Showcase Of Homes Nets $44,000 For Charity; Witt, McPadden Win 'People's Choice' Awards

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Members of the Saratoga Builders Association presented checks recently to Rebuilding Saratoga
Together and Habitat for Humanity. The money was raised at the annual Showcase of Homes.

The Saratoga Builders Association announced
proceeds totaling $44,000 from the 2015 Saratoga
Showcase of Homes.

The money is being donated to Rebuilding
Together Saratoga County, which will receive
$29,000, and Habitat for Humanity of Northern
Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties, which
will receive $15,000.

The Saratoga Builders Association, which runs
the Showcase of Homes, has now contributed over
$915,000 to local charities from the event.

The 2015 edition of the Saratoga Showcase of
Homes featured 11 award-winning builders presenting
12 homes.

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Business Report: Coordinate Retirement Planning Efforts

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BY DAVID L. CUMMING

The typical American family reflected in
iconic television shows of the 1950s and 1960s,
in which the husband went off to work each
morning and the wife happily played out the
role of homemaker, is firmly in the minority.

By 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
that six in 10 families with children have
two working parents. What’s more, the majority
of Americans feel they need dual incomes in
order to reach their financial goals.

For a major goal like retirement, working
couples need to be especially vigilant to coordinate
their planning efforts in a way that
supports their combined accumulation objectives.
As you and your spouse execute your joint
retirement strategy, keep some of the following
tips in mind.

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Business Report: Advance Retirement, Asset Protection

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BY KEVIN M. HEDLEY, MS, CPA, PFS

Business owners are generally more concerned
with day to day business matters and
may not realize some of the opportunities that
may arise from solving problems.

You may be concerned about the loss of key
employees, vendors or major clients, legal expenses,
or a myriad other concerns. All of these
can result in a catastrophic loss if they occur
and are the types of items that can keep you up
at night. When dealing with all of this it isn’t
often that a single solution can be found to solve
multiple problems facing business owners, but
there is such a solution available in the tax law.

One potential solution is known as a Captive
Insurance Company (CIC). The key difference
with the insurance to be discussed here and
insurance you obtain from your local insurance
carrier is you own the insurance company. The
Internal Revenue Code Section 831(b) effectively
allows a business to claim a deduction of up to
$1.2 million in a calendar year and have that premium
go to an insurance company that is owned
by the business owner. The added benefit of the
self owned insurance company is you do not pay
any tax on the receipt of the insurance premium.
Yes, you read that correctly, you deduct the premium
from one company you own and exclude
the income in another company you own.

So how can a CIC help your business?

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Business Report: Capital Gains: To Gift Or Not To Gift

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Brittany Razzano is an associate with the
Herzog Law Firm in Saratoga Springs.

BY BRITTANY RAZZANO, ESQ.

What is a capital gain? Generally, a capital
gain results from a sale of an asset, such as a
stock, at a higher price than the owner originally
paid. What the owner paid for the asset
is known as the cost basis. If the sale price
is higher than the cost basis, the difference
between the two is a capital gain.

A long-term capital gain is a gain resulting
from a holding period of more than one year.
For most taxpayers, a long-term capital gain
is taxed at 15 percent (20 percent for the top
tax bracket). A short-term capital gain is a
gain resulting from a holding period of 12
months or less. A short-term capital gain is
taxed as ordinary income, which varies depending
on the taxpayer’s income tax bracket.

Beyond the basics of capital gains tax rules,
we must consider the effects of gifting and
inheriting capital assets. When considering
these events, we must also think about the
possible gift tax and estate tax ramifications.
The current federal annual gift tax exclusion
amount is $14,000 per person.

This means that a donor can give each
person $14,000 per year without having to
pay or report any gift taxes. If the donor is
married, they can give away $28,000 per year
per person. It is important to note that while
for tax purposes, a gift of $14,000 or less is
disregarded, such a gift may be considered a
transfer that could trigger a penalty period
for a Medicaid look-back period, if the donor
has to go into a nursing home within five years
of making the gift.

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More Than 50 Restaurants Participating In Restaurant Week, Running Through Dec. 10

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The Saratoga Convention & Tourism presents
the 11th annual Saratoga County Winter
Restaurant Week running through Thursday,
Dec. 10.

More than 50 restaurants are participating
this year. The week is presented by the Saratoga
Convention & Tourism Bureau and Driscoll
Foods, in conjunction with restaurant owners
and operators in Saratoga County.

Saratoga County Winter Restaurant Week
allows dining patrons an opportunity to have
a three-course, prix-fixe dinner (including
an appetizer or salad, a dinner entrée, and a
dessert) from $10, $20 and $30 (plus tax and
tip). Several restaurants are also offering lunch
specials for $5 or $10 (plus tax and tip).

The event has a website at discoversaratoga.org/restaurant-week/ where there is a complete
list of special promotions.

