Category Archives: Business News

Redbud Development of Wilton was named a winner of the Most Innovative in the Remodeler category and the Best Outdoor Living Space in the Kitchens, Hardscape and Pool Area category at the recent Capital Region Builders & Remodelers Association’s (CRBRA) 2018 Best in Building Awards.

The sixth annual Best in Building Awards honored excellence and innovation in residential building, remodeling, design and marketing.

“We are honored and thrilled to have won two awards from such a prestigious and well-respected organization in our field,” said Geffrey Redick, landscape architect and owner of Redbud Development. “Blurring the lines between outdoors and indoors is where we shine, and we love creating beautiful spaces that feature incredible architectural details. Working closely with our clients to produce a stunning outcome is not only a key part of our process, it is also incredibly rewarding.”

“I’ve worked very closely with Geffrey, and you only have to tell him your vision once. He comes up with these amazing ideas. It’s almost like he can tell what I’m thinking,” said Joey Albarelli, a long-time client of Redbud.

Carissa A. Conley, CPA

With the newly lowered corporate tax rate, many pass-through businesses are wondering if they should now convert to a C Corporation. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduced the corporate tax rate from a maximum of 35 percent to a flat rate of 21 percent and eliminated the corporate AMT.

Meanwhile, income of pass-through entities is taxed at the individual taxpayer level which is still based on graduated rates up to a maximum of 37 percent. While this initially sounds like a no-brainer, in most cases, small businesses will be still pay less tax as a pass-through entity.

Even though a C Corporation is only taxed on its net income at a rate of 21 percent now, there is still the issue of double taxation when shareholders take dividend distributions. Depending on the shareholder’s tax bracket, these dividends which have already been taxed at 21 percent, are now taxed again at a rate up to 20 percent (for those in the highest tax bracket) plus another 3.8 percent for Net Investment Income tax.

This brings the effective tax rate on dividends to 39.8 percent, which is higher than the maximum individual tax rate of 37 percent. Note that this is only considering the federal tax and there would be additional tax at the state level for both the corporation and the shareholder.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and FOX Sports have agreed to a long-term television programming deal that will make FOX Sports the year-round national television home for NYRA racing from Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park.

NYRA and FOX Sports began their collaboration around the launch of the critically-acclaimed “Saratoga Live” during the 2016 summer meet at Saratoga, which offered 80 hours of live coverage to a national audience on FS2.

In 2019, FOX Sports is scheduled to televise 500 hours of NYRA racing including coverage of nearly every race day at Belmont and Saratoga. The broadcast schedule will then expand to over 600 hours annually in 2020. Officials said the agreement builds upon the prior deal between NYRA and FOX Sports that resulted in more than 100 hours of NYRA coverage on FS2 in 2018.

“NYRA has been a terrific partner and we are looking forward to presenting more horse racing on a national stage than ever before,” said Michael Mulvihill, executive vice president of league operations, research and strategy for FOX Sports. “With this commitment, FOX Sports has taken the lead in developing content in the fast-growing area of sports gaming by expanding our relationship with the most prestigious name in horse racing, the New York Racing Association.”

After a chance encounter between Shmaltz Brewing Co. owner Jeremy Cowan and The Comedy Works club owner Tommy Nicchi,  Shmaltz’s Tasting Room has found a new home that will keep them in Saratoga County.

In May, Cowan’s Shmaltz Brewing Co. sold its 30,000-barrel Clifton Park facility in order to focus on brand building. While contract brewing arrangements were made ensuring the beers would continue to be produced and distributed without interruption, the future of the brewery’s tasting room was left in question, according to the company.

In July, plans were made for the Newberry Music Hall, a downtown Saratoga Springs dance venue owned by, and adjacent to, Nicchi’s Comedy Works Comedy Club, to be converted into a full-service event space focused on a wider demographic beginning in early 2019.

In September of 2018 Cowan, who brews a Lenny Bruce-inspired beer (Bittersweet Lenny’s Rye Double IPA aka R.I.P.A), popped in to the Comedy Works thinking the beer would make a good fit as an offering to comedy fans. Cowan and Nicchi had never met. By the end of that day though, the framework was created for the Shmaltz Tasting Room in Saratoga Springs, the company said.

“His beer is amazing and Jeremy has such creative ideas,” Nicchi said of Cowan. “Right in front of me was a successful brewery owner, still hitting the street going bar to bar. He’s a hustler in the best sense of that word.”

“I had no idea a space like this even existed in Saratoga Springs,” Cowan said. “I’d heard of The Comedy Works and knew their reputation and once I got to talking to Tommy I knew he would have my brands best interest at heart.”

By Greg Hitchcock

Scarborough, Maine-based supermarket chain Hannaford has been cleared to build a new store in the town of Ballston.

The town of Ballston recently approved Hannaford’s plans to build the supermarket in town, concluding a 15-year search by the property owners Frank and Rose Marie Rossi. for an anchor tenant on the 76-acre parcel.

The company said construction will begin in early 2019 at the site, located off routes 50 and 67. The 38,000-square-foot store is expected to be completed in the fall.

Hannaford spokesman Eric Blom said Ballston is a strategically based location and he feels confident that the store will do well.

“It’s a vote of confidence in the community,” he said.

Blom said the supermarket will contribute to a vibrant community, complementing other stores in the area. It will be convenient and accessible for its customers. He said Hannaford supermarkets contribute to the community in several ways including creating jobs and growing the local economy.