural Engineers Association of NY .
GMS additionally reviewed the support and design for the new metal framed floor flooring public seating space. Situated across the street from the High Line Park, 837 Washington Street is a six-story workplace and retail development designed by Morris Adjmi Architects and constructed by Sciame Construction for Thor Equities and Taconic Investment Partners. Gilsanz Murray Steficek , which served as structural design engineer, was intensely involved in the construction part and offered particular inspection companies together with steel erection and structural safety. The constructing is a model new torquing tower that rises out of an existing two-story Art Moderne type brick warehouse in-built 1938, which was once a part of the Gansevoort Market.
My private time has been devoted to my spouse and youngsters but when I have some further time will play a spherical of golf or hit some spares within the bowling alley. I am also an avid chess player which provides me the brain enhance when making an structural engineer nyc attempt to think about an answer for a project. And, any chance I have to discover the wild great factor about Utah, Colorado, or Wyoming, I take it. I hold sane with scorching yoga and caring for my two giant malamutes, Togo and Daenerys.
The lecture lined kinds of bolts, welds, connections, and failures, in addition to inspection requirements for maintaining quality management of development. Jennifer Lan was a panelist on an EERI Technical Case Studies Webinar, during which audio system who carried out reconnaissance following the September 19, 2017 Puebla-Morelos earthquake introduced geotechnical and structural case research. Jennifer’s presentation described the reconnaissance methodology and provided an in-depth analysis of building efficiency, utilizing two buildings that were broken in the course of the earthquake as case research.
The structural engineer of record shall retain sole responsibility for the structural design. The actions and stories of the structural peer reviewer shall not relieve the structural engineer of document of this accountability. STRUCTURAL, a licensee of STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES’ engineered services and products, integrates technology-driven solutions into its industry-leading repair structural engineer nyc and upkeep services to make constructions stronger and last longer. Determining how and why something fails structurally is a service that's usually known as upon by house owners, architects, contractors, attorneys, insurance coverage agents, and numerous different design professionals.
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Economy
Hialeah, Florida has an unemployment rate of 4.2% compared to the US average of 3.9%. The city has seen the job market increase by 0.8% over the last year with predicted future job growth of 35.7% over the next ten years. This is higher compared to the US average of 33.5%. The sales tax rate for Hialeah is 7.0% compared to the US average of 7.3% while the income tax rate is 0.0% compared to the US average of 4.6%. The average income of a Hialeah resident is $14,148 a year compared to the US average of $28,555 a year while the median household income of a Hialeah resident is $29,959 a year compared to the US average of $53,482 a year.
Attention Miami homeowners: Your homestead exemption tax forms are going out today
If you became a homeowner in 2019, or if you sold your property or turned it into a rental, check your mailbox starting today. Read more here.
Miami, Florida residents who bought new homes in 2019 may claim up to a $50,000 homestead exemption on their primary residence. The Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser is sending out 15,000 homestead exemption forms via snail mail to new homeowners in the county, as well as 413,000 exemption renewal forms to existing homeowners. The first $25,000 of the exemption applies to all taxing authorities while the second $25,000 excludes school board taxes and applies to properties with assessed values greater than $50,000. If you rented out your home or sold it in 2019, you are required to notify the Property Appraiser by signing the cancellation portion of the form and mail it to the Office of the Property Appraiser, 111, NW First Street, Suite 710, Miami FL 33128 by Monday, March 2, 2020.
Curtiss Mansion in Hialeah, FL
The Glenn H. Curtiss Mansion and Gardens was built in 1925 and was the home of famed aviator Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his wife. It is located at 500 Deer Run in Miami Springs, Florida, on the northern edge of Miami International Airport. This enchanting estate has recently been restored and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It features unique architecture and tropical landscaping which include a lush shaded grove, a charming bridge, and a lovely stone archway. The historic estate can be rented out by the public for the celebration of various events and occasions.
The enrolled agents at Miami Tax Expert handle all types of tax cases big and small. They have represented hundreds of clients before the IRS and their goal is to make the process as stress-free as possible. They see to it that their clients save as much money as they can on their annual tax returns and take a personalized approach to ensure that their tax returns are prepared accurately, efficiently, and on-time. So if you have unfiled tax returns, pending audits, unpaid taxes, or tax levies disrupting your life and your business, let them help you. Call them now at 305-810-8509.
Link to maps
Sixt Rent A Car International Airport, 3900 NW 25th St, Miami, FL 33142, United States
Get on FL-953 N/NW 42nd Ave/S Le Jeune Rd from Rental Car Center 4 min (0.9 mi)
Continue on FL-953 N/NW 42nd Ave/S Le Jeune Rd. Take US-27 N/E Okeechobee Rd to Hialeah Dr in Hialeah 6 min (2.1 mi)
Miami Tax Expert 110 Hialeah Dr, Hialeah, FL 33010, United States
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easyfoodnetwork · 4 years
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Can Restaurants Survive Shutting Down Again?
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Restaurants may close again | Ben Gabbe/Getty Images
Closing dining rooms once cost a lot of money, but closing twice could be even worse
At Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours in Atlanta, masked servers whisk plates draped in plastic to socially distanced tables separated by plastic screens, all beneath the hum of a ventilation system upgraded with UV filtration. Excess tables and chairs, including all bar seating, have been removed. An employee at the door provides complimentary masks to customers who arrive without them.
Twisted Soul chef and owner Deborah VanTrece has gone above and beyond recommended safety measures, a stark contrast to leadership in Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp allowed restaurants to return to full indoor capacity on June 16, and the state has since seen surges in COVID-19 cases. VanTrece has provided a safer space at Twisted Soul, but it’s come at a cost: $5,000 to sanitize the building and install filtration systems, over $3,000 on partitions, daily costs for masks and hand sanitizer, and the emotional burden of dealing with combative customers who refuse to wear masks.
Those costs have forced VanTrece to consider closing the dining room and returning entirely to carryout, but sacrificing dine-in business doesn’t seem financially feasible either. The longer she and the team can hold out, the better the restaurant’s chances of surviving in the coming months, no matter how the health crisis unfolds.
“We’re praying we can keep going with the dining room open, but we’re also trying to prepare ourselves for the possibility that that might not be the reality,” VanTrece says. While daily costs of operating a COVID-era restaurant are significant, she describes dining room service as a financial Band-Aid. “It doesn’t cover the whole wound, but we’re not bleeding as quickly.”
VanTrece is just one of many chefs and restaurant owners across the country facing a second closure, either by choice or government mandate, amid rebounding cases of COVID-19. Officials in some areas have rolled back reopening plans and closed dining rooms. Other cities and states could follow if the pandemic continues unchecked.
View this post on Instagram
Here’s a look at some of the precautions we are taking to keep you safe while dining with us! Each table has been carefully placed six feet apart and is enclosed with partitioning screens. We have also installed a UV filtration system in our air conditioning unit that will be continuously cleaning all air that circulates throughout the dining room. We look forward to seeing you soon! ❤️
A post shared by Twisted Soul (@twistedsoulcookhouse) on Jun 17, 2020 at 8:19am PDT
In New York, where Mayor Bill de Blasio nixed plans to allow indoor dining in June, Popina co-owner James O’Brien fears a second closure could be a death knell. After closing the restaurant’s dining room on March 25, he says the team tried focusing on takeout for about a week. But delivery didn’t provide enough business for the pasta-heavy outfit, especially since the restaurant operates delivery through its own website rather than a third-party platform. Like other restaurateurs turned grocers, the Popina team shifted toward offering pantry goods (including a cook-at-home pasta kit) and wine from their closed dining room.
Since the restaurant’s backyard reopened on June 24, 90 percent of business has come from outdoor dining, providing a glimmer of hope that the business can survive. If the restaurant can make enough money during the summer, before shutting down the patio sometime in the fall or winter, O’Brien says he might take a pay cut, reduce staff, and offer takeout through third parties to keep the restaurant going. But if an order to shut down comes sooner, he says Popina might close completely.
“The reality is, if we could bank enough money in the summer, when October and November come around, one of our options is close again until March of next year,” O’Brien says, though he admits that’s an emergency scenario since it would be incredibly difficult for staff laid off in the middle of winter. He considered asking his landlord to defer rent, but ultimately decided against it, since the deferred payments could land on the restaurant during an even worse period later in the year. For now, he’s maximizing profits while the sun is shining.
The situation is even bleaker for bars that drive business through drinks, like Cuban-inspired cocktail bar Palomar in Portland, Oregon. Owner Ricky Gomez began seating guests on the building’s rooftop on June 2, but for him, the economics don’t make sense for takeout. Unlike Oregon’s neighboring states, a state statute prohibits bars from selling to-go cocktails, and the Oregon Liquor Commission can’t override the law with a temporary measure. A solution would have to come from the state legislature in a special session, followed by Gov. Kate Brown’s signature.
“We do only 35 percent food revenue compared to alcohol revenue,” Gomez says. “With third-party vendors taking a large portion, we didn’t think it was financially viable for us to open up for to-go food solely.”
He’s currently relying on a PPP loan, which will see the business through until August. “If we’re shut down after that time, we would have to go back to our landlords to see about having them waive rent. If they did not, we would close for good,” he says. He points out that if he had spent his loan money immediately, the bar would already be closed. Like O’Brien, Gomez fears winter will be especially devastating without further assistance. “You’re going to see a second wave of closures in January and February. There’s a lot right now, but I think the second wave is actually going to be much worse because there isn’t the buffer of the PPP as well.”
Tumblr media
Courtesy of Palmoar
Palomar rooftop seating
That fear is already guiding Gomez’s decisions, including about how many staff members to employ. With limited capacity on the rooftop, he could only bring back a fraction of his workers in order to remain profitable and build a financial buffer against closing outdoor seating in the future.
“I basically had to call staff members a second time and tell them we did not have a position for them. It felt like we had to lay them off twice,” he says. “Personally that’s the biggest gut-wrencher: laying people off twice that have done nothing wrong.” That experience could foreshadow what’s to come for many managers and owners if they have to shut dining rooms or outdoor dining.
Across town, the situation looks significantly different for Deepak Kaul, chef-owner at Bhuna. Pre-COVID, much of the Indian restaurant’s business came from downtown office workers during lunch. That business has dried up completely, Kaul says, and the restaurant hasn’t seen much interest since opening an outdoor dining area in late June.
“We’re not seeing any massive change here on our revenue. Maybe it’s too soon to tell, but there’s no ‘Holy smoke, we’re back in the game.’ We’re still down 50 percent if not more,” Kaul says. His customers remain wary about dining out, and he blames a few cavalier people who refuse to wear masks for scaring off would-be diners.
“I’m kind of hoping they do shut us down again, honestly. It’s a waste of my money and my time [to offer outdoor dining],” Kaul says. He would rather focus on delivery, where the restaurant has always had a strong presence.
Takeout is murkier for a restaurant like Riel in Houston, where Gov. Greg Abbott recently scaled back reopening following a virus surge. Following COVID-19 outbreaks at nearby restaurants, Riel recently closed temporarily to test the entire staff. (All the tests came back negative.) Yet even for a team willing to close to ensure customer and staff safety, shuttering the dining room for months isn’t an option as long as other businesses remain open to seat guests.
