Archives: October 2016

Facts Regarding New Zealands Tax Laws

Cone Marshall is an international New Zealand Trust, Estate, and Tax Law Firm. The principals in this firm are Karen Marshall and Geoffrey Cone. Established in 1999, this firm is located in Auckland, at the Parnell House, Level 3, Auckland 1151, New Zealand. They may be contacted at +64 9 307 3950 or on the web at http://www.conemarshall.com. Karen Marshall worked in London for a total of ten years in the Commercial Litigation department of a law firm. In 2006, she became an advisor to statutory trustee companies at Cone Marshall. She has a wide range of experience in managing trusts.

Geoffrey Cone has provided tax planning and international trust management services since 1980. The company assists in the establishing of trusts, partnerships, companies, global wealth and tax planning advice. An article in May of 2016 referred to this firm as “the best of New Zealand’s tax lawyers.” The increase in the number of foreign trusts in New Zealand was addressed by Mr. Cone with the statement: ”The reason that there has been such strong recent growth in the number of foreign trusts administered [here] is that New Zealand is internationally recognized as a safe, stable and high quality jurisdiction with good laws, a well-regarded judiciary and substantial legal and professional infrastructure. Our reputation as a safe place to base one’s assets is positive for New Zealand’s global reputation.” Mr. Cone adheres to high principles regarding tax and trust transparency and provides their clients with only trusted advice.

According to a list maintained by OECD, New Zealand is not a tax haven. What New Zealand has done, is show leadership in how it handles foreign trusts and trustee requirements. In 2006, Michael Cullen passed a law stating New Zealand resident trustees of foreign trusts must submit a Foreign Trust Disclosure form and keep financial records for tax purposes. These records must be kept in New Zealand and recorded in English or penalties apply. This was further enhanced by the 2011 enactment of world standard money laundering legislation.

New Zealand has 39 double tax agreements to reduce tax impediments and assist in preventing tax evasion or avoidance. They also have more than 20 tax information agreements with other countries. They have signed up to a multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. None of these actions in any way represent a tax haven.

Visit Cone Marshall’s official website to learn more about the firm: http://www.conemarshall.com

Adam Goldenberg Knows What People Like

One of the major mistakes that many companies make is not listening to their customers on Brandettes. After all, in today’s day and age, customers are not shy about expressing how they feel about something. They will say what is on their mind and they will put it out there for the public. The key is making sure that the business owner or in this case, business owners listen. Adam Goldenberg and his business partner Don Ressler always listen to the customer. After all, these are the people that are going to be purchasing the product and putting down their hard earned money on it. If they are not satisfied with it and it does not make them happy, there is a great chance they are not going to buy it.

They have seen that fashion has not been fun for women anymore. As noted by Adam and Don, a lot of people take it a little too seriously and they sap all the fun out for it. When Adam and Don put this together, they wanted to make sure it was fun and that women enjoyed it. When they signed up for it at the cost of $39.95 and received their handbags, accessories, and shoes, they were going to be over the moon about it. They were going to receive items that spoke to them as women and really appealed to them. They were not going to get anything less than that. After all, that is what they deserve and that is what they should get. See: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/for-intelligent-beautys-a_n_1624707.html

By actually listening to the customers and getting inside their head, they ensured they would find out what they were looking for or what they thought was missing from fashion and the fashion world. They wanted to provide that missing ingredient and make sure that they received it. Don has plenty of business experience as does Adam Goldenberg. They have worked together in the past and they know each other’s way of doing business. That is why when they team up and work together, it is such a seamless process. There is no conflict and there is no issue, whatsoever.

Adam learned how to work with others when he started his own company at the young age of 15 in Gamers Alliance which he went on to sell. He knew how to speak to people and how to motivate people. Adam and Don are self-motivated to do the best.

Waiakea is More than a Basic Bottled Water

There are many bottled water brands. Some of these brands have been around for decades and some of them are very new on the scene of bottled water. The company that has been making big waves though is Waiakea. The bottled water brand is volcanic bottled water that comes right from the island of Hawaii and it has been changing the way that the bottled water industry works since it first started to see success a few years ago. They have done so much, in fact, that they have seen over 5000% growth in three years. Learn more: http://www.ladistco.com/products/drinks/water/waiakea-hawaiian-volcanic-water/

The first thing that Waiakea aimed to do was to provide water to people who were not on the islands who wanted the benefits of the water that was found on the islands. This meant that they needed to provide volcanic water in a bottled form so that people could have the benefits of the silica that was found in the volcanic runoff. People can consume silica to feel healthier, have a lower chance of diseases and to even lower their risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease as they began to get older and the likelihood became higher.

