Author: John Cotey

Who Should You Call To Untangle The New Tax Laws? Murtha & Murtha, CPAs!

*Patrick Murtha (left) and his father Tom Murtha offer a plethora of accounting services for individuals and businesses from their office in the Seven Oaks Professional Park. (Photo: Gavin Olsen)*

Tax season is upon us (“Tax Day” is Monday, April 15), and with the new tax laws that have created more questions than ever before, it might be time to call in some experienced experts.

The father-and-son team of Tom Murtha, CPA, and Patrick Murtha of Murtha & Murtha, LLC, is ready to answer that call.

Partners and owners of their own firm in the Seven Oaks Professional Park off S.R. 56 (across from Sam’s Club), the Murthas have more than 50 years of combined experience in tax law, and they recently added three more employees, following a merger with another office in Zephyrhills, which is now called Henson & Murtha, CPAs.

“It was a good opportunity to grow the business and take our brand and implement that in Zephyrhills,” Patrick says.

With the addition of longtime CPA John Henson and three other employees in the Zephyrhills office, anyone signing up with the Murthas now has access to more than 100 years of combined experience in everything from accounting to tax preparations to mergers and acquisitions.

“Where we definitely shine with is handling complex issues you don’t see every day,” Patrick says. “Between all of us, we’ve seen everything.”

The Curious Case Of The Shrinking Tax Return

The current tax season promises to be an interesting one for Murtha & Murtha and other accounting firms, as clients are feeling the effects, good and bad, of last year’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Things like the doubling of the child tax credit, higher standard deductions and new limits on itemized tax breaks could create some thorny issues for those doing their taxes on their own and those using computer software.
So far, Patrick says that some people are finding out that their usual tax refund has been replaced by a new tax bill.

While there are still a lot of tax breaks in the new bill, “W-2 employees are finding their withholdings weren’t enough,” Patrick says, “so, when they’re used to getting a tax refund, we have clients who are getting a much smaller tax refund, and some that actually owe.”

How did that happen? Well, when the new tax law went into effect, Patrick says the IRS overestimated the tax savings that your average taxpayer was going to have. In other words, the IRS was less aggressive on the withholding than it should have been.

“So, what happened is people got bigger paychecks during the year, but that was in the form of withholding less tax for their tax bill for the end of the year,” Patrick says.

The Murthas say they are not completely surprised by this development. They say they started noticing while doing tax returns in 2018, just after the bill passed, that many of their clients said they were receiving bigger paychecks. As anyone on social media can attest, there were many posts from people praising the new tax law because it meant an extra $100 every week or two on their paychecks.

One of Patrick’s clients, a married couple, say they have never owed taxes before and usually get a refund of around $3,000. This year, they owe $2,500.

On the other hand, says Tom, Murtha & Murtha has another client, a business owner making more than half a million dollars annually, who they saved $30,000-40,000 in taxes.

“He made out like a fat rabbit,” Tom says, “and he was able to put the savings into retirement planning.”

While everyone is paying a little less tax, Patrick says the sweet spot this year seems to be those making between $150,000 and $400,000, due to the child credit being doubled and available to those who make up to $400,000, a generous qualified business income (QBI) deduction of 20 percent for business owners and “softer” tax brackets.

If using a firm like Murtha & Murtha sounds daunting and exorbitantly-priced, the Murthas promise that it’s not.

“Pricewise, were competitive with companies like H&R Block, we really are,” Patrick says. “I have clients who come in and I quote them a price and they say, ‘Wow, I paid $100 more at H&R Block and they messed up my return.’ We are able to provide a high level of service without pricing people out.”

That service, provided by Patrick, Tom and the firm’s senior accountant Kyle Flischel, CPA, is what they call the “Murtha & Murtha Difference.” They don’t have someone meet with you, pass off your return to someone different in a back office, and then deliver your results to you without explaining everything and rushing you out the door.

At Murtha & Murtha, the person you talk to is the person who does your tax return. Whether you’re a filer from a lower income tax bracket, a business bringing in $100,000 a year or someone with an $80-million stock portfolio, you get personalized treatment.

