Doing Business in Florida Blog

Miami-Dade County to Consider Ordinance Requiring Disclosure of Special Taxing Districts

January 22, 2019
Jeffrey R. Margolis  |  Real Estate, Residential Real Estate, Taxation

Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners will consider today for first reading an amendment to the Miami-Dade County Code which would require sellers of residential property located within a special taxing district to disclose to buyers that such property is located within a special taxing district and subject to payment of assessments.

Sometimes It’s Good to be GILTI

January 17, 2019
Bryan S. Appel and Mitchell W. Goldberg

Usually, when Congress implements a new tax, taxpayers and their tax advisors spend countless hours planning their way around such a new tax. When Congress added the global intangible low-tax income (“GILTI”) tax as part of tax reform in December of 2017, many of us had the typical reaction described above – how do we avoid GILTI?

Daily Business Review, "Miami-Dade County Proposes Mandatory Pre-Wiring for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations"

January 7, 2019
Jeffrey R. Margolis  |  Florida Construction, Miami-Dade, Electric Vehicle Charging

As Miami-Dade County’s overall goal of promoting a cleaner, more sustainable environment continues to evolve, plans for adoption of more electric vehicle charging stations throughout the county are progressing.  On January 23, 2019, Miami-Dade County Commissioners will consider an ordinance providing minimum requirements for electric vehicle parking spaces and charging stations.

Let’s Talk About Hemp

December 19, 2018
Colin M. Roopnarine  |  Administrative Law, Medical Marijuana

Why are we talking about hemp? Last week, in passing the 2018 Farm Bill, Congress approved the Bill that essentially legalizes the commercial cultivation of hemp in the United States and has removed hemp from the federal controlled substances list. President Trump is set to sign the Farm Bill within the upcoming coming days or weeks.

Florida’s Rejection of Chevron Deference

December 18, 2018
Colin M. Roopnarine and Daniel H. Thompson  |  Administrative Law, Government and Regulatory

Amendment 6 to the State Constitution has delivered a severe blow to that pillar of state administrative law elucidated in numerous legal opinions and treatises – an agency is afforded great deference in the interpretation of the statutes and rules over which it exercises jurisdiction. 

Assessing Mixed-Use Projects in Florida in 2019

December 11, 2018
Barry D. Lapides  |  Real Estate, Taxation

The desire for live, work and play lifestyles is not slowing down in Florida as major mixed-use projects are continuing to be developed throughout the state, from Miami Worldcenter to the Cascades Project in Tallahassee. However, the popularity of these mixed-use projects has created a legal conundrum.

The Fate of Florida Administrative Law in Light of the Passage of Amendment 6

December 2, 2018
Colin M. Roopnarine and Daniel H. Thompson  |  Administrative Law, Government and Regulatory

On November 6, 2018, the citizens of the State of Florida approved several Constitutional Amendments in unprecedented fashion. This blog concerns only a portion of one of them. Amendment 6 was popularized as a “victims’ rights” amendment, and like many other amendments was bundled with unrelated other “provisions,”.

Tax Breaks for Investment in Opportunity Zones – Proposed Treasury Regulations

October 29, 2018
Bryan S. Appel and Mark Wisniewski  |  Taxation, Opportunity Zone

On Friday, October 19, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) released the eagerly anticipated qualified opportunity zone (“O-Zones”) Proposed Treasury Regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) relating to qualified opportunity funds (“O-Zone Funds”). O-Zone Funds are investment vehicles created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that provide taxpayers, with eligible capital gains, an opportunity

Florida Appellate Court Says Substantial Compliance Sufficient

October 22, 2018
Christopher B. Choquette  |  Appellate Litigation, Insurance

A Florida appellate court issued a significant opinion for Florida’s policyholders. In Himmel v. Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company, the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a summary judgment a trial court had entered against an insured for failing to comply with the conditions in the insurance policy and ruled there were factual issues

Land Use Reliance Letters – Can you truly rely on them?

October 18, 2018
Dawn M. Meyers  |  Land Use & Zoning

It has become a common element of a purchaser’s due diligence to obtain a land use reliance letter to confirm certain land use and zoning issues affecting the allowable uses of the property being purchased. Being called a "reliance" letter understandably creates the perception that the recipient of such a letter may rely on the

Considerations When Buying Contaminated Property

October 15, 2018
Jeffrey R. Margolis  |  Environmental, Real Estate

The availability of large tracts of land on which to build new projects in advantageous locations is shrinking. As a result, there is a growing trend of buyers considering the purchase of properties with unresolved environmental issues that they never would have considered in the past due to, among other things, potential liability, internal risk

USCIS Reminder: F-1 “Cap-gap” Status and Work Authorization Extension Only Valid Through September 30

October 8, 2018
Adriana Kostencki  |  Business Immigration, Corporate

On September 28, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued a reminder that F-1 students who have an H-1B petition that remains pending on Oct. 1, 2018, risk accruing unlawful presence if they continue to work on or after Oct. 1 (unless otherwise authorized to continue employment), as their “cap-gap” work authorization is only