Taxes

Homestead Nonprofit's Leader Disputes County Audit Claiming He Misused Taxpayer Funds

Joseph Louis, executive director of Galata Inc., a Homestead social services agency, is challenging the findings of an audit that accuses his nonprofit organization of misspending part of a $500,000 Miami-Dade County grant. In January, Miami-Dade's inspector general claimed Galata took $77,307 to se ... More >>

Miami's 2013 Resolutions: Jeffrey Loria Needs to Shut Up, Jeff Ireland Needs to Man Up

Banah Sugar Ordered To Pay $208,000 Final Judgment

A Hialeah sugar making company owned by an ex-cocaine trafficker who wooed Hialeah and Miami-Dade elected officials into naming a street after his firm and approving $400,000 in tax breaks has been ordered to pay up a $208,000 debt. On Oct. 25, All-American Containers won a default final judgment ag ... More >>

Halloween Costumes to Avoid at All Costs

Mitt Romney Acknowledged His Miami Tax-Evading Pals Before Univision Broadcast

For a guy who doesn't believe in restoring felons' voting rights, Mitt Romney sure likes to associate with accused criminals when he comes to Miami.Back in August, Romney held a rally at a popular Coral Gables fruit juice stand owned by convicted coke trafficker Reinaldo Bermudez.On Wednesday, when ... More >>

Norman Braman Dodges Taxes For His Yacht, Kisses

For the past couple of years, Norman Braman has carefully crafted his image as a do-gooder billionaire and civic activist by leading the recall of former Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Alvarez and, more recently, financing opponents against four sitting county commissioners because they saddled taxpayers w ... More >>

Yathomas Riley Attempted Murder Case: Bloody Letter Bolsters Boxer's Appeal

Two months ago we wrote about the bizarre case of Yathomas Riley, an undefeated heavyweight boxer from Florida City accused of trying to kill his girlfriend in 2010. Prosecutors claim that Riley shot Koketia King in a jealous rage. But the boxer and his family argue that King tried to kill herself a ... More >>

Eduardo Saverin, Miami-Raised Facebook Founder, Slammed Over Renouncing U.S. Citizenship to Avoid Taxes

Fat Tax, Like California's, Is Too Much

In an effort to force citizens to make healthier choices, a few countries have instituted a "fat tax" or "junk food tax," which requires consumers to shell out more for unhealthy foods. So far, Denmark and Hungary have done so. France has so far restricted its levy to sweetened drinks.Health advocat ... More >>

William Joseph and Michael Bennett, ex-NFL Players, Busted By FBI In Tax Fraud Case

At the University of Miami, William Joseph was a star of the 2001 national championship team's fearsome defense, leading the Canes in QB sacks and tackles for a loss. Joseph has since retired from football after an eight-year NFL career, but he'd better hope he's still got some killer defense left i ... More >>

Carlisle Development Group Serves Audrey Edmonson With a Bundle of Cash

The Carlisle Development Group sure knows how to show gratitude to Audrey Edmonson. The Miami-based affordable housing developer ponied up $15,000 in contributions to the Miami-Dade County commissioner's reelection campaign, according to her recently filed campaign finance report. Edmonson has been ... More >>

Cow Furry Shows Up to Protest Sen. Bill Nelson's "Udder Hypocrisy"

​Florida's Democratic Senator Bill Nelson has apparently really pissed off one furry. A man in a full plushy cow costume showed up at the State Capitol building this morning to declare that Nelson was in the business of "udder hypocrisy."