“We want our clients to view us as advisers,” says Patrick, “not just the guys who do their tax returns.”

Murtha & Murtha will go over your return, explain how the final result was achieved and offer advice on how to proceed in the future. If you’re unhappy with your refund or lack thereof, they can offer suggestions to avoid a repeat.

“We want to make them aware of what the new landscape is and how to deal with it,” Patrick says. “Retail companies train employees how to use the software, they don’t train them on tax law. We’re not just a tax return mill, we want long-term relationships with our clients.”

More Than Just Tax Returns

Murtha & Murtha can and does handle much more than just tax returns.
Tom, who earned his B.S. degree in Management from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY, in 1976, and his M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration) degree in Accounting from St. John’s University in Queens, NY, in 1981, has been doing mergers, acquisitions and business valuations since the 1990s.

Along with various accounting services, business valuations are another perk of being a Murtha & Murtha client. A good and accurate estimate of the worth of someone’s business is as important to a business owner as the appraisal of one’s home. Tom specializes in this field, “and not just the back of an envelope type of thing.”

In the long run, he adds, everyone wants (or has) to sell his or her business one day.

Murtha & Murtha also offers a “CFO Retainer Package,”which is designed to help businesses and those who are self-employed whose company may need a Chief Financial Officer but don’t have the budget to hire a full-time manager or accountant for that job.

For a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO, the Murthas operate in an advisory position and can handle everything from accounting and book bookkeeping, setting up payroll and ensuring that all the income and expenses are classified correctly.

They also will put together a budget, which Patrick says hardly any other companies do but is needed, as it provides a “compass” to let you know if your business is headed in the right direction.

And of course, they will take care of all the tax preparation and planning.

If you follow Murtha & Murtha on Facebook, you also can find advice in the form of short videos that will help answer a number of common tax questions, from simple ones to those that are more complex.

“We offer the complete package,” Tom says. “When you are with us, you really do get a lot.”

Murtha & Murtha, LLC, is located at 2236 Ashley Oaks Cir., Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel. For more info, visit TampaTaxFirm.com or to schedule a free consultation, call (813) 991-1120. Henson & Murtha, CPAs is located at 5315 8th Ave. in Zephyrhills. For more information, call (813) 782-0580.

New Tampa Readies For Important Vote

Tampa Palms’ Maggie Wilson remembers the days when Pam Iorio, the City of Tampa’s mayor from 2003-11, would visit New Tampa on a frequent basis to address our area’s concerns and meet with residents.

Wilson remembers Iorio visiting women’s clubs, the Taste of New Tampa and other events, as well as holding public meetings at Heritage and Tampa Palms elementary schools, Benito and Clark middle schools and Freedom High, to name a few.

Current mayor Bob Buckhorn did not share Iorio’s attentiveness to New Tampa, Wilson says. And, when it comes time to choose a new mayor from a large field of candidates on Tuesday, March 5 (early voting ends March 3), Wilson says she will likely cast her vote for whomever she decides will pay the most attention to the area in which she has lived in since 1989.

“The next Tampa mayor will be in a key position to lead on several issues,” Wilson says. “New Tampa cannot afford to be left out.”

On Municipal Election Day, voters in Tampa will choose between seven candidates to succeed Buckhorn.

Former Tampa police chief Jane Castor currently has a big polling lead over the rest of the field, which includes local philanthropist David Straz, businessman Topher Morrison, former Hillsborough County Commissioner Ed Turanchik, current Tampa City Council members Harry Cohen and Mike Suarez, and Dick Greco Jr., the son of former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco.

Most of the candidates have been campaigning at a series of mayoral forums held across the city, including the one held in New Tampa on Feb. 19.

According to a poll conducted Feb. 4 by St. Pete Polls, 45.3 percent of the 429 registered voters polled said they would vote for Castor.

Straz was second with 12.9 percent, followed by Greco Jr. at 9.3 percent, Cohen at 7.5 percent, Turanchik at 6.7 percent, Suarez at 6 percent and Morrison at 1.4 percent.