The second thing that the company wanted to do was to provide this water in a sustainable way. They wanted to make sure that the environment was not hurting as a result of them making bottled water. For that reason, they came up with a process that allowed them to truly sustain the bottled water manufacturing. They wanted their bottles to be made completely from recyclable material and to also be able to be recycled when people were done with them. They also make the bottling process more efficient and less harmful to the environment by using less energy and fossil fuels than other bottled water brands.

Lastly, Waiakea wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. They provide water that is clean and healthy to people who live in third world countries. They want these people to have the same access to bottled water as people in other countries and they do so through their philanthropic processes. They create water sources for people who do not have them and they make sure that their process is simplified so that it can be done long after they are gone. This is the one true way that they are making a difference in the world they live in.

How ClassDojo has Transformed Classroom Management

ClassDojo is an important tool that encourages students to make decent choices and exercise positive behaviors in their classrooms. Students will earn points for displaying positive behaviors and may also lose points for showing negative behaviors. It gives teachers the opportunity to point out and reward positive activities as opposed to focusing only on the negative things. The parents are also able to monitor the progress of their children by highlighting the areas that need improvement and commend the areas where the child is doing quite well.

 

Benefits to Teachers:

 

Teachers can come up with reward systems that translate points earned in ClassDojo into ‘Dojo Dollars’ that they can spend on the bonus. The rewards may range from free lunch with friends; free homework passes, etc.

 

This new form of classroom management has saved the teachers the agony of explaining student performance or behavioral changes, up or down. ClassDojo enables all parties involved to monitor the student behavior, and the final assessment is definite to all sides. It is easy to track data for individual students that can be shared during data conferences or meetings with parents.

 

ClassDojo has flexible features which allow teachers to customize the app to fit their various classrooms. They can key in the skills they need their students to work on and the individual scores for each skill. There are also windows for different reports that can be generated for each student. This can be extracted in the form of easy-to-interpret formats like pie charts that can be printed out for parents who may not access the window at home.

 

Benefits to Students:

 

Students also have access to log on to ClassDojo and view their progress. The student profiles come with a monster Avatar that they can customize to suit their character. This monster will be displayed whenever they log into the app.

 

Benefits to Parents:

 

Consistent communication throughout the school day, and even throughout the year, enables parents to be up to date with what their children are doing and how they relate to others at school all the time. They are therefore not surprised by incidents and occurrences that are usually discussed only once every year, during the parent teachers meetings.

 

Final Verdict:

 

The classroom management app gives parents, teachers, and students real-time access to sharing photos, messages, videos, throughout the school day. This platform is revolutionized classroom management and is currently used in over 180 countries worldwide and 90 percent of districts in the U.S.

 

ClassDojo has recently raised $21 million in the Series-B round of venture technical funding. This connects the teachers to parents by enhancing consistent communication about student’s activities, behavior, and social development while at school.

Bruce Levenson Deals the Atlanta Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks have long been considered a team stuck in NBA purgatory. The Hawks have continually been good enough to compete but not good enough to win a championship. Atlanta Hawks former owner Bruce Levenson took over the team with those struggles in sight while armed with the knowledge that he would have to address it. Well, it is easy to say after continued success and back to back years of 50+ wins that Levenson succeeded in his attempt. Now Levenson is stepping back and selling the team, allowing someone else to carry on with his legacy.

Antony Ressler is the man leading the charge to buy up the Atlanta Hawks (http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2015/04/23/bankers-for-levenson-oversold-atlanta-hawks-by-27/). Ressler is at the head of a purchasing group and he is bringing his considerable financial leverage tot he table in order to make this deal go through. Ressler is an investment fund manager and he is working alongside former NBA star Grant Hill and Jesse Itzler to make the purchase for around $850 million total.

