The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 11 No. 10 - December 8, 2010

BUSINESS

Surprising finds at Timesaver

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

SUN PHOTO/LOUISE BOLGER
Hish Boutiba and Mohdher Kobrosly welcome you to
Timesaver Food and Wine Store in Holmes Beach.

Tunisia is a lot different from Anna Maria Island, or is it? Both have access to a beautiful body of water and both have a lot of sand. Maybe that’s why Mondher Kobrosly found his way here from north Africa to make his home and start his business.

Kobrosly traveled to Anna Maria to visit his in-laws from his home in Connecticut on a regular basis. During one of those visits, while shopping in the same store he now owns, he decided he could run a more attractive business, made an offer to the owner and started packing up the family.

Since December 1999, Kobrosly has been continually turning what once was a plain vanilla quick shop into something that will surprise both visitors and locals who may have been driving by for years. Last year, he got some help after convincing his childhood friend Hish Boutiba who was living in Boston after selling his bar business in Zurich, Switzerland, to relocate to Anna Maria and lend a hand running Timesaver.

If you’ve never been inside of Timesaver Food & Wine Store get ready. The store on the Gulf Drive curve in Holmes Beach is chock full of surprises. In many ways Timesaver is your traditional local food store, stocking groceries, toiletries, candy, cigarettes, soda, water, milk, ice cream, snacks, coffee and newspapers.

But if you take a closer look, you’ll also find imported pasta, olive oil, vinegars and imported plum tomatoes. Timesaver also has a cold case of imported cheese and an impressive selection of premium cigars, the only place on the Island where these are available.

But the real surprise inside the doors of this modest shop is the selection of wine and imported and craft micro beers. Casual wine lovers and aficionados alike will be incredible impressed with the quality and range of the wine selection at Timesaver. There are rare wines with price tags not usually seen in local stores and quality discounted wines for the everyday dining table.

Timesaver's goal is to stock the best selection and best value wines in the area, and if you haven’t been to one of their legendary Friday night wine tastings you don’t know what you’re missing. The last Friday of every month is wine tasting at Timesaver where Kobrosly does the cooking and Hish Boutiba pours the wine. With a plentiful assortment of food and wine at its wine tastings, Timesaver has become a gathering place where locals and visitors meet and keep returning. It’s not unusual for 150 people to turn up for their Friday night events where you can learn a lot about wine from two men who really love their work. This month's wine tasting will be on Dec. 17 because of the Christmas holiday and will include beer tasting as well – not to be missed.

Influenced by their Mediterranean heritage, Kobrosly and Boutiba worship wine and believe that wine is for sharing. With the holidays upon us, make Timesaver Food & Wine Store your one stop shopping for holiday cheer and just about anything else.

Timesaver Food & Wine Store

5353 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach
941-778-1524
Monday through Saturday: 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Year-end planning may save on taxes

Investment Corner

One of the least exciting things I could choose to write about is year-end tax planning. But a penny saved is a penny earned, and when saving it by reducing taxes, it seems twice as sweet. So, let’s take a couple minutes to review some actions or record keeping tasks you can work on between now and the time you file your tax return

Prepare records – Whether you prepare your own taxes using one of the popular software programs available or use a professional tax preparer, you’ll have a better chance of maximizing your deductions and have less stress in the process if you have your records of income and tax deductible expenses organized in a logical manner.

Rather than provide you with a list here, I suggest you do an Internet search using the key words “checklist for tax preparation.” Believe it or not, there’s a website called taxpreparationchecklist.com, but many sites have handy lists you can print and use to get your started in organizing your records. Obviously, some records will arrive in January, particularly 1099s for bank and investment accounts, but your probably have quite a few records on hand now – it’s just a question of where they are.

One item I noted was lacking on the internet checklists. They did not seem to cover the area of tax credits for purchasing hybrid vehicles, or for making energy efficient improvements to your home very well. Make sure to include those records as well.

Retirement Plan Contributions – Deadlines for establishing and making tax deductible contributions to qualified retirement accounts vary between account types. Some are Dec. 31, and some are as late as you file your 2010 tax return. If you are eligible to contribute, make sure not to let the opportunity pass just because you missed a deadline. Remember, the deduction costs less than $1 for every dollar contributed based on your tax bracket. Example – a $1,000 contribution for someone in the 35 percent tax bracket only costs them $650 in after tax dollars.

Accelerate expenses – This may be more business oriented, but could apply to individuals in some cases. Some tax deductible expenses (almost any business expense and property taxes for homeowners come to mind) may not be due until after the first of the new year. But, by making the payment before Dec. 31, you can move the tax deduction up into this year, reducing your tax liability when filing 2010 tax returns.

One caveat on this topic is that if tax rates rise for 2011, delaying tax deductions may prove to be more effective. At this time, I believe the tax rates on personal income for most, if not all taxpayers will be extended into 2011 and perhaps longer. Whenever Congress is involved we cannot be sure, so you have to go with your best feeling on this issue.

Roth IRA conversions – I touched on this topic in articles earlier this year. Converting traditional IRA funds into a Roth IRA actually increases your tax bill, but a special rule for 2010 conversions allows you to postpone payment of the tax, paying half in 2012 and half in 2013 (when filing 2011 and 2012 tax returns respectively). Why convert? To help reduce future taxes for you or other family members. The decision to do a conversion can be a complicated analysis, but in general broad brush strokes you may benefit from a conversion if you meet the following conditions:

1. You will be able to pay the conversion tax from a source other than IRA funds

2. You will not withdraw the money in the converted IRA for at least 10 years

3. You intend on leaving the Roth IRA to your heirs.

Consult your tax advisor before converting, but don’t delay as conversions must be done by Dec. 31 to take advantage of spreading of the tax liability over two years as described above.

Tom Breiter is president of Breiter Capital Management, Inc., an Anna Maria based investment advisor. He can be reached at 778-1900. Some of the investment concepts highlighted in this column may carry the risk of loss of principal, and investors should determine appropriateness for their personal situation before investing. Visit www.breitercapital.com.

 


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