A little bit of background for the general public: If you don’t know who Rick Newcombe is exactly, you’re not alone. I recently learned that Rick Newcombe is the entrepreneur behind the Creators Syndicate. Names aside, I was however, very familiar with his work with his company Creators Syndicate. Since 1987 Creators Syndicate has represented hundreds of influential writers in syndicating their words in newspapers and websites around the world. Writers such as Hillary Clinton, Bill O’Reilly, Susan Estrich, Thomas Sowell, Roland Martin and Michelle Malkin along with Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonists have benefited from the hardworking efforts of Mr. Newcombe and his company. Mr. Newcombe represented the wide range of voices from his hometown of Los Angeles.
Mr. Newcombe loved his hometown of Los Angeles. So it was as a shock to him when, about 15 years ago, the city reclassified his tax category from a “resale and wholesale” classification to the much higher tax rate classification of “occupations and professions.” Rick did what any business owner in the same situation should do: he hired a team of attorneys and took on city hall. To make a long legal story short…Mr. Newcombe won. After several administrative hearings, it was determined that Creators Syndicate should be classified at the lower tax classification. All was good in the world.
The city of Los Angeles left Creators Syndicate alone until 2007. It was then that according to Mr. Newcombe, the city council changed its position without warning. Disregarding the previous deterination, the city asserted that it wasn’t bound by any prior adverse rulings. The city reclassified Creators Syndicate into the higher tax classification. Once again, Rick Newcombe found himself at the front lines of a legal battle. He hired another team of attorneys and brought a lawsuit seeking to have the city of Los Angeles abide by the previous ruling.
The outcome is still pending. It is an outcome that I will be watching here at http://www.FloridaSolicitor.com. In a recent editorial recently, Rick Newcombe declared that if the city of Los Angeles manages to prevail in the pending court action, he would move the Creators Syndicate to a more business friendly location. He himself would also leave the city that has been his home for the past 30 years. A letter from Rick Newcombe detailing why he will leave LA can be found at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124718265362620253.html
Enough with the background – the remainder of this post is directed to Mr. Rick Newcombe himself.
Mr. Newcombe, I would like to weigh in on your search for a new home for Creators Syndicate. WE INVITE YOU TO RELOCATE TO BUSINESS FRIENDLY FLORIDA.
Did you know that Florida is one of the best states to conduct business? Florida ranks No. 1 in the nation for workforce; it is among the top 10 in technology and innovation, and moved up to rank third overall in Chief Executive’s 2009 survey of the best places for jobs and business growth.
As an entrepreneur you can appreciate that Florida continues to gain ground among the nation’s top states for entrepreneurship. In 2008 Florida moved up to rank fourth overall in the 2008 Small Business Survival Index. As for taxes, Florida’s continues to rank in the top 5 states for best tax climates according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and the Tax Foundation survey. With no state income tax, low corporate taxes, a low unemployment insurance tax rate and sales tax exemptions for certain business transactions.
According to Forbes’ Best States for Business in 2008, Florida’s economic climate ranked No. 1 in the U.S. Florida also scored among the top five in the Labor and Growth Prospects categories. Four of Florida’s major metropolitan areas, Orlando, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Cape Coral-Ft. Meyers and Jacksonville were designated by BizJournals in 2009 as being among the nation’s best places to start as small business. Just in case you were thinking of launching a new endeavor.
My accolades only scratch the surface. More information about the economic benefits of having a business in Florida can be found at Enterprise Florida, a public-private project devoted to statewide economic development. www.EFlorida.com
The quality of life in Florida, and in particular South Florida, is just as attractive as the business climate. We have beautiful tropical oceans lined by coconut palms that sway in the smog-free ocean breezes. South Florida is sub-tropical so while other parts of the country swelter in the summer heat, it rarely gets past the 90s. So imagine yourself at the beach, wirelessly finalizing the syndication of one of your columnists while contemplating all the money you will save without having to pay any Florida state income tax.
And of course, while you are ordering a mojito making your final plans to relocate to Florida, I know an excellent attorney that can help you and your business with its relocation. Just click on the Contact Us page at www.FloridaSolicitor.com
The Florida Solicitor 