"We're Screwed": Florida Republicans Punished with Crappy Convention Hotel Rooms and Loss of VIP Passes

​For the second time in the row, Florida politicians decided to ignore the rules of the Republican National Committee and moved ahead with their plan for an early primary. Like 2008, this means that Florida Republicans will lose half of their delegates at the national convention, but this time aro ... More >>

Herman Cain is Now Leading in Florida

​Suggesting that yesterday's national poll may not have been some sort of insane statistical outlier, a new poll from American Research Group of likely Florida primary voters shows that Herman Cain is now on top of the heap in the Florida. He leads Mitt Romney by six points. Meanwhile, the rise an ... More >>

Regalado Must Go: Miami Declares Financial Morass Again

​To sidestep union demands and deal with its burgeoning financial crisis, the City of Miami declared a situation of financial urgency. It is the second straight year the city has done this. The idea stinks. (The text of Martinez's declaration follows the jump.) It gives the union 14 days to nego ... More >>

County Commissioner Barbara Jordan Is All Alone On An Iceberg

​County Commissioner Barbara Jordan must be feeling really lonely these days. She's not getting any attention from her fellow commissioners, so she's resorting to sending them messages via prepared statements to the media.Jordan is upset with a component of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez's propos ... More >>

Rick Scott's dirtiest deeds

Casinos, pot, and fun will save Miami's economy

Casinos, Pot, And Fun: The Key To New Jobs In Miami-Dade

​Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke -- who is a candidate for Miami-Dade mayor -- lays out his vision for kick-starting the local economy.It's time for Miami ... More >>

Union Dues Fight: Miami Republicans Cause Another Defeat for Rick Scott

​Just days after news that Gov. Rick Scott's push to eliminate corporate income tax would end in failure, another big item on Scott's agenda now looks it's headed for defeat. Scott and Sen. John Thrasher, the former chair of the state GOP, made it a top priority to pass a bill that would ban publ ... More >>

Florida Republicans Are Doing the Bidding of Corporations Thanks to Huge Campaign Donations

​Florida's government is apparently "for the corporations, by the corporation." Gov. Rick Scott promised to run Florida like a business, and his fellow Republicans in the legislature are pushing through many "pro-business" reforms.They also happen to be taking in tons of cash from corporations. Fo ... More >>

Lil Wayne and other famous Miamians owe the IRS millions in back taxes

Coral Gables Election Day Arrives

​Today, voters in Coral Gables will either give Don Slesnick a third term or elect a new mayor. Two city commission seats are also up for grabs in a city election that has seen all the candidates raise close to one million dollars combined.And unlike previous election seasons, this cycle has seen ... More >>

Lien Times: Meet Some Local Tax Cheats

Weezy F. Baby needs E.F. Hutton​As the tax season draws to a close this week, some of our more recognizable citizens are probably wondering if Uncle Sam will catch them cheating on their taxes again. Take Lil Wayne, who was just popped by the Internal Revenue Service for not paying his fair share ... More >>

County Manager George Burgess Is Resigning

​Hours after voters tossed out the bums (ahem, Carlos Alvarez and the vile Natacha Seijas), County Manager George Burgess got the hint as well. Burgess is set to resign his post today at a 2 p.m. news conference.In memorium, we'll just toss out two things about Burgess: $422,118 (yu ... More >>

Alan Grayson Auditions for MSNBC on the House Floor

​Our fellow Floridians in the Orlando area resoundingly kicked Rep. Alan Grayson out of office this election in a 19 point defeat. Apparently they do not care that the rest of America enjoys being entertained by his off-the-wall speeches on the House floor. He's already told Dick Cheney to literal ... More >>

Effort to Recall Five County Commissioners Launched

Comm. Natacha Seijas is one of five being targeted​Billionaire Norman Braman's quest to have Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez recalled was officially approved by the Clerk of Courts yesterday. Today, and effort to recall five county commissioners was launched by a political action commi ... More >>

Norman Braman's Recall Real Fishy

Mr. Braman: Recall everybody not just Carlos Alvarez​We've never hidden our disappointment and disgust with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez's administration. Voters handed him immense powers in 2007, but Carlos "El Fuerte" never materialized. And he sandbagged Miami-Dade taxpayers with the Marlins ... More >>

Is Indian Creek Island too expensive for Don Shula?

Is Jeb Bush Still in Charge of Florida?