If Castor (or whoever comes in first on March 5) is kept below 50 percent of the vote, that makes the much-closer race for second the one to watch, as the top two candidates would advance to a run-off election, which will be scheduled for Tuesday, April 23, if it is necessary.

New Tampa voters like local activist and lawyer Tracy Falkowitz have been listening closely to the candidates on issues she says will impact New Tampa.

When the budget debate raged in the City Council in 2017 regarding money to expand the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) and design a new sensory-friendly park in Tampa Palms, Falkowitz led a New Tampa contingent that met with council members, sat in on the meetings and showed up for the final vote so their voices could be heard.

Don’t Oppose Our Needs!

It was Suarez’s opposition to passing the budget — which would have put the NTRC in dire straits — that doesn’t make him a contender for Falkowitz’s vote, and it was Cohen’s decisive vote in the 4-3 decision to pass the budget that she says makes him her favored candidate.

Cohen also has met with local residents at a meet-and-greet in Tampa Palms, something Falkowitz says no other candidate has done.

“Several of the candidates probably couldn’t find us on a map,” Falkowitz says. “I’m not even sure if they know all of New Tampa isn’t even in the City of Tampa. This is pivotal election for us. We’ve made some headway with getting noticed by the city, and this election is critical to continue that recognition of the importance of New Tampa, or we could go back to being ignored.”

Wilson agrees about the importance of electing a mayor friendly to New Tampa this election, preferably someone to piggyback on District 7 City Council member Luis Viera’s efforts.

Viera, who represents New Tampa as part of his district and is up for re-election, has been omnipresent in our area while pushing a number of area initiatives to City Hall.

Wilson says, however, that there is still a lot more to do.

“New Tampa is no longer new,” Wilson says. “For decades, it came in last because it needed the least. But that is no longer true. We have aging roads, dangerous sidewalks, an aging population and limited transportation.”

Grand Hampton resident Joe Farrell, a former aide to Mayor Buckhorn and a public affairs consultant who specializes in government relations, has two things he is looking for in this election — someone who can handle the looming budget crunch the city faces, and keeping his family safe.

For him, Castor checks both those boxes. As a former police chief, she was in charge of the city’s biggest agency with the largest budget, and ably steered it during the recent Great Recession, and major crimes saw a 70-percent reduction during her tenure from 2009-15.

Castor also is familiar with New Tampa, having served as the area’s district captain before she was police chief.

“In New Tampa, the vast majority of people up here have kids, and most worry about safety,” Farrell says. “No one else can say they would be better on safety than a former police chief.”

But, Farrell says he also has two children in the gymnastics program at the NTRC

“It’s important to have someone in the office who gets things done (for the city),” Farrell says, “but we still need to get things done in our community.”

Farrell is a big fan of Viera, who is credited with igniting much of the newfound political spirit in the area. The next mayor could help build on that.

For years, New Tampa residents have complained about not receiving a fair return on the taxes they pay to the city. In turn, some politicians have pointed to New Tampa’s dismal turnout in most elections, but especially, in municipal elections in March.

In 2015, only 7.8 percent of registered New Tampa voters cast a ballot, compared to 12.8 percent for the rest of the city, although it should be noted Mayor Buckhorn ran unopposed.

In 2011, 15.4 percent turned out for Buckhorn’s win in the April run-off, compared to 23 percent for the rest of the city.

There are plenty of local issues important to area voters that remain — such as transportation, school safety and re-negotiating to once again provide fire rescue service to the thousands of New Tampa residents in the unincorporated portion of Hillsborough County that includes Pebble Creek, Cross Creek and Live Oak Preserve.

Those things, and more, will likely dictate how many locals vote, and who they vote for, on March 5.

“This whole thing started with Luis Viera bringing City Hall to us,” Falkowitz says. “If New Tampa doesn’t come out and vote and doesn’t vote for someone who actually cares for New Tampa, we will go back to being a financial windfall for the city with no services and no voice.”

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New Charging Station Will Add To New Tampa’s EV Drivers’ Choices

The parking lot between the Panera Bread and Dunkin’ Donuts off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in the Walk at Highwoods Preserve is undergoing a transformation that should charge some people up.

If they have the right kind of car, that is.