Ryan LaChaine, executive chef and partner, says Riel saw booming takeout business right after the state shut dining rooms in March. But as more restaurants pivoted to delivery, competition increased and sales dropped. When Gov. Abbott allowed restaurants to reopen at 25 percent indoor capacity, the Riel team held off, waiting until they could seat 50 percent inside. Others leapt to open as soon as they could.
“A lot of restaurants did open at 25 percent and then that hurt the to-go business even more because people could go out,” LaChaine says. “We don’t have the luxury of shutting down and waiting this out. We have rent. We have taxes. I have a staff that depends on a paycheck.”
The recent temporary closure at least proved the Riel team could shut down safely and quickly without too much waste, since the restaurant has operated with tighter inventory since reopening. Other owners also feel better positioned to close should they need to do so. O’Brien admits that when the team was cleaning out the Popina dining room during the first shutdown, he threw away a lot of inventory that could have been sanitized, a mistake he won’t make again.
Tumblr media
Courtesy of Popina
Popina take-home pasta kits
Still, shutting down again could be just as frenetic as the first time if the order comes suddenly, as it did in California, or is complicated by conflicting statements, as happened in Miami-Dade County. Owners can monitor news to stay ready, but it’s ultimately impossible to fully prepare.
“We’re trying to be proactive, but it’s tough when there’s not a lot of leadership and a lot of guidance,” LaChaine says. “You want to know how to cook something? I can tell you that. You want to know what to do in a pandemic? I really have no idea.”
That unpredictability is causing a lot of anxiety for restaurant owners, even those like Mashelle Sykes, who foresaw the possibility of closing down again after reopening for indoor dining. Sykes runs Fusion Flare Kitchen and Cocktails in Detroit, where rising numbers of COVID-19 cases make it tough to plan for the future.
“People are a little afraid now because the numbers have gone back up,” she says. “They are confused. A lot of them are choosing not to eat in because of the risks.” Businesses may lose even more customers to confusion as cities and states rapidly announce new changes to public health policy.
That foreboding atmosphere only adds pressure to make the most of indoor and outdoor dining while they’re still available. As O’Brien puts it, “With all this uncertainty, how do we make the most money right now in the most responsible way?”
Rather than wait for the situation to change further, Kaul is considering getting ahead of the devastation. He doubts many downtown Portland offices will ever return, with employees working remotely for years to come, so he may drop lunch service altogether and stick to takeout in the evenings. “If you run lean, you survive. If you can’t run lean, you’re done,” he says. Gomez also foresees long-term problems for restaurant business. While the PPP program provides a short-term fix, he’s hoping government officials can get together on long-term tax breaks and other financial aid, as well as loosening regulations like those on to-go alcohol that prevent the industry from evolving.
As restaurants stare down a winter season that could foster another wave of COVID-19 cases, which may force even the most unwilling states to close dining rooms, most owners and chefs focus on the day-to-day. They need to squeeze the summer season for all the revenue they can.
“Right now, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel if I can keep the dining room open,” VanTrece says. “With each day, with each month we’re still here, we consider ourselves blessed we’ve done the right thing.”
from Eater - All https://ift.tt/32J85Bd https://ift.tt/3hqW07T
Tumblr media
Restaurants may close again | Ben Gabbe/Getty Images
Closing dining rooms once cost a lot of money, but closing twice could be even worse
At Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours in Atlanta, masked servers whisk plates draped in plastic to socially distanced tables separated by plastic screens, all beneath the hum of a ventilation system upgraded with UV filtration. Excess tables and chairs, including all bar seating, have been removed. An employee at the door provides complimentary masks to customers who arrive without them.
Twisted Soul chef and owner Deborah VanTrece has gone above and beyond recommended safety measures, a stark contrast to leadership in Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp allowed restaurants to return to full indoor capacity on June 16, and the state has since seen surges in COVID-19 cases. VanTrece has provided a safer space at Twisted Soul, but it’s come at a cost: $5,000 to sanitize the building and install filtration systems, over $3,000 on partitions, daily costs for masks and hand sanitizer, and the emotional burden of dealing with combative customers who refuse to wear masks.
Those costs have forced VanTrece to consider closing the dining room and returning entirely to carryout, but sacrificing dine-in business doesn’t seem financially feasible either. The longer she and the team can hold out, the better the restaurant’s chances of surviving in the coming months, no matter how the health crisis unfolds.
“We’re praying we can keep going with the dining room open, but we’re also trying to prepare ourselves for the possibility that that might not be the reality,” VanTrece says. While daily costs of operating a COVID-era restaurant are significant, she describes dining room service as a financial Band-Aid. “It doesn’t cover the whole wound, but we’re not bleeding as quickly.”
VanTrece is just one of many chefs and restaurant owners across the country facing a second closure, either by choice or government mandate, amid rebounding cases of COVID-19. Officials in some areas have rolled back reopening plans and closed dining rooms. Other cities and states could follow if the pandemic continues unchecked.
View this post on Instagram
Here’s a look at some of the precautions we are taking to keep you safe while dining with us! Each table has been carefully placed six feet apart and is enclosed with partitioning screens. We have also installed a UV filtration system in our air conditioning unit that will be continuously cleaning all air that circulates throughout the dining room. We look forward to seeing you soon! ❤️
A post shared by Twisted Soul (@twistedsoulcookhouse) on Jun 17, 2020 at 8:19am PDT
In New York, where Mayor Bill de Blasio nixed plans to allow indoor dining in June, Popina co-owner James O’Brien fears a second closure could be a death knell. After closing the restaurant’s dining room on March 25, he says the team tried focusing on takeout for about a week. But delivery didn’t provide enough business for the pasta-heavy outfit, especially since the restaurant operates delivery through its own website rather than a third-party platform. Like other restaurateurs turned grocers, the Popina team shifted toward offering pantry goods (including a cook-at-home pasta kit) and wine from their closed dining room.
Since the restaurant’s backyard reopened on June 24, 90 percent of business has come from outdoor dining, providing a glimmer of hope that the business can survive. If the restaurant can make enough money during the summer, before shutting down the patio sometime in the fall or winter, O’Brien says he might take a pay cut, reduce staff, and offer takeout through third parties to keep the restaurant going. But if an order to shut down comes sooner, he says Popina might close completely.
“The reality is, if we could bank enough money in the summer, when October and November come around, one of our options is close again until March of next year,” O’Brien says, though he admits that’s an emergency scenario since it would be incredibly difficult for staff laid off in the middle of winter. He considered asking his landlord to defer rent, but ultimately decided against it, since the deferred payments could land on the restaurant during an even worse period later in the year. For now, he’s maximizing profits while the sun is shining.
The situation is even bleaker for bars that drive business through drinks, like Cuban-inspired cocktail bar Palomar in Portland, Oregon. Owner Ricky Gomez began seating guests on the building’s rooftop on June 2, but for him, the economics don’t make sense for takeout. Unlike Oregon’s neighboring states, a state statute prohibits bars from selling to-go cocktails, and the Oregon Liquor Commission can’t override the law with a temporary measure. A solution would have to come from the state legislature in a special session, followed by Gov. Kate Brown’s signature.
“We do only 35 percent food revenue compared to alcohol revenue,” Gomez says. “With third-party vendors taking a large portion, we didn’t think it was financially viable for us to open up for to-go food solely.”
He’s currently relying on a PPP loan, which will see the business through until August. “If we’re shut down after that time, we would have to go back to our landlords to see about having them waive rent. If they did not, we would close for good,” he says. He points out that if he had spent his loan money immediately, the bar would already be closed. Like O’Brien, Gomez fears winter will be especially devastating without further assistance. “You’re going to see a second wave of closures in January and February. There’s a lot right now, but I think the second wave is actually going to be much worse because there isn’t the buffer of the PPP as well.”
Tumblr media
Courtesy of Palmoar
Palomar rooftop seating
That fear is already guiding Gomez’s decisions, including about how many staff members to employ. With limited capacity on the rooftop, he could only bring back a fraction of his workers in order to remain profitable and build a financial buffer against closing outdoor seating in the future.
“I basically had to call staff members a second time and tell them we did not have a position for them. It felt like we had to lay them off twice,” he says. “Personally that’s the biggest gut-wrencher: laying people off twice that have done nothing wrong.” That experience could foreshadow what’s to come for many managers and owners if they have to shut dining rooms or outdoor dining.
Across town, the situation looks significantly different for Deepak Kaul, chef-owner at Bhuna. Pre-COVID, much of the Indian restaurant’s business came from downtown office workers during lunch. That business has dried up completely, Kaul says, and the restaurant hasn’t seen much interest since opening an outdoor dining area in late June.
“We’re not seeing any massive change here on our revenue. Maybe it’s too soon to tell, but there’s no ‘Holy smoke, we’re back in the game.’ We’re still down 50 percent if not more,” Kaul says. His customers remain wary about dining out, and he blames a few cavalier people who refuse to wear masks for scaring off would-be diners.
“I’m kind of hoping they do shut us down again, honestly. It’s a waste of my money and my time [to offer outdoor dining],” Kaul says. He would rather focus on delivery, where the restaurant has always had a strong presence.
Takeout is murkier for a restaurant like Riel in Houston, where Gov. Greg Abbott recently scaled back reopening following a virus surge. Following COVID-19 outbreaks at nearby restaurants, Riel recently closed temporarily to test the entire staff. (All the tests came back negative.) Yet even for a team willing to close to ensure customer and staff safety, shuttering the dining room for months isn’t an option as long as other businesses remain open to seat guests.
Ryan LaChaine, executive chef and partner, says Riel saw booming takeout business right after the state shut dining rooms in March. But as more restaurants pivoted to delivery, competition increased and sales dropped. When Gov. Abbott allowed restaurants to reopen at 25 percent indoor capacity, the Riel team held off, waiting until they could seat 50 percent inside. Others leapt to open as soon as they could.
“A lot of restaurants did open at 25 percent and then that hurt the to-go business even more because people could go out,” LaChaine says. “We don’t have the luxury of shutting down and waiting this out. We have rent. We have taxes. I have a staff that depends on a paycheck.”
The recent temporary closure at least proved the Riel team could shut down safely and quickly without too much waste, since the restaurant has operated with tighter inventory since reopening. Other owners also feel better positioned to close should they need to do so. O’Brien admits that when the team was cleaning out the Popina dining room during the first shutdown, he threw away a lot of inventory that could have been sanitized, a mistake he won’t make again.
Tumblr media
Courtesy of Popina
Popina take-home pasta kits
Still, shutting down again could be just as frenetic as the first time if the order comes suddenly, as it did in California, or is complicated by conflicting statements, as happened in Miami-Dade County. Owners can monitor news to stay ready, but it’s ultimately impossible to fully prepare.
“We’re trying to be proactive, but it’s tough when there’s not a lot of leadership and a lot of guidance,” LaChaine says. “You want to know how to cook something? I can tell you that. You want to know what to do in a pandemic? I really have no idea.”
That unpredictability is causing a lot of anxiety for restaurant owners, even those like Mashelle Sykes, who foresaw the possibility of closing down again after reopening for indoor dining. Sykes runs Fusion Flare Kitchen and Cocktails in Detroit, where rising numbers of COVID-19 cases make it tough to plan for the future.
“People are a little afraid now because the numbers have gone back up,” she says. “They are confused. A lot of them are choosing not to eat in because of the risks.” Businesses may lose even more customers to confusion as cities and states rapidly announce new changes to public health policy.