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Planning Ahead, Taking Time To Relax Among Keys To Avoiding Holiday Meal-Cooking Stress

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Hayley Miller, co-owner of Saratoga Tea & Honey Co. in Saratoga Springs, says pausing for a
cup of tea can help ease holiday season stress for shoppers and people planning holiday meals.

BY MAUREEN WERTHER

Preparing and serving great food for holiday
parties and gatherings can add another layer of
stress to a person’s already hectic schedule.

Since chefs, caterers, and restaurant owners
experience that kind of stress every day as part of
their jobs, they have insights on managing the angst
associated with entertaining and food preparation.

Kevin Myers of Gaffney’s restaurant in Saratoga
Springs has one remedy for reducing stress during
the holidays.

“When I’m home, I don’t go near the kitchen.
I leave all the cooking to my fiancé.” Fortunately,
his fiancé enjoys preparing food and is very good
at it. For those who don’t have a partner willing or
able to step up to the plate in the kitchen, there are
plenty of other solutions ranging from relaxing teas
to cooking with wine.

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Brookside Museum Opens Artisans Market in Ballston Spa; Artists Open Boutique In Malta

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The 16th annual Artisans Market at Brookside
Museum in Ballston Spa will run through
Dec. 23.

The market is open Tuesday through Friday
from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evening hours will be announced
in December.

The Artisans Market features handmade
items from Leanna’s Designs, Saratoga Notecards,
Sundae’s Best Hot Fudge, Cobble
Hill Farms Apothecary, Adam Cielinski
woodworking, Studio in the Pines, Mohawk
Enterprises, Marilyn Rose Photography, DEG
photography, Precious Creations, Saratoga Inspirations,
Jo Mowrey, American Catnip, Beth
Page Designs, Home Studio, Gabriella Vardai-
Davidson jewelry design, Stoney Meadows
Farm, and Hoosick Hickory.

“I am thrilled with the variety of merchandise
and crafters we have represented,” Gayle
King, museum executive director. “The market
is a great opportunity to complete holiday
shopping and benefit the Saratoga Historical
Society.”

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Stewart's Holiday Match Program To Again Raise Funds For Youth-Oriented Local Charities

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Stewart’s Shops has started its Holiday Match
program, which raises funds for local charities.

“Stewart’s Holiday Match makes it so easy
to give to charities located right in your own
community. Our customers wow us with their
generosity year after year,” said Stewart’s Shops
President Gary Dake.

Stewart’s Shops kicked off its Holiday Match
season with excitement, following a record
breaking program in 2014. Last year, customers
donated more than $770,000, which was
doubled to more than $1.5 million with the
Stewart’s match.

The money was used to support a record
1,600 organizations directly within the communities
where Stewart’s Shops are located.

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Work Starts On Community Care Physicians' 2-Story Medical Arts Building In Clifton Park

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Representatives from Columbia Development
Companies, Community Care Physicians
PC and the Town of Clifton Park broke
ground in October for the new two-story
60,000-square-foot medical arts complex at
1783 Route 9, Clifton Park.

The new $15 million facility, to be built by
BBL Medical Facilities, will consolidate several
CCP offices to better serve the community by
streamlining operations at a central location.

Officials said Community Care’s on-site
specialties will include Primary Care (family
medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics), Ob/
Gyn, urgent care, medical imaging, physical
therapy, urology, lab and an on-site workout
room.

About 80 employees will be based at the
new facility, including 25 providers, officials
said. Community Care is leasing almost 44,000
square feet of the building. Also in the facility
are Albany Medical Center and Brass Eye
Center.

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New Quarter Unveiled By U.S. Mint Honors British Surrender In Saratoga To Gen. Gates

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The new quarter depicts a close-up of the moment British Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered his
sword to American Gen. Horatio Gates, considered a turning point in the American Revolution.

The U.S. Mint joined the National Park
Service on Nov. 17 to launch the Saratoga
National Historical Park quarter.

The quarter’s reverse (tails side) depicts
a close-up of the moment British Gen. John
Burgoyne surrendered his sword to American
Gen. Horatio Gates, a turning point many believe
marked the ‘beginning of the end of the
American Revolutionary War.’ Inscriptions
are “British Surrender 1777,” “Saratoga,” “New
York,” “2015,” and “E Pluribus Unum.”

“This new coin honors the patriots who
fought so bravely to defend our fledgling nation
and whose victory forever changed the
face of the world,” said Mint Acting Quality
Manager Ron Harrigal.

Hundreds of schoolchildren were on hand,
with several of them participating in the ceremony
which was live-streamed to the public.
Additional event participants included Mint
Artistic Infusion Program artist Barbara Fox,
designer of the coin’s reverse side; Saratoga
National Historical Park Superintendent Amy
Bracewell; park ranger and historian Eric
Schnitzer; and Matt Scollin, regional director
for U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik.

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