Florida the most tax competitive state!

Finnish American Chamber of Commerce, Florida Newsletter

Issue 7 Volume 3

July 2012

Greetings!

Florida has again been in business news, with CFOs voting Florida as the most tax competitive state!

Many businesses are finding their way to Florida, not only to enjoy the weather but also all the perks that the state offers for businesses.

The board has made preliminary plans for our next winter season, please take a look at the schedule and mark your calendars! We encourage you to get involved in organizing some of the events, that it absolutely the best way to get value from your membership!

FACC will also be participation in the Team Finland-discussion this fall in Finland. Team Finland wants to hear your views on the challenges which Finnish companies encounter when going abroad, and also learn from the success stories they have to tell. If you have stories you want us to share please sent them to info@facc-fl.com

Speakers at the event will include President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, Minister of Economic Affairs Jyri Häkämies, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb and President & CEO of KONE Corporation, Matti Alahuhta.

Thank you for your support and we look forward of seeing you at many of our events.

Have a great summer!

At your service,

FACC-FL Board

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CFOs named Florida as most tax competitive state

Survey conducted by A&M Taxand interviewed 800 financial executives across the US. Florida, Texas and Nevada were names as the most tax competitive states. To learn more read the article or the complete report "CFO Matters: Tax Perspectives Survey Highlights".

Florida consumer confidence drops 4 points

Consumer confidence among Floridians sank four points this month, after jumping four points to 78 in May, according to a University of Florida survey. Read more here.

Palm Beach County gets a new outlet mall

The old Palm Beach Mall site is expected to renew its former glory. The old mall will be replaced by a new fashion outlet center in Palm Beach Mall property. Shoppers will be enjoying 80-plus-store outlet center and strip of traditional retail shops built along the Interstate 95 boundary. Read more here.

Foreclosure rates and mortgage delinquency down in region

Foreclosure rates were down in each of South Florida's counties. Foreclosure rates on outstanding loans in Palm Beach were down to 12.37 percent in April, a decrease of .77 percent from the same time a year ago. Read more here.

Florida life science industry posts strong growth

Florida's bet on the life sciences industry is starting to pay off, according to a recent study by industry trade group BioFlorida. The number of biotechnology companies in Florida growth by 42 percent over the past five years, compared to 5 percent growth nationally. Read more here.

News from Finland

Finnish Scientists Discover Vaccine To Eliminate Allergies

Only in the United States about 65 million people have some type of allergies and the allergy treatment market is huge. Scientists at the University of Eastern Finland have discovered a vaccine that will create immunity for allergies. The vaccine is hoped to be brought on market in five toseven years. Read more here.

More successful game companies from Finland

Finnish game industry is not just successful Rovio and its Angry Birds. Finnish game developer Supercell just released its Hay Day farming game, but the game has already made a big splash on Apple's App Store. Hay Day made it into the top ten downloaded games for the iPad in the US in three days. Supercell, founded in 2010, has two more games coming up for Apple's mobile platform in the near future. Read more here.

Konecranes wins raft of US orders

Konecranes has announced a range of new orders from the United States. They include a deal to deliver three rubber tired gantry cranes in June 2013 to transportation supplier CSX Intermodal Terminals. read more here.

Finland among ten most peaceful nations in the world

Finland is ranked number 9 in the Institute for Economics and Peace annual Global Peace Index. The Index ranks 158 nations based on their levels of peacefulness. Read more here.

President Martti Ahtisaari receives Global Economy Prize

Former Finnish President and Nobel laureate Martti Ahtisaari has received the prestigious 2012 Global Economy Prize from Germany's Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The prize is awarded for active discourse on economic matters as well as for initiatives that meet globalization challenges using labor, financing, and commodities markets. Read more here.

Membership news

Renewing members

Coastline Realty

Coastline Realty is a family owned real estate agency located in downtown Lake Worth for over 20 years. Continuing success is a direct consequence of agents focus on customer care, ethical service and attention to detail. They aim to ensure that each of their customer, whether seller or buyer, has a customized personal experience tailored to their needs.

www.coastlinerealtyinc.com

FACC upcoming events

Here is a preview of our winter season events, mark your calendars

Meet Finland's New Ambassador November 30th

Luncheon with opportunity to meet Ambassador Ritva Koukku-Ronde

Another quest speaker to be announced later

Xmas Party December 14th

Christmas season social event

Traditional Finnish style Christmas dinner and program

Welcome to Florida January 16th

Targeted towards new arrivals. Information about investments,

real estate, insurances, banking, car purchasing and more

Social Media Marketing Seminar February

Social media and internet marketing event for members

Golf Tournament March

Networking and golfing

Palm Beach Strategic Forum April

International economic forum

Expatriate Finns as a resource for Finland

In connection with the Finnish Expatriate Parliament Session 2012, Suomi-Seura is organizing a seminar

Networks Abroad

Expatriate Finns as a Resource for Finland

25th Oct 2012, 2 - 4 p.m.
WTC Helsinki, Marski hall, Aleksanterinkatu 17

As part of the seminar Finland Society is conducting a survey on whether expatriate Finns are able in their own community to aid Finnish companies in their work in foreign markets. They are very gratefully accepting all thoughts on this topic, also from those who are not able to participate in the actual meeting. All information and experiences are very helpful in this important work. Your answers will naturally be treated confidentially. The questions are in Finnish but you are more than welcome to answer in English!
Suomiseura

Answer the survey here

More information on event website

Please email info@usp.fi for questions and feedback.

We hope you find this newsletter useful and we love to get feedback and suggestions how we can make it better. We also have many volunteer opportunities within the chamber so let us know how you want to be involved.

Sincerely,

Lena Hartikainen
Finnish American Chamber of Commerce