That foreboding atmosphere only adds pressure to make the most of indoor and outdoor dining while they’re still available. As O’Brien puts it, “With all this uncertainty, how do we make the most money right now in the most responsible way?”
Rather than wait for the situation to change further, Kaul is considering getting ahead of the devastation. He doubts many downtown Portland offices will ever return, with employees working remotely for years to come, so he may drop lunch service altogether and stick to takeout in the evenings. “If you run lean, you survive. If you can’t run lean, you’re done,” he says. Gomez also foresees long-term problems for restaurant business. While the PPP program provides a short-term fix, he’s hoping government officials can get together on long-term tax breaks and other financial aid, as well as loosening regulations like those on to-go alcohol that prevent the industry from evolving.
As restaurants stare down a winter season that could foster another wave of COVID-19 cases, which may force even the most unwilling states to close dining rooms, most owners and chefs focus on the day-to-day. They need to squeeze the summer season for all the revenue they can.
“Right now, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel if I can keep the dining room open,” VanTrece says. “With each day, with each month we’re still here, we consider ourselves blessed we’ve done the right thing.”
from Eater - All https://ift.tt/32J85Bd via Blogger https://ift.tt/2OIJ94G
0 notes
economicplus · 4 years
Text
USA We've been flooded with thousands of reader questions on coronavirus. We're answering them.
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An epidemiologist answers the biggest questions she's getting about coronavirus. Wochit As the coronavirus pandemic continues to shut down daily life across the globe, thousands of our readers across the nation have asked us questions about COVID-19. And we're answering them. For basic facts about the virus – what it is, how it spreads and where it's located – you can get caught up by reading our in-depth explainer here. We've also debunked some viral coronavirus myths.  But you're curious and continue to ask important questions via our newsletter, Coronavirus Watch. (Not a newsletter subscriber? Sign up for it here!) So below, you can find answers to questions such as: Is it OK to be outside? How old are people who are dying in the U.S.? Is it safe to get carry-out food? If you don't see an answer you're looking for, check out our newest Q&A where we talk about UV radiation, antibodies, cats and more.  What else would you like to know? Ask us by filling out the form you can find here.
USA Can UV radiation from the sun kill the virus?
– Charlie from Dade City, Florida Experts have advised against using concentrated UV light to prevent or treat the coronavirus and do not recommend going in the sunlight to kill the virus. Only levels of concentration of UV light much higher than what is found in sunlight can kill viruses, the experts note, and the levels that are able to kill viruses can cause irritation to human skin and should be avoided. Neither sunlight or UV light is listed as a preventative measure on the websites of the World Health Organization or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fact check: Sunlight does not kill the new coronavirus
USA My primary income is from rentals. If my tenants are unable to pay their rent, what kind of relief is available to me?
– Vicki from Santa Rosa, California Trump in March signed the largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history. The stimulus provides forbearance on mortgage payments for up to a year but just for federally-backed loans. Some states and banks are also issuing relief for other types of mortgages. Once forbearance ends, borrowers would have to work out a repayment plan or loan modification with the mortgage servicer, the National Housing Law Project says. Still, several states are granting moratoriums to renters but not owners, potentially forcing owners to pay their mortgage, utilities, taxes and other costs even though they have less rental income.
USA Is it true that everyone who is on unemployment due to COVID-19 will receive an additional $600 a week as part of the stimulus package?
– Hannah from Canton, Ohio  The stimulus package expands unemployment insurance benefits. If you've lost your job because of the outbreak, you will see your weekly state insurance benefits – which average about $400 – increased by $600 for four months. And if you are still unemployed after state benefits end, you could get an additional 13 weeks of help.
USA What are the results so far with the tests of the Z-Pak and malaria med, hydroxychloroquine?
– Pat from Alexandria, Virginia There are no approved therapies or drugs to treat COVID-19. Anecdotal reports suggest that a known anti-malarial (hydroxychloroquine) combined with a common antibiotic (azithromycin, sold as Zithromax and Z-Pak) may offer some benefit in the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. A very small study in France of just a couple dozen patients found some evidence that the combination was effective in fighting COVID-19. A subsequent study of 80 patients in France found clinical improvement in all but one. Studies in China have suggested similar results. Researchers have warned that the drugs can have risky side effects and could cause subtle heart changes and increase a person's risk of developing arrhythmia.  Clinical trials of the drug combination began in New York on March 24, and the FDA on March 29 granted emergency use of hydroxychloroquine by hospitals. Several other clinical trials are in the works, according to ClinicalTrials.gov. But it's still too early to say whether the drugs are effective.
USA How many people have recovered from the virus?
– Stephanie from Mt Pleasant, South Carolina More than 191,000 people worldwide have recovered from the virus as of Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Most of the recoveries have been in China, followed by Spain, Germany, Italy and Iran. Of the more than 203,000 confirmed cases in the U.S., more than 8,000 have recovered.
USA Will families who receive food stamps be eligible for the stimulus check?
– Renda from Miami, Florida Yes, families who receive food stamps are eligible to receive a stimulus check! The $2 trillion stimulus plan includes one-time payments of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child, $367 billion for small businesses, $500 billion for loans to larger industries, $100 billion for hospitals and the health care system, and $600 more per week in unemployment benefits for those out of work.  Here's how you can calculate the amount of stimulus money your household can expect.
USA Is the virus a DNA molecule protected by a thin layer of fat that will disintegrate if that fat layer is removed outside your body?
– Rita in Las Vegas, Nevada SARS-CoV-2 particles are spherical bundles of genetic material (RNA) surrounded by a fatty outer layer (lipids) with proteins called spikes protruding from the surface. These spikes latch onto receptor proteins on human cells in the lungs and other tissues and change the structure of those human cells, allowing the viral genes to enter the host cell to be copied, producing more viruses. Viruses need a host to "survive," and the fat layer breaks down when it is out on its own in the environment. Preliminary researc h suggests that the virus is stable outside the body for different periods of time, depending on the climate and surface. You can "kill" the virus using soap, extreme heat and ultraviolet light, and each attacks a different part of this virus structure. Soap breaks up the fatty outer layer. Heat breaks up the protein spikes. And UV light breaks up the genes inside.
USA Has anyone with preexisting conditions gotten the coronavirus and survived?
– Dee from Arlington, Texas Yes, many people have. While the risk for serious disease and death from COVID-19 is higher in people who are older or who have certain preexisting conditions, thousands have survived. Data from the CDC published Tuesday found that, as of March 28, the U.S. reported 2,692 patients who had one or more underlying health conditions. Of those patients, 173 died. This limited data suggests that thousands of people who have one or more underlying health conditions have not died. Moreover, a February WHO study of more than 70,000 coronavirus patients in China found that people with preexisting conditions had higher fatality rates than those without preexisting conditions: 13.2% for those with cardiovascular disease, 9.2% for diabetes, 8.4% for hypertension, 8.0% for chronic respiratory disease, and 7.6% for cancer. However, those figures suggest that large percentages of people with preexisting conditions survived.
USA Can coronavirus be transmittedthrough secondhand smoke?
– David from Columbus, Georgia "It’s not the main mode of transmission. There's probably some component of airborne, but I don’t think secondhand smoke would be a compounding factor," said Tania Elliott, clinical instructor of infectious diseases at NYU Langone. If the smoke irritates your lungs and causes you to cough, that poses a greater risk of transmission since the virus is thought to mainly spread through respiratory droplets when someone coughs or sneezes, Elliot said. Smokers are likely to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 as the act of smoking means that fingers and possibly dirty cigarettes are in contact with lips, according to the WHO. Smokers may also already have lung disease or reduced lung capacity which would greatly increase risk of serious illness, the WHO says. While data is still evolving about how long the virus may remain alive, a recent study found that viable virus could be detected up to three hours later in the air.
USA Is cross-country road travel advisable to destinations outside of COVID-19 'hot spots'?
– Roland from Albuquerque, New Mexico The White House is asking Americans to stay home as much as possible to slow the spread of the virus, and some states and local governments have issued "stay home" and "shelter-in-place" orders. "I don’t think now’s the time to do it," Elliott said. "If you have a house somewhere else, that's fine. But I wouldn’t recommend being in hotels or crowded public settings. If you want take a road trip and go camping, there's risk associated with that."
USA Can you catch the virus from people who've died?
– Nikki from Albany, Georgia The main way the virus is thought to spread is through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and this is not a concern after death, according to the CDC. But people should consider not touching the body of someone who has died of COVID-19, the CDC says. There is no known risk associated with being in the same room at a funeral or visitation service with the body of someone who died of COVID-19, the CDC says. Kissing, washing and shrouding should be avoided before, during and after the body has been prepared, if possible. But holding the hand or hugging after the body has been prepared for viewing may pose less of a risk, the CDC says. CLOSE
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Reviewed editor-in-chief David Kender shares creative ways to keep your kids engaged while you're stuck at home. USA TODAY
USA What is the value of testing for the coronavirus if there is currently no treatment?
– Linda from Brevard County, Florida There is value to getting tested because there are many reasons why someone would seek medical care for their symptoms, and ruling out the coronavirus is helpful in seeking other causes, said Jason Christie, chief of pulmonary medicine at Penn Medicine. "The biggest problem is we don’t have a quick and reliable test right now. Without that, we have to be smart and ration the testing to those people that need them most. So don’t go out and get tested right now unless you’re sick," Christie said. Testing also helps health officials figure out how prevalent and contagious a virus is.
USA Is it safe to get groceries during senior shopping hour?
– Pamela from Wellsville, Pennsylvania Acknowledging that older adults and persons with underlying health conditions are more susceptible to COVID-19, a growing number of stores are dedicating time or opening earlier for senior shoppers and other at-risk groups. But Elliott says she doesn't advise it. "That gives a false sense of security," she said. "By encouraging older people with chronic diseases to go out at a dedicated time, you're still exposing them to a bunch of other people, and if one person in that crowd is infected, then the virus will spread." Elliott said she'd rather see stores limiting the number of people who can enter during a given time period so that there are fewer people in the store. She also encourages healthy people to do the shopping.
USA Can the virus be transmitted through the mail? Should I stop sending greeting cards?
– Pam from Seven Lakes, North Carolina The chances of transmission through your mail is very low, Elliott says. "Parts of the virus can fall on surfaces and survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours. But you have to have pretty good conditions for that to happen. So the likelihood would be very small, even with no precautions," she said. Elliott advises people to put their mail down on a plastic plate instead of directly on a counter top or table, to use a letter opener, and to wash hands thoroughly after touching the mail. Research on how long a virus may live on surfaces is evolving. The CDC has said there is likely very low risk of transmission of COVID-19 from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks "because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces." A recent study found that viable virus could be detected up to three hours later in the air, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. But a subsequent report from the CDC found that genetic material from the virus can live on surfaces for more than two weeks.
USA Are plastic grocery bags considered the plastic that you have to wait hours to touch?
– Elizabeth from Greenfield, Indiana You should take precaution with any containers, Elliott says. "The plastic grocery bags I’d throw out right away, wash your hands and then clean your food. Chances (of infection) are low," she said. "But better yet, bring your own bags! It’s better for the environment anyway."
USA They keep saying stay isolated for two weeks. But what happens after the two weeks?
