Our neighborhood!

Over Looking Palm Beach at Dawn from Downtown West Palm Beach, photo credit= me :)

SO WHY ARE WE ALL DOWN HERE NOW?

THE WEATHER

So, to quote the crooner, Michael McCloud, I came down for the weekend twenty-some years ago. I was never the same since! The weather is of course, the biggest draw, if we ignore the threat of hurricanes for a moment.

THE TAXES

Income Taxes

The second draw is the presumed tax savings.  As a CPA and personal tax advisor, I was keenly aware of the fact that Florida is a NO INCOME TAX state. In my view, this is heavenly compared to tax preparation pain & payment to the most overbearing regulators like New York & California. No residential state tax return to file.

 However, as a tax person, I was also painfully aware of how governments find alternative paths to "get even."

Real Estate Tax

So buyer beware in Florida of your "get in fee" for a modern day homestead cost! You will be starting your homestead in 2025 or beyond. If you are buying a home from an Old Timer's Homestead, you aren't getting his rate that was locked in for HIS benefit years ago. Of course, Palm Beach County has an online tool for you to calculate your prospective real estate tax pain.

Sales Tax

So basically anything you buy, and I mean anything, is subject to sales tax down here. As a transplant, this was especially jarring at the grocery store, where all food is taxed. Basically, a 6-7% price increase, depending on the county and item, hike on everything you put in your mouth. As you can imagine, that is really rough on those working to buy their next meal. Sales tax can even be levied against fees like club membership dues.

Fuel Tax

Last I checked, the state was charging a 70-cent excise tax on every gallon of gas that you buy. That is embedded in your EV costs as well. What do you think is running your charging station?

Anyway, enough about paying taxes. Just wanted to give you a heads up that there is more to this move than meets your eye. I will be sharing some of my favorite advisor referrals in future posts to help in your transition!

LOVE & TAXES

So a bit about me to kick this blog off with a proper introduction. How did I wind up here in the glorious sun-drenched rays of Wall Street South? I was a born-and-bred girl from Philly. A minister's daughter who wanted to work in the business world who somehow ended up at the #1 Big Public Accounting firm in the USA when I charged out of undergraduate school in 1988.

 Fast forward to the early 2000's, I roared into town for my last client meeting of the day. I had flown into Miami, where I kicked off the day with a brunch at Joe Stone Crab's. I worked up the coastline with stops in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach. I had just enough time to check in and freshen up before taking my last client to dinner at the Palm Beach Grill. We had yelled about the deductibility of items on the phone for a few years, but we had never met face-to-face. Well that dinner changed everything. Little did we know at the time, but that was the beginning of the new life we built together.

That night, he told me the most spellbinding business stories from his inspirational career. But enough about me here. That is why I had to write these stories down into our books.

So, whatever or whoever brought you to West Palm Beach, consider this fair warning,

1. Put down that addictive phone.

2. Look up and out at that Elegant Sky.

3. And remember:

Whoever smiles longer,

lives longer!

Erica Swenson Elliott