Economic Development 2023: The business of money
Tampa Bay Business & Wealth reached out to two banking executives and a wealth management firm and asked, “What should our readers know about the financial services industry in 2023?” These are their answers in their own words.

Community banking for community-focused businesses
By Kevin Gilligan, SBA Lending Director at The Bank of Tampa Thanks to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Small Business Administration (SBA) has become a household name—at least within the business community. In actuality, the SBA offers business owners so much more than the PPP. Since its inception, the SBA’s primary mission has been

Year-end tax considerations for 2022
By Brian Carter, CPA The end of the year is nearby, leaving taxpayers only a short window to take financial steps that could alter their 2022 tax situation. By now, you probably have a good idea of where you stand in terms of income and potential tax liability for the year. Even so, it is

Community banking for community-focused businesses
By Kevin Gilligan, SBA Lending Director at The Bank of Tampa Thanks to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Small Business Administration (SBA) has become a household name—at least within the business community. In actuality, the SBA offers business owners so much more than the PPP. Since its inception, the SBA’s primary mission has been

Consider Opportunity Zones as part of a well-crafted tax plan
By Brian Duren, signing director and Chris Dhanraj, managing principal of investments Since their introduction in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Qualified Opportunity Zones (OZ) have attracted attention as an important tool to help mitigate income tax liabilities. And, despite the headlines focusing on rising inflation, rising interest rates and possible rising

Year-end planning to leverage the time value of money
By Heather Williams, CPA/CFP and Patricia Entsminger, CPA/CFE/CIA As the year winds down and the rush of tax season is still several months away, now is the perfect time to schedule a strategy session with your CPA, and financial team, to discuss tax planning to help minimize the financial impact for you, your family and

Don’t be the Dunce!
By Taylor K. Ranker II, CEO, Questmont Virtual Family Office I love it, my industry loves to call itself wealth managers, but did you know there is a formal definition of wealth management that goes well beyond your portfolio? When applying this formula: Wealth Management = Investment Consulting + Advance Planning + Relationship Management, fewer

Tax-smart investing strategies for a down market
By Brian Carter, CPA Let’s be honest: The market’s performance in 2022 has been disappointing, at best, and for many investors ‘alarming’ would be a more accurate description. Equity prices are declining and volatility is high, with each new day bringing the potential for more carnage as jobs reports, inflation numbers and other economic data

Inherited wealth: A series of unfortunate events
By Margo Land Hirons, J.D., vice president, trust officer at The Bank of Tampa “Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don’t always like.” – Lemony Snicket From the moment you looked into your baby’s eyes, you knew you were going

College planning strategies to save like an advisor
By Stacey Pittman, CFA, CFP, CPWA, Managing Director, BT Wealth Advisors As a wealth advisor and the mom of a college freshman (Go Gators!), I am acutely aware of the challenges of planning for college. In speaking with clients, I emphasize that education planning is often the most challenging of the areas of financial planning.

The art of ownership transition
By Jeff Servais, principal, and David Laugtug, principal, CLA In the life of a business, ownership transition is inevitable. Whether selling to private equity or to the next generation of your family, someone else, at some point in time, will own your company. Most owners don’t realize how this process, often highly emotional, balances a

Understanding the Employee Retention Credit for Recovery Start-Up Businesses
By Dawn Morgan, CPA and Kathleen Martin, CPA Many entrepreneurs in Tampa Bay entered 2020 with new business ventures in motion or expansions of existing business—opening new locations, new entities or a combination of the two. Despite hits from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tampa Bay area saw a trending increase in new business applications, according