– Al from Topeka, Kansas Officials suggest self-quarantining for two weeks if you've had exposure to somebody with the virus and might be infected. It's a way to monitor if symptoms develop and, at the same time, avoid any possible spread to others. Since the incubation period for the virus is up to 14 days, you're "cleared" for the virus after two weeks, Elliott said. After that, you still need to practice social distancing.
USA Is it advantageous for a younger healthy person to get the coronavirus to build immunity to it?
– Danny from Sundance, Wyoming No, for several reasons, says Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. While a protective antibody is generated in those who are infected, scientists are not yet sure whether that immunity will last for a short period of time, for years or for life. Some say the possibility of reinfection is very likely. Moreover, a new federal health report says Americans of all ages have faced serious health complications amid the outbreak. Data from the CDC show that among the roughly 12% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. known to need hospitalizations, about 1 in 5 were among people ages 20 to 44. Anywhere from 14% to 21% of adults ages 20 to 44 with COVID-19 have been hospitalized, the CDC data estimates. Two to 4% of cases led to ICU admissions, and less than 1% were fatal. Finally, it's important to avoid getting and spreading the virus. While the young may not be the most at risk, they're carrying the disease to those who are more vulnerable, such as older people and those with underlying conditions. Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, on Wednesday urged "the millennial generation" to take special precautions. "You have the potential to spread it," she said.
USA Does getting pneumonia shots given to elderly people help if you get this virus?
– Linda from Hendersonville, Tennessee Vaccines against pneumonia, such as pneumococcal vaccine and Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine, do not provide protection against the new coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization. The vaccines simply guard against those specific bacterial infections. The COVID-19 virus can, in fact, cause pneumonia, but the vaccines cannot prevent this pneumonia.
USA I see people in my neighborhood out running, riding bikes and walking their dogs. Is that OK?
– Patti from Carmel, Indiana Yes, that's OK! Just be sure to maintain distance from other people. The CDC recommends a distance of about 6 feet. Even in states and counties where residents are being asked to stay home or "shelter in place," it's still fine to go for a run, hike or do other outdoor activities, as long as proper social distancing is observed. Just don't be like Chicago, where city officials closed trails and parks after crowds of hundreds of people were seen congregating along the city’s lakefront. Remember: The White House recommends that you should avoid social gatherings involving more than 10 people, as well as all non-essential travel, shopping trips and social visits. Social distancing: Why it's so important to stopping the spread of coronavirus  CLOSE
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Social distancing matters. Here is how to do it and how it can help curb the COVID-19 pandemic. USA TODAY
USA Are there any projections to estimate the spread of COVID-19 and a timeline of its passing?
– Dennis from Las Vegas Yes, there are many projections, but scientists say they all hinge on how people behave. That's why it's essential to social distance and do what you can to prevent spread. A conservative USA TODAY analysis based on data from the American Hospital Association, U.S. Census, CDC and WHO estimates that 23.8 million Americans could contract COVID-19, leaving almost six seriously ill patients for every existing hospital bed. Another analysis finds that America’s trajectory of community spread is trending toward Italy’s, where circumstances are dire. One researcher at the Global Center for Health Security estimated last month that as many as 96 million Americans could be infected. The U.S. population on March 27 is estimated at 329 million. The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security estimated that 38 million Americans will need medical care for COVID-19. The CDC's worst-case-scenario is that about 160 million to 210 million Americans will be infected by December. Under this forecast, 21 million people would need hospitalization and 200,000 to 1.7 million could die by the end of the year. Outside the U.S., leaked British documents projected that a coronavirus outbreak could rage until spring 2021. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said 60% to 70% of her country's population could eventually become infected. USA TODAY analysis: America's coronavirus 'curve' may be at its most dangerous point
USA Is it safe to get carry-out food?
– Debby from Omena, Michigan The CDC and WHO have not issued formal guidance on carry-out food. While the CDC says that there is no evidence to support transmission associated with food, a person may get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own face. The virus can, for example, survive on cardboard up to 24 hours, according to a recent study. The issue of carry-out food also raises concerns about the risk couriers are facing by interacting with customers during their shifts. That's why some companies are now offering "contactless" delivery options that help people maintain social distancing by allowing couriers to ring the doorbell and leave the package outside. Study finds: Coronavirus can live in the air for hours and on surfaces for days CLOSE
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It's vital to clean surfaces you touch every day amid the coronavirus outbreak. Here are mistakes to avoid. USA TODAY
USA How soon after exposure can you test positive?
– Pam from Easton, Maryland There's no specific data on this question yet, according to Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group. However, we do know that someone infected with the virus may begin showing symptoms anywhere between one and 14 days after catching the virus, most commonly around five days, according to the WHO. "The peak viral shedding occurs during the first five days after the onset of symptoms. My guess is that within a few days of being exposed, these patients are beginning to shed virus," Poland said. A recent report from the CDC studying an outbreak at a care home in Washington State found that among 23 residents who tested positive for the virus, 13 were asymptomatic. Within a week, 10 of those 13 developed symptoms, with onset at 3 days.
USA Do the symptoms for COVID-19 come together or can you have separate symptoms showing up at different times?
– Carlos from Los Angeles The most common symptoms are fever, tiredness and dry cough, according to the WHO. Shortness of breath is also among the most common symptoms, according to the CDC. In most cases where symptoms present, those symptoms come together, Hotez said. "Usually it presents with fever and cough, or fever, cough, and shortness of breath," he said. "It might present with one of those symptoms first, but then it rapidly progresses to the others." Some patients also have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. Some people do not have symptoms at all. A New York neurosurgeon is warning people against looking out for fever as the first tell-tale symptom of the virus. His symptoms began with a little bit of congestion and only later progressed to a fever, body aches and chills. More on testing: Coronavirus test swabs aren't your standard Q-tips, and they're running out as testing ramps up
USA How do you actually die from the coronavirus? What happens?
– Catherine from Carson City, Nevada In some cases, the virus ultimately damages tiny air sacs in the lungs, restricting oxygen to the bloodstream and depriving other major organs – including the liver, kidney and brain – of oxygen. Severe cases of coronavirus: Some result in brain damage, inability to walk In a small number of severe cases, that can develop into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which requires a patient be placed on a ventilator to supply oxygen.  However, if too much of the lung is damaged and not enough oxygen is supplied to the rest of the body, respiratory failure could lead to organ failure and death. Here's what that looks like inside the body.
USA What is the age range of U.S. deaths from COVID-19?
– Becky from Bentonville, Arkansas In the U.S., ages range from an infant less than one year old to people in their 90s, according to state and local health departments. The Illinois Department of Public Health said Saturday that an infant coronavirus patient younger than one year old in Chicago had died. An investigation was underway to determine the cause of death. "There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant," department Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said. This week health officials also reported that a 17-year-old teen in New Orleans died after contracting the virus. And a 2-month-old in Nashville who tested positive for the virus could be the youngest patient in the nation, officials say. However, this range is not conclusive because health officials have not released the specific ages of several other patients, and new deaths are being reported each day.
USA If a person is sick with the coronavirus and gets tested for the flu, would the flu test be positive?
– Antonio from Patchogue, New York No, the presence of the coronavirus would not turn a flu test positive. However, it's possible to have both the coronavirus and the flu at the same time. In that case, the flu test would be positive. The opposite is also true: Presence of the flu would not result in a positive coronavirus test. It's important to note that, even if someone tests negative for the coronavirus, they still may be infected with the coronavirus. CLOSE
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We answer the often searched question: "What are the symptoms of coronavirus versus the flu?" USA TODAY
USA I was told I should be tested if I could not easily inhale a large breath and hold it for at least 10 seconds. Is this good advice?
–Ted from Scottsdale, Arizona No. While shortness of breath is among the most common symptoms of the virus, according to the CDC, that diagnosis does not necessarily involve holding a large breath for 10 seconds. Medically known as dyspnea, shortness of breath is often described as "an intense tightening in the chest, air hunger, difficulty breathing, breathlessness or a feeling of suffocation," according to the Mayo Clinic. If you think you may be sick, call your doctor and follow CDC guidance.
USA Can masks be reused by an infected person or used only once?
– Debra from Dayton, Ohio The longer a mask is used and the more damp it becomes, the less effective it is, Poland said. "But it is definitely better than the alternative of no mask!" Contributing: Molly Stellino, Adrianna Rodriguez, Dalvin Brown, Marco della Cava, Jayme Fraser and Matt Wynn Follow Grace Hauck on Twitter @grace_hauck Autoplay Show Thumbnails Show Captions Last SlideNext Slide Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/03/19/coronavirus-reader-questions-death-age-flu-symptoms-food-timeline/2863776001/ Read the full article
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kbcpagroup-blog · 4 years
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How Much Will it Cost to Hire an Accountant to Do My Taxes?
The cost of recruiting a professional chartered accountant to do your taxes differs depending on your circumstance and what tax forms you are in need to file. The normal expense of recruiting a certified public accountant (CPA) to plan and present a Form 1040 and state get back with no ordered allowances is $176, while the normal charge for a separated Form 1040 and a state tax return is $273. If you are independently employed and need to recruit a CPA to set up an ordered Form 1040 with a Schedule C and a state tax return Form, the average charge increases to $457.1 It is important to remember that these are the normal expenses; the cost will contrast if parts of your tax filings are under extraordinary cases and take more time for the accountant to finish. In these conditions, accountants may charge you more in consultation fees and extra time work. Read More: IRS problem resolution West Palm Beach County
Preferences of Hiring a Tax Professional
When you pay a professional to do your taxes, you are getting the additional advantage of various different services, including accounting, tax consultation, record-keeping, and auditing. You can likewise employ an accountant who has a specific specialization, for instance, If you own a small company or live abroad. A few professionals are generalists, however, regardless, it is essential to recruit somebody with a level of experience.
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Accountants can give help with working up a powerful accounting system to precisely and advantageously evaluate productivity, screen costs, and costs, control financial plans and conjecture future hypothesis patterns. Accountants can likewise talk with their customers on tax-related issues, for example, tax consistency and guidelines and strategies for a tax decrease.In addition, accountants can think of precise review reports, budget summaries, and other bookkeeping documentation required by government guideline and loaning organizations. At the day’s end, employing an accountant can be the beginning of a productive relationship with a financial consultant. They will find out about your business or family financial records and goals, and they can offer significant guidance and individual tax decrease proposals and answers to critical questions whenever the year. Read More: Federal Stimulus FAQ
Your decision about whether to enlist a professional or document your own taxes with the assistance of accounting software should be founded on how agreeable you are with numbers, your knowledge of basic tax rules, and how much time you are eager to spend. When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) became effective on January 1, 2018, it rolled out some general improvements to the tax code. Specifically, there were many changes made to organized allowances. This has made recording taxes more convoluted, in any event, for those acquainted with the tax code.
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If you fall inside a specific level of pay or are a senior resident, you may fit the bill for tax recording help. Starting in 2020, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) gives free tax preparation services to individuals who acquire $56,000 or less every year. Likewise, If you are age 60 or more seasoned, you may fit the bill with the expectation of free tax preparation services through Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) and the AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide programs.
If you want to know more about the income taxes Preparing service you can contact KB CPA Group. KB CPA Group is the best Tax Advisors in West Palm Beach County, Broward County & Miami-Dade County. For more information call us at 9545109188 or visit our website.
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bjblawyerscom · 6 years
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Broward County Estate Planning Attorneys
Estate planning in Broward County does not have to be a stressful situation. When you find the right Broward County estate planning attorneys, you will be expertly guided through the process of creating any legal documents you need to provide you and your family with peace of mind.