​Jeb Bush left office four years ago, but Associated Press writer Martin Merzer thinks he may still be in charge of the state -- or at the very least still the most influential voice in the governing Republican party."He's become a legislative Wizard of Oz -- thunder and lightning and pulling the ... More >>

Uncle Sam Makes It Rain: How to Spend Your Tax Refund at Warp Speed

This guy seemed appropriate. "It's free money from the government!!"​We have no idea how a tax refund works. All we know is Uncle Sam is a greedy bastard all but one day of the year, when he sends us a fat check with no strings attached. What a nasty little sycophant. That government check ... More >>

Does Puerto Rico Make a Convincing Film Stand In for Miami? Watch Life During Wartime Trailer

 Some Florida lawmaker may be hellbent on only luring "family friendly" movies to the Sunshine State, but if filmmakers want to make darker pictures set in our state it seems like Puerto Rico can play the role of South Florida pretty well. More and more films are using the island as a cheaper d ... More >>

In a Democratic Wet Dream, We'd Belong to the State of the Everglades

​It's not exactly uncommon to hear someone floating around the political fantasy of South Florida becoming its own state. Not to say it'd ever actually happen, but c'mon, we all know the rest of Florida is holding us back. Well, a new political map that redraws the United States with the idea ... More >>

Is Watson Island the New Overtown (With a Mega-Yacht Club)?

Miami.fly me via Flickr CC​Watson Island is the redheaded stepchild of Biscayne Bay. Star Island gets Shaquille O'Neal and Madonna. Fisher Island has its own private ferry. And poor Watson is stuck with a field of dry grass and a theme park full of restless parrots. Sure, it's home to the Japane ... More >>

They Fight for You, Against Each Other

Marco Rubio Enters a Race He Will Never Win

  So, former Speaker of the House Marco Rubio has decided to officially enter the Senate race, whether or not Charlie Crist runs. He announced his candidacy on YouTube (how charmingly 2005), and if it wasn't already clear, he's painting himself as the conservative underdog. He talks about how "fam ... More >>

New Tax Might Kill Miami's Cigar Rollers

Newt Gingrich Makes First Florida Stop in His 2012 Presidential Campaign?

Remember this Newt Gingrich fellow? I know he's been pretty much irrelevant for the past ten years, but he used to be speaker of the house until he ran his public image into the ground by getting caught up in a few games of ethical limbo and becoming a polarizing figure in the public eye. Now he has ... More >>

Haha, Obama! Huizenga Rids Himself of Dolphins

You might remember Wayne Huizenga's pre-election whining about how he wanted to sell of his remaining stake in the Miami Dolphins before our new socialist dictator can personally tax the hell out of him. "He wants to double the capital gains tax, or almost double it. I'd rather give it to charity th ... More >>

Sorry, Lungs, Florida Remains a Smoker's Haven

The American Lung Association released Florida's annual smoking report card, and we got three Fs. As in F'ing awesome? No, as in one out of five Floridians are slowly F'ing killing themselves. Whoops. The ALA recognizes the state for increasing its tobacco control funding, but overall we're still fa ... More >>

Conservatives Want To Give Sarah Palin All Our Precious Sunshine

Oh for the love of a secular female iteration of an Earth power God, it is Christmas Eve. Can we please keep the partisan bickering to arguing with your Republican uncle after copious amounts of egg nog? No, sir. The conservative blogosphere is nonstop. While this particular strained ... More >>

Election Tip #1: Early Voting is Your Friend

Power to the Pudge!

Get ready for another Marlins dismantling, but this time be prepared

Lost Sounds

The new Memphis

Poor Miami: More Good Ideas

According to these folks, there's hope for America's most impoverished city

Submarine Politics

Alex Penelas learned his lesson in 1999; this year's transit-tax campaign is all below the surface

Side Dish

Karetnick: "Can we talk?"

Alex Penelas's Rite of Passage

News of the Weird

Owe, Owe, Owe Your Boat

The Miami Rowing Club finds itself up a creek of red ink