What is currently a fenced-in site with little hint of what’s to come will soon be an electric car charging station, part of an Electrify America network that is aggressively expanding across the country.

The New Tampa location is one of 484 sites that will be finished by the end of June.

The location, in one of New Tampa’s busier breakfast and lunchtime locations, is exactly what Electrify America is looking for, according to company spokesman Mike Moran. While Moran says the proximity to I-75 is ideal, so are the variety of things to do for those waiting for their car to fully charge.

Although the technology continues to improve, to charge an electric car can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours or even overnight, so stations are often located in high-amenity areas and at many hotels.

“It’s a combination of many things, really,” Moran says. “But part of the criteria is we are looking for places that are accessible and also provide an opportunity to other amenities, like shopping, food and beverages and other facilities.”

Most automakers are working on, or are already producing, electric cars, or EVs (for electric vehicles). Sales of EVs in 2018 were up 81 percent over the previous, with 361,307 sales nationwide, according to InsideEVs.com.

Many of the sales are being driven by the price of fueling up with gas, as well as awareness and concern over the effect that fuel emissions have on the environment.

Ironically, it was an emissions scandal that led to the creation of Electrify America.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of German automaker Volkswagen, Electrify America was created in the aftermath of an emissions scandal in 2015 in which Volkswagen was discovered to have programmed roughly 11 million cars, including 500,000 in the U.S., to activate their emissions controls only during testing. Outside the testing facilities, however, it was discovered its cars were emitting 40 times more nitrogen oxide than allowed by the Clean Air Act.

As part of its settlement with the U.S., Volkswagen agreed to invest $2 billion over 10 years in U.S. EV infrastructure, which includes new stations as well as educational initiatives, and launched Electrify America in 2018.

More stations could prompt more sales. One major issue with owning an electric car remains the range of your vehicle, and where to power up in a pinch. While a high majority of EV owners have a charging station at home, one of the by-products of owning an EV, especially for those with long commutes or looking to make a long trip, is finding a station when you need one, aka “range-anxiety.”

But that is slowly changing.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center, there were 61,067 electric vehicle charging stations in the U.S. in 2018. That number has increased every year since 2008, with the fastest growth coming the past three years, with annual growth of roughly 10,000 stations since 2015.

There are about 3,000 public charging stations in Florida, compared to more than 20,000 in California, which has the most.

The Electrify America station isn’t the first EV charging station in New Tampa. In fact, there are PlugShare charging stations at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites on Galbraith Rd. right behind The Walk at Highwoods Preserve, as well as two PlugShare charging stations at the USF Federal Credit Union on BBD.

There also is a ChargePoint Charging Station located on Amberly Drive in the parking lot of the JAEB Center For Health Research, and Plug-In America has stations at Wesley Chapel Nissan, Honda and Chevrolet, as well as a handful of stations in and around the Tampa Premium Outlets.

Tesla, which uses proprietary charging stations, has plans to build a station near the Super Target on County Line Rd. sometime this year, according to its website.

Has Viera Done Enough For Tampa’s District 7? His Challenger Says ‘No’

Quinton F. Robinson says he is not pitting New Tampa against the rest of the City of Tampa’s District 7 in his attempt to unseat current city councilman Luis Viera.

What he says he is saying is this: while Viera has accomplished a lot for New Tampa in his two years on Tampa’s City Council, Dist. 7 needs someone who can do the same for the entire district, and he’s that guy.

“Equity in governance,” Robinson simply says, and it is a prevalent theme on his Facebook page, which uses hashtags like VOTEEquity, BeEmpowered and, naturally, VoteRobinson (on Tampa’s municipal election day — Tuesday, March 5).

Viera is running for his first full term. He has served since 2017, after defeating Jim Davison in a special election to fill the seat of Lisa Montelione, who resigned for a failed attempt to run for the Florida House of Representatives. Viera, with an endorsement from Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, defeated Davison in the run-off by 65 votes.

Robinson, 42, says Viera doesn’t have a plan to fix the problems plaguing much of District 7, and is aggressively fighting to win against what many feel are insurmountable odds. Viera, a Hunter’s Green resident, is popular in New Tampa and elsewhere, and extremely active in the area.