Some of the services we provide our clients include the preparation of the following:
Will
Power of Attorney
Revocable Living Trust
Irrevocable Trust
Health Care Surrogate
Based in Coral Springs, FL, Brodzki Jacobs & Brook helps individuals, families, and businesses throughout Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade Counties get their affairs in order. Our caring and professional staff of attorneys will help you determine what documents you need.
Why Do I Need to Speak to an Estate Planning Attorney?
Even if you do not have much in the way of assets, there are many reasons why speaking to an estate planning attorney is important:
If you have children, you want to determine who will take care of them if something should happen to you. The only way to ensure that your wishes are carried out is by arranging this legally in advance.
If you do have any assets, you will want to avoid was it called an inheritance tax or estate tax. Without the proper documents in place, your heirs could wind up paying a significant amount of the money you leave them to the government.
In addition to avoiding heavy taxation, it is also important to complete the necessary documents to avoid your estate going into probate. What is probate? Probate is a court-supervised process of determining what will be done with your assets should you die without completing the necessary documents. You can avoid a lengthy and costly legal battle for your heirs by handling all your legal and financial matters in advance.
Advance planning helps you determine what will happen to you should you become incapacitated and unable to speak for yourself. Designating a health care surrogate allows you to decide who will handle your medical needs.
Do you have certain assets you want to give to specific people? If so, designating that in advance will help avoid conflict after you are gone.
Our Broward County estate planning attorneys can help you complete all the necessary documents to protect your loved ones after you are gone. Whether you live in Parkland, Fort Lauderdale, Coconut Creek, Miami, Boca Raton, or anywhere else in South Florida, we can help.
Let Our Professional Team of Broward County Estate Planning Attorneys Protect You
There is no way to know what the future will bring. Waiting until you are older to get your affairs in order is not always the wise move. Accidents and unexpected illnesses happen. The goal is to be prepared in advance for what we hope will never occur. Speaking with one of our experienced estate planners can give you the peace of mind you need that your loved ones will be protected in an emergency. You will be able to designate an executor of estate rather than leave it up to the courts.
For more information, contact our Broward County estate planning attorneys at Brodzki Jacobs & Brook to discuss your options. We are here to provide answers to your questions. Contact us at (954) 344-7737.
The post Broward County Estate Planning Attorneys appeared first on Brodzki Jacobs & Brook.
from Brodzki Jacobs & Brook https://bjblawyers.com/blog/broward-county-estate-planning-attorneys/
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easyfoodnetwork · 4 years
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Restaurants may close again | Ben Gabbe/Getty Images Closing dining rooms once cost a lot of money, but closing twice could be even worse At Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours in Atlanta, masked servers whisk plates draped in plastic to socially distanced tables separated by plastic screens, all beneath the hum of a ventilation system upgraded with UV filtration. Excess tables and chairs, including all bar seating, have been removed. An employee at the door provides complimentary masks to customers who arrive without them. Twisted Soul chef and owner Deborah VanTrece has gone above and beyond recommended safety measures, a stark contrast to leadership in Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp allowed restaurants to return to full indoor capacity on June 16, and the state has since seen surges in COVID-19 cases. VanTrece has provided a safer space at Twisted Soul, but it’s come at a cost: $5,000 to sanitize the building and install filtration systems, over $3,000 on partitions, daily costs for masks and hand sanitizer, and the emotional burden of dealing with combative customers who refuse to wear masks. Those costs have forced VanTrece to consider closing the dining room and returning entirely to carryout, but sacrificing dine-in business doesn’t seem financially feasible either. The longer she and the team can hold out, the better the restaurant’s chances of surviving in the coming months, no matter how the health crisis unfolds. “We’re praying we can keep going with the dining room open, but we’re also trying to prepare ourselves for the possibility that that might not be the reality,” VanTrece says. While daily costs of operating a COVID-era restaurant are significant, she describes dining room service as a financial Band-Aid. “It doesn’t cover the whole wound, but we’re not bleeding as quickly.” VanTrece is just one of many chefs and restaurant owners across the country facing a second closure, either by choice or government mandate, amid rebounding cases of COVID-19. Officials in some areas have rolled back reopening plans and closed dining rooms. Other cities and states could follow if the pandemic continues unchecked. View this post on Instagram Here’s a look at some of the precautions we are taking to keep you safe while dining with us! Each table has been carefully placed six feet apart and is enclosed with partitioning screens. We have also installed a UV filtration system in our air conditioning unit that will be continuously cleaning all air that circulates throughout the dining room. We look forward to seeing you soon! ❤️ A post shared by Twisted Soul (@twistedsoulcookhouse) on Jun 17, 2020 at 8:19am PDT In New York, where Mayor Bill de Blasio nixed plans to allow indoor dining in June, Popina co-owner James O’Brien fears a second closure could be a death knell. After closing the restaurant’s dining room on March 25, he says the team tried focusing on takeout for about a week. But delivery didn’t provide enough business for the pasta-heavy outfit, especially since the restaurant operates delivery through its own website rather than a third-party platform. Like other restaurateurs turned grocers, the Popina team shifted toward offering pantry goods (including a cook-at-home pasta kit) and wine from their closed dining room. Since the restaurant’s backyard reopened on June 24, 90 percent of business has come from outdoor dining, providing a glimmer of hope that the business can survive. If the restaurant can make enough money during the summer, before shutting down the patio sometime in the fall or winter, O’Brien says he might take a pay cut, reduce staff, and offer takeout through third parties to keep the restaurant going. But if an order to shut down comes sooner, he says Popina might close completely. “The reality is, if we could bank enough money in the summer, when October and November come around, one of our options is close again until March of next year,” O’Brien says, though he admits that’s an emergency scenario since it would be incredibly difficult for staff laid off in the middle of winter. He considered asking his landlord to defer rent, but ultimately decided against it, since the deferred payments could land on the restaurant during an even worse period later in the year. For now, he’s maximizing profits while the sun is shining. The situation is even bleaker for bars that drive business through drinks, like Cuban-inspired cocktail bar Palomar in Portland, Oregon. Owner Ricky Gomez began seating guests on the building’s rooftop on June 2, but for him, the economics don’t make sense for takeout. Unlike Oregon’s neighboring states, a state statute prohibits bars from selling to-go cocktails, and the Oregon Liquor Commission can’t override the law with a temporary measure. A solution would have to come from the state legislature in a special session, followed by Gov. Kate Brown’s signature. “We do only 35 percent food revenue compared to alcohol revenue,” Gomez says. “With third-party vendors taking a large portion, we didn’t think it was financially viable for us to open up for to-go food solely.” He’s currently relying on a PPP loan, which will see the business through until August. “If we’re shut down after that time, we would have to go back to our landlords to see about having them waive rent. If they did not, we would close for good,” he says. He points out that if he had spent his loan money immediately, the bar would already be closed. Like O’Brien, Gomez fears winter will be especially devastating without further assistance. “You’re going to see a second wave of closures in January and February. There’s a lot right now, but I think the second wave is actually going to be much worse because there isn’t the buffer of the PPP as well.” Courtesy of Palmoar Palomar rooftop seating That fear is already guiding Gomez’s decisions, including about how many staff members to employ. With limited capacity on the rooftop, he could only bring back a fraction of his workers in order to remain profitable and build a financial buffer against closing outdoor seating in the future. “I basically had to call staff members a second time and tell them we did not have a position for them. It felt like we had to lay them off twice,” he says. “Personally that’s the biggest gut-wrencher: laying people off twice that have done nothing wrong.” That experience could foreshadow what’s to come for many managers and owners if they have to shut dining rooms or outdoor dining. Across town, the situation looks significantly different for Deepak Kaul, chef-owner at Bhuna. Pre-COVID, much of the Indian restaurant’s business came from downtown office workers during lunch. That business has dried up completely, Kaul says, and the restaurant hasn’t seen much interest since opening an outdoor dining area in late June. “We’re not seeing any massive change here on our revenue. Maybe it’s too soon to tell, but there’s no ‘Holy smoke, we’re back in the game.’ We’re still down 50 percent if not more,” Kaul says. His customers remain wary about dining out, and he blames a few cavalier people who refuse to wear masks for scaring off would-be diners. “I’m kind of hoping they do shut us down again, honestly. It’s a waste of my money and my time [to offer outdoor dining],” Kaul says. He would rather focus on delivery, where the restaurant has always had a strong presence. Takeout is murkier for a restaurant like Riel in Houston, where Gov. Greg Abbott recently scaled back reopening following a virus surge. Following COVID-19 outbreaks at nearby restaurants, Riel recently closed temporarily to test the entire staff. (All the tests came back negative.) Yet even for a team willing to close to ensure customer and staff safety, shuttering the dining room for months isn’t an option as long as other businesses remain open to seat guests. Ryan LaChaine, executive chef and partner, says Riel saw booming takeout business right after the state shut dining rooms in March. But as more restaurants pivoted to delivery, competition increased and sales dropped. When Gov. Abbott allowed restaurants to reopen at 25 percent indoor capacity, the Riel team held off, waiting until they could seat 50 percent inside. Others leapt to open as soon as they could. “A lot of restaurants did open at 25 percent and then that hurt the to-go business even more because people could go out,” LaChaine says. “We don’t have the luxury of shutting down and waiting this out. We have rent. We have taxes. I have a staff that depends on a paycheck.” The recent temporary closure at least proved the Riel team could shut down safely and quickly without too much waste, since the restaurant has operated with tighter inventory since reopening. Other owners also feel better positioned to close should they need to do so. O’Brien admits that when the team was cleaning out the Popina dining room during the first shutdown, he threw away a lot of inventory that could have been sanitized, a mistake he won’t make again. Courtesy of Popina Popina take-home pasta kits Still, shutting down again could be just as frenetic as the first time if the order comes suddenly, as it did in California, or is complicated by conflicting statements, as happened in Miami-Dade County. Owners can monitor news to stay ready, but it’s ultimately impossible to fully prepare. “We’re trying to be proactive, but it’s tough when there’s not a lot of leadership and a lot of guidance,” LaChaine says. “You want to know how to cook something? I can tell you that. You want to know what to do in a pandemic? I really have no idea.” That unpredictability is causing a lot of anxiety for restaurant owners, even those like Mashelle Sykes, who foresaw the possibility of closing down again after reopening for indoor dining. Sykes runs Fusion Flare Kitchen and Cocktails in Detroit, where rising numbers of COVID-19 cases make it tough to plan for the future. “People are a little afraid now because the numbers have gone back up,” she says. “They are confused. A lot of them are choosing not to eat in because of the risks.” Businesses may lose even more customers to confusion as cities and states rapidly announce new changes to public health policy. That foreboding atmosphere only adds pressure to make the most of indoor and outdoor dining while they’re still available. As O’Brien puts it, “With all this uncertainty, how do we make the most money right now in the most responsible way?” Rather than wait for the situation to change further, Kaul is considering getting ahead of the devastation. He doubts many downtown Portland offices will ever return, with employees working remotely for years to come, so he may drop lunch service altogether and stick to takeout in the evenings. “If you run lean, you survive. If you can’t run lean, you’re done,” he says. Gomez also foresees long-term problems for restaurant business. While the PPP program provides a short-term fix, he’s hoping government officials can get together on long-term tax breaks and other financial aid, as well as loosening regulations like those on to-go alcohol that prevent the industry from evolving. As restaurants stare down a winter season that could foster another wave of COVID-19 cases, which may force even the most unwilling states to close dining rooms, most owners and chefs focus on the day-to-day. They need to squeeze the summer season for all the revenue they can. “Right now, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel if I can keep the dining room open,” VanTrece says. “With each day, with each month we’re still here, we consider ourselves blessed we’ve done the right thing.” from Eater - All https://ift.tt/32J85Bd
http://easyfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/can-restaurants-survive-shutting-down.html
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rickhorrow · 6 years
Text
10 to watch 102918
This year’s World Series and the World Champion Boston Red Sox reveal one thing: money talks. According to the Wall Street Journal, both the Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers are proof of the “cold reality” that money really does matter in professional baseball. The Red Sox have reached the “third and highest tier of luxury tax spending, investing more than $237 million in payroll” this season, while no other team in the league comes even close to that. And despite reaching the last two but not winning a World Series in over three decades, the Dodgers “have spent about $1.4 billion in salaries to claim the last six NL West crowns.” The Red Sox, who bested the Dodgers 4-1 this Series, had the league’s highest payroll, thanks to their iconic venue, deeply-rooted fan base, and an RSN deal valued at more than $8 billion. The Dodgers had the third biggest payroll in the majors. Both of these elite clubs epitomize the current state of MLB; smaller market teams will continue to struggle without the right financial investments going forward.