According to Time, when Ressler takes over the team he will be commanding a franchise that is desperate to move to the next level in terms of NBA Final aspirations. Coach Mike Budenholzer has given the Hawks hope on the offensive end of things and the Hawks have gotten continued solid play out of their roster. Now it is up to the Hawks to push ahead and compete in a star driven league.

Resller has said all of the right things since the sale was completed saying, “We are honored and thrilled to have been chosen to become the new stewards of the Hawks”. Ressler went on to advocate the strength of the NBA brand as viewed through the lens of the high sale for the Hawks. Levenson will now move on in a post-NBA business world to continue his successful run. Source: brucelevenson.com.

 

Four Unique Laws Vital To Citizens and Foreigners in Brazil

 

Brazil has made significant progress in creation and implementation of various laws. Comprehending such laws can be challenging to both citizens and foreigners. As such, it is wise to analyze fundamental legislation aimed at protecting human rights and property. The Brazilian legal system is governed by 181,000 laws across various disciplines. However, this article expounds on four essential laws for the benefit of readers.

Gambling

The country has banned all forms of gambling and wagering to promote productivity of the youth. However, online betting is allowed since the internet is not monitored within Brazilian territory. Gambling in designated areas is strictly forbidden. As such, teens with adequate time on their hands are advised to find other hobbies or interests to engage their minds.

Smoking in Public Places

The legal system has prohibited smoking in public to protect the health of passive smokers. Enacted in 2014, the law permits smoking in 5 specific locations such as:

  • Film studios
  • Religious cults that permit smoking as part of the ceremony
  • Tobacco kiosks
  • Research centers for tobacco products
  • Health facilities that allow smoking

The Use of Cell Phones in Banks

Local municipalities have forbidden cell phone use in financial institutions. Such a law is aimed at protecting bank customers from robbery when leaving the institution. Banks that fail to enforce the law are liable to a fine. As such, it is advisable to discourage customers from using cell phones within banks.

Wearing helmets inside buildings

Brazilian law has prohibited the use of helmets and all forms of facial covering inside public premises. Doing so reduces robbery attempts by bikers. Furthermore, the absence of such covering is instrumental in conducting face detection by security agencies.

Ricardo Tosto’s Profile

Mr. Tosto has cemented his status as one of the best attorneys in Brazil. Initially from a humble background, Ricardo has overcome several challenges to build a highly successful litigation law firm in the country. In addition, he has successfully defended influential personalities and companies in court.

Ricardo is credited for pioneering legal principles, which are now used by the Brazilian legal system. As the CEO of the firm, Tosto supervises ongoing cases and provides goal-oriented leadership to his partners.

Flavio Maluf: The Entrepreneur Behind the Success of Eucatex

 

Family owned businesses are normally faced with several challenges such as accusations of nepotism. Another major challenge is the pressure felt by new generations to avoid running the family business into the ground and the responsibility to previous generations who strived to build it. New business owners may also feel torn between implementing new and popular methods of conducting operations and holding to traditions. Older generations should know that change, especially in business, is inevitable, and they should be willing to let younger leaders make changes to improve the business.

 

Flavio Maluf is a great example of an executive who knows the best way to run a family owned business. Mr. Maluf is the president of Eucatex, a Brazilian company that manufacturers paint and wooden panels. He worked in the trade area of the company when he joined them in 1987. Ten years down the line he was allowed to proceed his uncle as the president of the company. He had proven to be the most appropriate candidate for the role and had shown interest in running the family business.

 

For more than 30 years now, Flavio has led the company to great success. Today Eucatex Group is one of the leading companies in the construction industry that produces paints, modular partitions, doors and laminate floors. Eucatex is also one of the largest producers of Tamburato, MDP and wood fiber plates, all of which are manufactured with superior technology and 100% eucalyptus wood.

 

In 2010, Eucatex opened a new industrial plant in Salto, Sao Paulo. The factory produces T-HDF/MDF (Thin High-Density Fiberboard and Medium Density Fiberboard). Under Flavio’s leadership, Eucatex pioneered the implementation of the first wood recycling line in South America.

 

Flavio Maluf is a Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP) graduate who holds a degree in mechanical engineering. He also lived in the United States for almost a year where he studied business administration at the New York University. Mr. Maluf also serves as the president of GrandFood Group, a company that owns Golden and Premier Pet feed brands.