He helped spearhead a renewed effort by local political activists and community members in a fight to get the city to approve funding for an addition to the New Tampa Recreation Center and another fire station, as well as designs for a sensory park that would be the first of its kind in Tampa.

Viera has championed more than a dozen local causes, from getting potholes filled to advocating for safer roads, and organized a handful of town halls so residents could engage with city and county leaders.

Robinson — who was born and raised in West Tampa, graduated from Hillsborough High and Florida A&M University in Tallahassee and is the former president of the Hillsborough County Black Caucus — doesn’t dispute any of that. In fact, he says it bolsters his pitch to voters.

“My opponent has made strides for New Tampa, and that’s great for New Tampa,” Robinson says, “but the quality of life could be enhanced throughout North Tampa. Look at his accomplishments. Not one thing has benefited all of North Tampa. My goal is to enhance, educate, empower and elevate all of District 7.”

While Robinson, who has lived with his wife and two children in the University area since 2012, does support line item funding to build a Tampa Police substation in New Tampa, many of his goals are centered around what he feels are the forgotten areas of District 7.

He would like the North Tampa area in and around Sulphur Springs, Busch Blvd. and Fowler Ave. to be designated a Community Redevelopment Area, to reinvigorate the area economically. He favors beautification projects along Nebraska Ave. and Busch Blvd., needed street repairs and the repaving of 30th St. He wants flooding issues in the area addressed.

Robinson also wants a “modernization” of Copeland Park & Community Center, including a kitchen, computer lab, rebuilding of the boardwalk and lighting for the existing trail.

“I just don’t believe the North Tampa community should have to wait another 20 years,” Robinson says. “Unfortunately, that has been the case. Often when people run in this district, they only focus on the area north of Fowler or west of I-275. We need a councilman that is able to build that bridge to all of District 7, not just those in New Tampa.”

Viera bristles at the accusation he has ignored the rest of District 7 because he is preoccupied with delivering for New Tampa.

“There is an old saying – you are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts,” Viera says. “I have been active in all parts of the district.”

In fact, he may be the most active member of the current City Council.

One of his first tasks was to create the North Tampa Veterans Association, and he has remained involved in a number of veterans activities and created the Warrior Games Promotion Committee to promote attendance at the 2019 Warrior Games coming to Tampa in June.

In Forest Hills, Viera says he helped organize residents to fight to preserve the Babe Zaharias Golf Course from potential redevelopment threats, and also supported funding for the maintenance of the golf course in the City of Tampa budget. He pushed for more street lighting and updated striping and signs in the area. Like he did with creating the New Tampa Council, to better organize the area neighborhoods, he did the same with the Forest Hills Council. And, he says he worked on facilitating more than $1 million for the Forest Hills Community Center, as well as flood mitigation improvements.

Not to mention, he adds, the six town halls he hosted in the area.

Along Busch Blvd. and Fowler Ave., he says he promoted a number of safety improvements in what he calls a “corridor of neglect,” helped organize a Hurricane Prepardedness Task Force to help with post-hurricane relief efforts in North Tampa communities, secured funding in the City of Tampa budget for additional lights at Copeland Park, is working on a formal crosswalk for Chamberlain High students on North Blvd., north of Busch Blvd. and has championed other safety projects and improvements on area roads.

“I have to remind people sometimes that I’ve only been in office for two years,” Viera says.

Wesley Chapel’s Earth Fare opens Wednesday!

For those in Wesley Chapel who are not wowed by new restaurants, fast food chains, big retail outlets or fancy new intersections, this one might just be for you:

Say hello to the area’s first green grocer – Earth Fare.

The popular and quickly-growing organic food franchise will open its doors to Wesley Chapel on Wednesday, February 20, just before 7 a.m., and if the grocer’s previous grand openings are any indication, folks will be lining up long before the sun rises at the new store’s location at 25535 Sierra Center Blvd., across S.R. 56 from Tampa Premium Outlets and behind the Ford’s Garage..

There is a VIP sneak peak on Tuesday. Check out our video coverage HERE or HERE.