The World Series just ended, but MLB is already looking toward next season. According to SportsBusiness Journal, the league will roll out a series of innovative programs aimed at helping players “who are interested in being out there, interested in marketing themselves, but making it easy for them to do.” Social media will be a big area of focus in the offseason, according to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. “The trick with players is that things are authentic,” said Manfred. “What we put on social media through our accounts may be really good but when you add the players’ input or their take on what has happened on social media, it’s way more important to our fans.” The league will be providing players with highlights next season by allowing them to simply grab the content and repost it on their pages. MLB still struggles with youth engagement and decreasing levels of participation — the social media push is a step in the right direction to make baseball “cool” again.
Midway through the NFL season, Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium is working to finalize most of its Super Bowl details. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Super Bowl LIII on February 3 will have ultra cheap concessions prices compared to past events and other NFL games. The stadium’s “much-publicized” food and beverage prices will not change for the Super Bowl; hot dogs will still cost $2, soft drinks and popcorn will still be refillable, and more. Stadium officials noted that they "stipulated in Atlanta’s Super Bowl contract that concession prices would remain the same as at Falcons games and other stadium events.” The league is still deciding whether or not it would be possible to play the game with the sunflower-shaped roof open. “Open-or-closed is going to change the dynamics of a few things — some of our halftime stuff, some of our pregame stuff,” said NFL VP of Event Operations and Production Jon Barker. “All of that will go into consideration, but…from an NFL standpoint we would love to see it open.” Just like NFL fans will love to see those cheap food and beer prices come February 3.
FIFA’s fear of white elephant stadiums is already being realized in Russia following the 2018 World Cup. According to the Guardian, after recently surpassing the 100 day mark since France beat Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup Final, soccer has had a mixed impact on the host nation. Attendance in the Russian Premier League, Russia’s top soccer flight, is “up somewhat” from where it was before the World Cup. Regarding World Cup arenas, there "have been some early success stories” — stadiums in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Rostov are all "posting strong figures for the Russian Premier League season,” but others have already started to falter. The brand new €257 million Kaliningrad Stadium, which hosted only four World Cup matches, the $779 million Fisht Stadium in Sochi, constructed for the 2014 Olympics, and the $450 million Kazan Arena all "appear set to fulfill dire predictions” with a lack of attractive football being offered. This dilemma, of course, is not unique to the World Cup, as the potential for orphaned sports facilities has caused many cities across the globe to withdraw from Olympic and other mega event bids.
Top high school basketball players are starting to get a lot more creative with their professional development plans in the wake of the NCAA scandal that tore through college basketball. According to the New York Times, top prospect Darius Bazley will not attend college or play in the NBA G League: he will intern for New Balance. Bazley signed a multiyear shoe contract with the company guaranteeing him $1 million regardless of how his career pans out, but that could be worth up to $14 million if he “reaches all performance incentives.” Last March, Bazley de-committed from Syracuse so that he could wait out his one year in the G League before declaring for the 2019 NBA Draft, but those plans have changed. Bazley is now preparing to move to Boston in early January, where he is “expected to spend time with New Balance’s marketing department, digital and social teams, footwear and apparel design arms and the company’s sports laboratory in Lawrence.” This could be an invaluable long term experience for Bazley and other players following in his footwear footsteps – if he actually commitments to do the work and learn.
With only one year left on the Miami Heat’s current naming rights deal with American Airlines, Miami-Dade County has taken over talks regarding a new naming sponsor. According to the Miami Herald, the original deal, struck between the NBA franchise and American Airlines was signed back in the 1990s, creates a scenario in which the county “receives almost no revenue from the $2 million that American pays the Heat each year.” Consultants hired by the county expect the value of a new naming rights deal for the arena to be worth at least triple compared to where it currently stands. American Airlines has already reached out to Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez regarding an extension to the deal, but the county is intent on evaluating all potential options. In taking control of the situation, the county “must pay the Heat an additional $2 million annually starting in 2020 to make up for the money the team currently receives from American Airlines.” Presumably, the county will make much more than that from a new deal.
Los Angeles might be the second biggest city in the U.S., but it still might not be able to hold two NFL franchises. According to JohnWallStreet, team owners from around the league took the chance to voice their concern regarding the Chargers’ long-term viability in Los Angeles at the recent league meetings. The biggest concern remains the team’s fan base. With a plethora of empty seats at home games at StubHub Arena, an MLS stadium, many fear that the situation will become even more dire once the team moves into its new Inglewood stadium in 2020. “The franchise draws a league low 25,370 fans (many of them rooting for the visiting team) to its temporary home in Carson and is struggling to sell SSLs for their new stadium,” though the Rams will own the venue. The Charger’s franchise value has continued to grow over the past few years, going from $1.525 billion in 2015 to $2.275 billion in 2018, though the Chargers have failed to win consistently and still lack an identity in their new home. Not helping the Chargers’ situation with L.A. football fans is the phenomenal success this season of the crosstown Rams, who at 8-0 remain the only unbeaten team in the NFL after their victory over Green Bay on Sunday.
Despite pulling his bid to buy Wembley Stadium, Shahid Khan has done an incredible job elevating the Jacksonville Jaguars’ profile across the Atlantic. The Jaguars just completed their annual game in London, going up against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, and have come to call the city their second home. Appearing on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” ahead of the matchup, Khan pointed out that at one point his club ranked "31 out of 32 teams on fan recognition outside the U.S.,” but the Jags now rank much lower on that list. “I had a number of people telling me that our ticket…other than the Wimbledon men's final, was the most sought-after ticket this year in London,” said Khan. Hosting an annual game overseas and forgoing one of the team’s eight designated home games at their stadium might seem like a poor financial strategy, but in doing so the team has been able to boost local revenue, increase sponsorship value, and negate “some of the financial challenges associated with being in one of the league’s smallest markets.”
When the NFL agreed to pay out $1 billion in a settlement to victims of CTE, former players who suffered from the condition likely figured they were set for a significant payday. According to USA Today, as payments are starting to trickle out, some recipients “have been stunned to find they may receive just pennies on the dollar of what they're owed, likely setting off another spate of frustrating court battles.” One example of this is former NFL players Ralph Goldston, whose family had been notified of a $160,000 award coming from the settlement; that number dropped all the way down to negative $737 after deductions and “holdbacks,” including “thousands the court has kept in case the family owes money for Goldston's medical bills.” Goldston is just one of the 700 approved players to receive settlement money, though 20,000 players were involved in the suit. Some are blaming the league for this while others are blaming the lawyers who sought to take a percentage of the money despite their minimal work.
MLS is expected to join the likes of the EPL and Serie A in 2019 by adding sleeve sponsors. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Union Chief Business Officer Tim McDermott confirmed the news, saying that it is “something that the league is evaluating.” The Union, which currently have Bimbo Bakeries inked as their primary kit sponsor, previously said that they would entertain the idea of also using Bimbo as their sleeve sponsor, but favored using the logo of one of their subsidiary brands for their sleeve sponsor. “If you think about it from the standpoint of a company like Bimbo that has a lot of different brands, you can see how that can have a lot of value for them,” said McDermott. Under the league’s expected rules, clubs would not be allowed to use the same sponsor for both the chest and sleeve spots. A recent report emerged noting that D.C. United’s potential sleeve sponsorship value sits at around $500,000 to $1 million. Those numbers could either be the benchmark for MLS or, thanks to the likes of Wayne Rooney and a brand new stadium backing the club, could surpass the league average.
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juditmiltz · 7 years
Text
South Florida counties come together to woo Amazon
Amazon HQ rendering and Jeff Bezos
As cities across the country prepare their bids for Amazon.com’s second headquarters, South Florida’s three counties are coming together to submit one proposal.
The Beacon Council in Miami-Dade, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance in Broward and the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County will put together a joint bid, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine sent a letter to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, boasting the region’s advantages on Wednesday, including its “zero state income tax” and a “mild climate with an 82 degree average temperature.” Other pluses include transportation options like Brightline, multiple international airports, and colleges and universities.
Good Morning @JeffBezos How about NW Broward for your 2nd Headquarters? https://t.co/XDYpUnS3JE … @lbarszewski @IanMargol @BrittanyWallman
— Michael Udine (@Michaeludine) September 20, 2017
Amazon’s checklist for the second headquarters includes low taxes, incentives, proximity to mass transit and “presence and support of a diverse population.” The company plans to have phase 1, a building with more than 500,000 square feet, completed by 2019. After 2027, its footprint will grow to up to 8 million square feet. Amazon plans to give priority to undeveloped, shovel-ready greenfield sites and infill opportunities.
The Seattle-based company plans to build in a major metropolitan area, within 45 minutes of an airport, near quality universities, and with a population of over 1 million people. Amazon is also looking to target engineers and others in the tech sector. Bids for the second campus are due by Oct. 19. Cities like Los Angeles, Orlando and Chicago have already announced their plans to enter the race. [Sun-Sentinel] — Katherine Kallergis
from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2017/09/21/south-florida-counties-come-together-to-woo-amazon/ via IFTTT
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elizabethcariasa · 7 years
Text
IRS Irma tax relief echoes that given Harvey victims
Aside from the damage that hurricanes cause, one of the biggest problems is that they often, especially in September, effectively come back to back.
Hurricanes Katia, Irma and Jose (left to right) lined up earlier in September. (National Hurricane Center radar image)
That's what happened with Hurricane Irma. The angry sister of Hurricane Harvey walloped all of Florida three weeks after coastal Texas was gut-punched by Harvey's historic flooding. The back-to-back U.S. landfalls was a first for Category 4 storms.
The only good news here, at least tax-wise, is that the Internal Revenue Service has a Harvey template for Irma relief and it's following it.
Special consideration for Irma victims: The agency announced today that tax relief for Hurricane Irma victims in parts of Florida and elsewhere parallels that granted last month to victims of Hurricane Harvey. This means that Sunshine State et al taxpayers have until Jan. 31, 2018, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments.
This includes an additional filing extension for taxpayers with valid extensions that run out on Oct. 16, and businesses with extensions that run out on Sept. 15.
"This has been a devastating storm for the Southeastern part of the country, and the IRS will move quickly to provide tax relief for victims, just as we did following Hurricane Harvey," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in a statement announcing the tax relief for those affected by Irma.
"The IRS will continue to closely monitor the storm's aftermath, and we anticipate providing additional relief for other affected areas in the near future," added the commissioner.
So far, the tax hurricane-related tax considerations apply to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as qualifying for individual assistance.
Just one of the homes on Puerto Rico destroyed by Hurricane Irma. (Photo by Yuisa Rios via FEMA)
This currently includes parts of Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, specifically the following:
Florida: Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Duval, Flagler, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Putnam, Sarasota and St. Johns Counties
Puerto Rico: municipalities of Culebra and Vieques
U.S. Virgin Islands: islands of St. John and St. Thomas
Note also the effective dates of the IRS relief, which are when Irma hit the various areas. That's various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on Sept. 4, 2017, in Florida and Sept. 5, 2017, in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Taxpayers in other parts of Florida and other states that are later added to the FEMA list will automatically receive the same filing and payment relief, says the IRS.
More filing — not paying — time: So practically, what does the IRS' Irma action mean? For individuals who in April got extra time to file their 2016 tax returns, they now have almost five more months to complete this filing task.
But as in the Harvey case, remember that when you got your extension earlier this year, you should have paid any due tax by April 18. If you didn't, the IRS is continuing to tally penalties and interest on what you owe.
The extra filing time also covers the last two 2017 estimated tax payments that are due Sept. 15 and Jan. 16, 2018.
Retirement money access also eased: As it did with Harvey, the IRS today also eased rules regarding loans and hardship distributions from 401(k)s and similar workplace retirement plans for Hurricane Irma victims.
This broad-based relief means that a retirement plan can allow a victim of Hurricane Irma to take a hardship distribution or borrow up to the specified statutory limits from his/her retirement plan.
It also means that a person who lives outside the disaster area can take out a retirement plan loan or hardship distribution and use it to assist a son, daughter, parent, grandparent or other dependent who lived or worked in the disaster area.
Business breaks, too: As for businesses, the Jan. 31, 2018, extension applies to businesses that got filing extensions originally due in by the end of this week.
Other affected business deadlines that are extended include the Oct. 31 deadline for quarterly payroll and excise tax returns. In these cases, the IRS is waiving late-deposit penalties for federal payroll and excise tax deposits normally due during the first 15 days of the disaster period.
Also, calendar-year tax-exempt organizations whose 2016 extensions run out on Nov. 15 now have until Jan. 31 of next year to file those.
Automatic relief: Again, as with Harvey tax help, those dealing with taxes in the aftermath of Irma don't have to ask for this special treatment.
The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer whose address of record with the tax agency is in the disaster area.
If, however, you are eligible for special Hurricane Irma relief and still get an IRS late filing or late payment penalty notice, call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.
The IRS also says it will work with taxpayers who live outside the disaster area, but who need records located in the disaster zone to meet a now-delayed deadline.
Similarly, if you qualify for relief but live outside the disaster area need to contact the IRS toll-free at 866-562-5227. This includes relief and recovery workers who are in the Irma affected areas as part of a recognized government or philanthropic organization.
Tax claim time shifting: Not to run this tax reminder into the ground, but since Irma has been declared a major disaster, taxpayers in those designated areas have a choice on when to claim any uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses on their taxes.
You can claim them as an itemized deduction on the tax return for the year the disaster occurred, which in this case would be the 2017 filing submitted next year. Or you can claim them on your prior year tax return, which is the 2016 filing.
For most folks who choose the prior-year claim, this means you must amend that Form 1040. But if you got an extension to file your 2016 forms, you now have until Jan. 31, 2018, to do that and, if it works out better for your taxes, to claim your 2017 Irma damage on that 2016 Form 1040 Schedule A.
More disaster info: IRS Publication 547 has more on claiming casualty losses, as does this Tax Tip with specifics on disaster loss claims.
You also can find details on available storm-related tax matters at:
IRS' disaster relief Web page,
FEMA's Hurricane Irma special Web page,
USA.gov's Irma disaster resources page,
DisasterAssistance.gov's overview of government-wide disaster recovery efforts and
my Storm Warnings collection of links to posts on preparing for, recovering from and helping those dealing with major natural disasters like Irma.
Yeah, that's a lot of tax stuff to think about in addition to simply trying to put your pre-hurricane real life and home back together. 
Take your time, especially since the IRS is giving you more of it, and make the best decisions for your family, finances and taxes.
You also might find these items of interest:
Form 4684, a disaster victim's best friend
When the storm's over, don't forget to claim possible tax help for your losses
Home basis, not market value, key amount in calculating disaster loss tax claim
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0 notes
christophergill8 · 7 years
Text
IRS Irma tax relief echoes that given Harvey victims
Aside from the damage that hurricanes cause, one of the biggest problems is that they often, especially in September, effectively come back to back.
Hurricanes Katia, Irma and Jose (left to right) lined up earlier in September. (National Hurricane Center radar image)
That's what happened with Hurricane Irma. The angry sister of Hurricane Harvey walloped all of Florida three weeks after coastal Texas was gut-punched by Harvey's historic flooding. The back-to-back U.S. landfalls was a first for Category 4 storms.
The only good news here, at least tax-wise, is that the Internal Revenue Service has a Harvey template for Irma relief and it's following it.
Special consideration for Irma victims: The agency announced today that tax relief for Hurricane Irma victims in parts of Florida and elsewhere parallels that granted last month to victims of Hurricane Harvey. This means that Sunshine State et al taxpayers have until Jan. 31, 2018, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments.
This includes an additional filing extension for taxpayers with valid extensions that run out on Oct. 16, and businesses with extensions that run out on Sept. 15.
"This has been a devastating storm for the Southeastern part of the country, and the IRS will move quickly to provide tax relief for victims, just as we did following Hurricane Harvey," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in a statement announcing the tax relief for those affected by Irma.
"The IRS will continue to closely monitor the storm's aftermath, and we anticipate providing additional relief for other affected areas in the near future," added the commissioner.
So far, the tax hurricane-related tax considerations apply to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as qualifying for individual assistance.
Just one of the homes on Puerto Rico destroyed by Hurricane Irma. (Photo by Yuisa Rios via FEMA)
This currently includes parts of Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, specifically the following:
Florida: Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Duval, Flagler, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Putnam, Sarasota and St. Johns Counties.
Puerto Rico: municipalities of Culebra and Vieques
U.S. Virgin Islands: islands of St. John and St. Thomas.
Note also the effective dates of the IRS relief, which are when Irma hit the various areas. That's various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on Sept. 4, 2017, in Florida and Sept. 5, 2017, in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Taxpayers in other parts of Florida and other states that are later added to the FEMA list will automatically receive the same filing and payment relief, says the IRS.
More filing — not paying — time: So practically, what does the IRS' Irma action mean? For individuals who in April got extra time to file their 2016 tax returns, they now have almost five more months to complete this filing task.
But as in the Harvey case, remember that when you got your extension earlier this year, you should have paid any due tax by April 18. If you didn't, the IRS is continuing to tally penalties and interest on what you owe.
The extra filing time also covers the last two 2017 estimated tax payments that are due Sept. 15 and Jan. 16, 2018.
Business breaks, too: As for businesses, the Jan. 31, 2018, extension applies to businesses that got filing extensions originally due in by the end of this week.
Other affected business deadlines that are extended include the Oct. 31 deadline for quarterly payroll and excise tax returns. In these cases, the IRS is waiving late-deposit penalties for federal payroll and excise tax deposits normally due during the first 15 days of the disaster period.
Also, calendar-year tax-exempt organizations whose 2016 extensions run out on Nov. 15 now have until Jan. 31 of next year to file those.
Automatic relief: Again, as with Harvey tax help, those dealing with taxes in the aftermath of Irma don't have to ask for this special treatment.
The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer whose address of record with the tax agency is in the disaster area.
If, however, you are eligible for special Hurricane Irma relief and still get an IRS late filing or late payment penalty notice, call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.
The IRS also says it will work with taxpayers who live outside the disaster area, but who need records located in the disaster zone to meet a now-delayed deadline.
Similarly, if you qualify for relief but live outside the disaster area need to contact the IRS toll-free at 866-562-5227. This includes relief and recovery workers who are in the Irma affected areas as part of a recognized government or philanthropic organization.
Tax claim time shifting: Not to run this tax reminder into the ground, but since Irma has been declared a major disaster, taxpayers in those designated areas have a choice on when to claim any uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses on their taxes.
You can claim them as an itemized deduction on the tax return for the year the disaster occurred, which in this case would be the 2017 filing submitted next year. Or you can claim them on your prior year tax return, which is the 2016 filing.
For most folks who choose the prior-year claim, this means you must amend that Form 1040. But if you got an extension to file your 2016 forms, you now have until Jan. 31, 2018, to do that and, if it works out better for your taxes, to claim your 2017 Irma damage on that 2016 Form 1040 Schedule A.
More disaster info: IRS Publication 547 has more on claiming casualty losses, as does this Tax Tip with specifics on disaster loss claims.
You also can find details on available storm-related tax matters at:
IRS' disaster relief Web page,
FEMA's Hurricane Irma special Web page,
USA.gov's Irma disaster resources page,
DisasterAssistance.gov's overview of government-wide disaster recovery efforts and
my Storm Warnings collection of links to posts on preparing for, recovering from and helping those dealing with major natural disasters like Irma.
Yeah, that's a lot of tax stuff to think about in addition to simply trying to put your pre-hurricane real life and home back together. 
Take your time, especially since the IRS is giving you more of it, and make the best decisions for your family, finances and taxes.
You also might find these items of interest:
Form 4684, a disaster victim's best friend
When the storm's over, don't forget to claim possible tax help for your losses
Home basis, not market value, key amount in calculating disaster loss tax claim
Advertisement // <![CDATA[ // &lt;![CDATA[ // &amp;lt;![CDATA[ // &amp;amp;lt;![CDATA[ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); // ]]&amp;amp;gt; // ]]&amp;gt; // ]]&gt; // ]]>
  from Tax News By Christopher http://www.dontmesswithtaxes.com/2017/09/irma-hurricane-victims-given-same-relief-as-harvey-victims.html
0 notes
garynsmith · 8 years
Text
Why 2017 is the year to snag luxury homebuyers
http://ift.tt/1T6UhEY
New mortgages, foreign buyers, historical growth, and the post-election period are all indicators of a dynamic year ahead for real estate’s high-end sector.
Ultimately, these factors highlight that buyers, both domestic and global, are out there for this market. Anyone can buy property anywhere in the world today.
A strong dollar bodes well for affluent American investors, as well as for currencies pegged to the dollar, and for those who have income streams or assets in U.S. dollars.
Of course, equity markets and other assets outside real estate attract the high-end consumer. But an ever-increasing number of U.S. and foreign investors recognize the long-term opportunities of owning luxury property.
Buyer profiles across markets
Latino buyers continue to make up the largest segment of international purchasers in Miami-Dade County.
Domestic and foreign buyers alike are interested in upscale real estate across the nation. Their desired locations can depend on personal preferences and other factors.