Virtually everything new that opens in Wesley Chapel gets Hope Allen, the CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, excited. But this, she says, is a different kind of buzz. An all-natural organic buzz, perhaps?

“It’s our first one, the first organic grocery store to land in Wesley Chapel,” Allen says. “There’s been a big demand for it. It’s going to be pretty exciting.”

The Wesley Chapel store will have an Heirloom Café & Juice Bar, where shoppers can buy smoothies and coffee, and lunch and dinner are offered from selections that include a salad bar, hot food bar, pizza station and sandwich counter.

Wesley Chapel does have Publix and Winn Dixie supermarkets offering organic selections, as well as the Nutrition Smart on Bruce B. Downs, which currently offers the area’s widest range of organic foods, vitamins and supplements.

But, Earth Fare is bringing 24,000 sq. ft. worth of the stuff — and roughly 100 jobs — to its new location in the Cypress Creek Town Center on S.R. 56 (at 25535 Sierra Center Blvd., across from the Tampa Premium Outlets).

The Wesley Chapel location will be Earth Fare’s third in the Tampa Bay area, joining stores in Oldsmar and Seminole.

Overall, ours will be the 12th Earth Fare in Florida.

The most recent Florida opening took place in Viera, FL on Jan. 9, and there are more to come, the company says, as it pursues aggressive expansion into Florida.

“We’ve made a concerted effort in recent years to help Tampa-area shoppers have more convenient access to cleaner, healthier foods— the kind of food that will help them live a longer, happier, healthier life,” said Frank Scorpiniti, president/CEO of Earth Fare, in a statement.

Earth Fare holds grand openings in the same way popular new businesses like Chick-Fil-A do, with long lines of early arrivers hoping to grab some free swag.

Last month, nearly 800 people showed up for the 6:45 a.m. opening of the 11th store in Viera, and the first 500 received a mystery gift card worth as much as $1,000, followed by other giveaways, food samples and contests.

Those who show up at the Wesley Chapel opening can expect more of the same thing.

Each person who signs up with the Wesley Chapel/Lutz store’s Healthy Rewards program will receive a free re-usable bag, while supplies last.

“I think we’ll see a lot of people (at the opening), because eating healthier foods has wide appeal,” Allen says. “I think that will add an extra layer of excitement to this opening.”

Earth Fare touts a selection of items that specifically do not contain things like high-fructose corn syrup, artificial fats, colors, sweeteners, or preservatives, or meats that were bred with antibiotics or growth hormones.

The chain has a “boot list” — a long list of banned ingredients it does not allow in anything sold in any Earth Fare store.

Founded in 1975 and based in Asheville, NC, Earth Fare’s tagline is “healthy food for everyone,” as the green grocer claims to offer “clean” food at prices every shoppers can afford.

The company’s 50th store opened last month in Steel Creek, NC, and Scorpiniti has said there could be as many as 100 locations in a few years.

Like most green grocers, Earth Fare offers some distinct goodies to shoppers. The Wesley Chapel store will have an Heirloom Café & Juice Bar, where shoppers can buy smoothies and coffee, and lunch and dinner are offered from selections that include a salad bar, hot food bar, pizza station and sandwich counter.

Earth Fare also offers a small seating area with free Wi-Fi for those who want to sit and enjoy their purchase. Painted on the wall is: “Have A Seat, Stay Awhile.”

Staying awhile is something you may just end up doing at Earth Fare. The store will carry a substantial selection of craft beers, one of its more popular characteristics, and also offers more than 1,000 private brand food products. There also will be a large offering of Wellness & Beauty products, like self-serve, scoop-your-own body scrubs.

“We are passionate about helping our community make the connection between clean food and living longer, healthier, happier lives,” Scorpiniti said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to become the newest member of the growing Wesley Chapel community and to continue to bring the leanest, healthiest options for years to come.”

Earth Fare will open in Wesley Chapel first, but construction of a Sprouts Farmer’s Market in New Tampa is under way across Bruce B. Downs Blvd. from Hunter’s Green and will be the second large green grocer to hit the area.

Earth Fare shopping store