For example, the Los Angeles market attracts buyers with its stable economy, affordable prices, lower property taxes — and sunny Southern California lifestyle.
The global hub of New York City is moving forward after change abroad with Brexit and change at home with the presidential election.
Miami’s luxury real estate agents are busy selling beachfront and non-beachfront properties, and developers are interested in supplying the latest local demand for architectural mansions on dry lots.
The upscale real estate sector in Miami and other regions of the country (Las Vegas, Arizona, California) are experiencing an increase in activity. Any past challenges have resulted in a current more balanced market.
Luxury-plus
During 2017, ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) will make their mark on high-end real estate. They will be seeking out the “best of the best,” one-of-a-kind properties. Luxury agents must show the affluent buyer how the property caters to their glamorous lifestyle.
They should also advise sellers that luxurious extras can help to make that sale. At this level of real estate, extraordinary amenities can set properties apart from their competition. Agents have to capture the attention of potential buyers with eye-catching listings.
Every year, new billionaires join the ranks of the affluent. They come from foreign lands, or gain sudden wealth, invent the latest tech trend, or have fortune materialize for one reason or another.
Understanding the market
Luxury agents will have plenty of opportunities for success this year. First, of course, they must understand luxury — and today’s savvy, high-end buyers who compare and analyze options with ease and confidence. After all, buyers dictate the real value of luxury property.
It’s guaranteed to be a fast-moving market in 2017. Be prepared to keep up with the action.
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Kevin M. Leonard is the founder of Luxury Agent and Valore Group. You can follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Email Kevin Leonard
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10 Tips for Moving to a New State Get Free Moving Quotes!
Hello everyone! This is V, your moving consultant! I found these tips from moving.com to prepare you for your move. 
Put your move in the best hands by booking with https://www.regionalmovers.com! Regional provides moving services from Miami Dade, Palm Beach and Broward County to any state.
Whether you’ve landed a new job in a new city or you’re simply ready for a change, moving to a new state is sure to be an exciting adventure. You just have to get there (with all of your stuff!) first. Thankfully, we’re here to help. Here are our tried-and-true tips for successfully moving to a new state without losing your mind!
Research ahead of time
Before you move, research as much as possible about your new city. From restaurant suggestions and local businesses to recreational activities and social clubs, you’ll find a wealth of information about your new home on the internet. I also suggest visiting the area and exploring the city for yourself. Speak to locals, ask questions, look at maps, and drive around neighborhoods to get a real feel for the area.
Find a new home
At least a few months before you move, I recommend contacting a local real estate agent in your new state to help you find a home. Regardless of whether you’re renting or buying, you’ll need someone who’s an expert in the area’s housing market to show you around. Realtors possess a deep knowledge of the market and can narrow down your search, so that you spend less time looking at houses and more time preparing for your move. To find the right Realtor for the job, check Realtor.com’s Find a Realtor tool.
Hire a reputable moving company
With so many moving companies vying for your business, hiring the right one can be tricky. First, I recommend asking friends, family and neighbors for recommendations to see if they’ve had good experiences with local movers in the past. Second, double-check a moving company’s online reviews and ratings. Moving.com’s Moving Company Directory includes customer reviews of more than 600 moving companies nationwide. The reviews also include the moving company’s U.S. DOT number, Better Business Bureau rating, any official complaints filed with the FMCSA, and whether the moving company has any association with the American Moving & Storage Association.
Third, check to see if the moving company is properly licensed by the Department of Transportation. If so, you can check the company’s USDOT number for information. Finally, contact three to four reputable moving companies about your upcoming relocation. Each company should perform either an in-person inspection or a video survey of your belongings before giving you a quote.
Where are you moving from?
To find the right moving company to handle your next move, check Moving.com’s extensive network of reputable and reliable movers. All relocation companies in our network are licensed and insured, so you can rest assured that your move will be in good hands.
Gather all records
Don’t forget to pack important documents before the move in a separate and clearly labeled box or folder. These documents should include Social Security cards, birth certificates, tax forms, health records, school records, etc. Make sure all records are in a safe and secure place at all times.
Pack, pack, pack!
Word of advice: start packing as soon as possible! If you’re planning to pack yourself, don’t procrastinate. Not only will you have to box up all belongings, but you’ll also have to spend time deciding what to keep and what to toss. Remember: the cost of your long distance move will be based on the overall weight of your things. The less you bring with you, the cheaper your move will be. So, with that in mind, start the packing process by eliminating all of your unused clothing, out-of-date electronics and any items that only weigh you down. Sell what you can on Craigslist or another online marketplace. Consign gently used items at your local consignment stores. Donate the rest of your unwanted belongings to a local Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity and Goodwill.  
Once you determine exactly what you are bringing with you, calculate the number of moving boxes needed using our handy Packing Calculator. I recommend starting with all of your non-essentials (everything you won’t need during the last month in your home) first. As the weeks progress, move room-to-room and pack as much as you can. Don’t forget to label your boxes. Finally, pack the kitchen and all other essentials last, as you’ll need to use these items leading up to the move.
Forward your mail
Several weeks before you move, notify USPS of your upcoming change of address. All you have to do is go to USPS.com and choose the date you wish to begin forwarding your snail mail. If you’re interested in renting a PO Box in your new city, check out Moving.com’s helpful guide to setting up a PO Box when you move.
Save all moving receipts
Save all moving receipts for three reasons: First, By donating your things to a Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity, you may be able to deduct a portion of the value of these donations against your income tax. Second, if you’re relocating for work, you may be able to deduct moving expenses from your taxes come tax season. For more information on moving expenses and taxes, read the IRS’s information sheet here.  And third, if your company plans to reimburse you for the move, you’ll need to show HR all of the receipts in order to get your money back.
Notify utility companies
Unless you want to walk into a house with no electricity, I suggest notifying the new utility companies of your upcoming move. This way you’ll have all utilities up and running within the first week of moving in. You’ll also need to call your current utility companies to make sure your cable, electricity and gas are turned off the day after you move out. 
School
Moving with school-age children? It’s never too early to start thinking about schools in the new town. To find top-rated schools in your new neighborhood, use Moving.com’s School Ratings tool, which includes GreatSchools ratings and other helpful information.
Transfer an out-of-state driver’s license
Planning to drive in your city? You’ll need a new driver’s license for that. Many states require you to get a new license within a certain time window after establishing residency. To transfer your out-of-state driver’s license, visit your local Department of Motor Vehicles office. While requirements vary from state to state, you’ll most likely need: your current driver’s license, proof of residency (lease, electric bills, etc), proof of your social security number and an additional form of identification, such as a birth certificate.
 Source: moving.com
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juditmiltz · 7 years
Text
South Florida counties come together to woo Amazon
Amazon HQ rendering and Jeff Bezos
As cities across the country prepare their bids for Amazon.com’s second headquarters, South Florida’s three counties are coming together to submit one proposal.
The Beacon Council in Miami-Dade, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance in Broward and the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County will put together a joint bid, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine sent a letter to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, boasting the region’s advantages on Wednesday, including its “zero state income tax” and a “mild climate with an 82 degree average temperature.” Other pluses include transportation options like Brightline, multiple international airports, and colleges and universities.
Good Morning @JeffBezos How about NW Broward for your 2nd Headquarters? https://t.co/XDYpUnS3JE … @lbarszewski @IanMargol @BrittanyWallman
— Michael Udine (@Michaeludine) September 20, 2017
Amazon’s checklist for the second headquarters includes low taxes, incentives, proximity to mass transit and “presence and support of a diverse population.” The company plans to have phase 1, a building with more than 500,000 square feet, completed by 2019. After 2027, its footprint will grow to up to 8 million square feet. Amazon plans to give priority to undeveloped, shovel-ready greenfield sites and infill opportunities.
The Seattle-based company plans to build in a major metropolitan area, within 45 minutes of an airport, near quality universities, and with a population of over 1 million people. Amazon is also looking to target engineers and others in the tech sector. Bids for the second campus are due by Oct. 19. Cities like Los Angeles, Orlando and Chicago have already announced their plans to enter the race. [Sun-Sentinel] — Katherine Kallergis
from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2017/09/21/south-florida-counties-come-together-to-woo-amazon/ via IFTTT
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juditmiltz · 7 years
Text
South Florida counties come together to woo Amazon
Amazon HQ rendering and Jeff Bezos
As cities across the country prepare their bids for Amazon.com’s second headquarters, South Florida’s three counties are coming together to submit one proposal.
The Beacon Council in Miami-Dade, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance in Broward and the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County will put together a joint bid, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine sent a letter to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, boasting the region’s advantages on Wednesday, including its “zero state income tax” and a “mild climate with an 82 degree average temperature.” Other pluses include transportation options like Brightline, multiple international airports, and colleges and universities.
Good Morning @JeffBezos How about NW Broward for your 2nd Headquarters? https://t.co/XDYpUnS3JE … @lbarszewski @IanMargol @BrittanyWallman
— Michael Udine (@Michaeludine) September 20, 2017
Amazon’s checklist for the second headquarters includes low taxes, incentives, proximity to mass transit and “presence and support of a diverse population.” The company plans to have phase 1, a building with more than 500,000 square feet, completed by 2019. After 2027, its footprint will grow to up to 8 million square feet. Amazon plans to give priority to undeveloped, shovel-ready greenfield sites and infill opportunities.
The Seattle-based company plans to build in a major metropolitan area, within 45 minutes of an airport, near quality universities, and with a population of over 1 million people. Amazon is also looking to target engineers and others in the tech sector. Bids for the second campus are due by Oct. 19. Cities like Los Angeles, Orlando and Chicago have already announced their plans to enter the race. [Sun-Sentinel] — Katherine Kallergis
from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2017/09/21/south-florida-counties-come-together-to-woo-amazon/ via IFTTT
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juditmiltz · 7 years
Text
From A to PBC? Palm Beach to bid on Amazon’s second headquarters
Rendering of Amazon’s Seattle headquarters and Jeff Bezos
Palm Beach County is entering the race for Amazon’s second headquarters.
Cities across the U.S. are preparing their proposals after the e-commerce giant announced plans to build another headquarters, which is expected to be a $5 billion investment. Kelly Smallridge, who heads the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, said the county will submit a proposal for Amazon, according to the South Florida Business Journal. Miami-Dade and Broward officials have said they hope to attract Amazon to their counties.
Palm Beach’s advantages include access to three international airports and alternative forms of transportation, Smallridge said. Companies like IBM, the Scripps Research Institute and Carrier Corp. all call Palm Beach County their home.
Low taxes, incentives, proximity to mass transit and “presence and support of a diverse population” are on Amazon’s checklist. The company plans to have phase 1, a building with more than 500,000-square-foot building, completed by 2019. After 2027, its footprint will grow to up to 8 million square feet. Amazon plans to give priority to undeveloped, shovel-ready greenfield sites and infill opportunities, according to the Business Journal.
The Seattle-based company plans to build in a major metropolitan area, within 45 minutes of an airport, near quality universities, and with a population of over 1 million people. Amazon is also looking to target engineers and others in the tech sector. Bids for the second campus are due by Oct. 19.
The HQ2 announcement follows Amazon’s June $13.7 billion bombshell purchase of Whole Foods. [SFBJ] – Katherine Kallergis
from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2017/09/18/from-a-to-pbc-palm-beach-to-bid-on-amazons-second-headquarters/ via IFTTT
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