The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper


Vol. 16 No. 26 - April 27, 2016

BUSINESS

Deli delicious at Scott's Deli

LaPensee Plumbing Pools Air

Louise Bolger | SUN\

Scott Mason and Trudy Hussey are ready to serve
you signature gourmet sandwiches.

Picture this – you're lounging on the beach the sun is shining, the Gulf water is that ideal color, and there's a soft breeze. The only problem is it's getting near lunch time, and the last thing you want to do is give up your perfect spot on the beach and get in the car. Well, the only thing you actually have to do is move your fingers to dial Scott's Deli, and someone will bring lunch right to your beach chair.

Scott Mason and his mother, Trudy Hussey, opened Scott's Deli in April last year. Mason was working for six years as a chef in a golf and country club in Kansas when his mother discovered Anna Maria Island after visiting some relatives. It didn't take too many visits to the Island before she told her son that this would be a great place to open a restaurant and to raise his children. And it didn't take Mason too many on line searches to find the perfect spot for his gourmet deli.

Mason and Hussey put their own stamp on the petite space painting the walls sky blue, adding a mermaid painting and setting up an inside and outside bar for in house dining as well as two outside tables. But what they really changed was the menu, starting with Scott Mason's signature sandwiches and homemade baked goods.

Some of Scott's Deli gourmet sandwiches are chicken banh mi wrap, which is buffalo chicken with vegetables and spicy Asian cream sauce in a spinach wrap; turkey bacon, avocado sandwich; Italian sandwich and BBQ turkey ranch wrap. There are also hot sandwiches like Reubens, Cubans, tuna melts and more. They also have a weekly sandwich special and the week I was there it was turkey, bacon, brie, arugula, sweet pepper jam, roasted apples on a ciabatta roll, really a meal between two slices of bread.

And the sandwiches are just the beginning, Scott's also has some unique breakfast choices like peameal bacon, provolone, red pepper jelly and fried egg on an English muffin, and steak and eggs made with roast beef, peppers and onions, Swiss, garlic aioli on a ciabatta roll . You can of, course, create your own sandwich with one of the Boar's Head meats, cheeses, toppings, sauces and breads.

They also make their own salads including chicken, potato, pasta and others. All of their bakery items are homemade with a weekly cheese cake special. Wednesday is locals' day, so those of us fortunate enough to live here full time can get 20 percent off all sandwiches.

A big part of Scott's Deli's business is delivery. They deliver to a large portion of the Island as well as to the beach. Just call, place your order tell them which beach access you're near and the color of your umbrella, and before you can say, "There goes another dolphin," lunch will be delivered via golf cart or motor bike. Shortly Scott's will be carrying beer and wine, and they also have a catering menu for business breakfasts and luncheons, wedding parties, and other events.

Mason, Hussey and their four employees are pretty busy these days but may be getting some help when Scott's wife, Jamie, and two of his three daughters, Logan, Morgan and Braxten arrive on Anna Maria after the school year. Jamie will become an important part of the business, and, hopefully, Logan will create a few more paintings for the walls to add to the one already there.

So keep the beach chair and umbrella in place and your cell phone handy for those days you just don't want to move, and for all the other days, drive on over to Scott's Deli in Holmes Beach and get ready to be wowed.

SCOTT'S DELI

5337 Gulf Drive

Holmes Beach

Trolley stop #15

941-778-3000

9 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily

All major credit cards accepted

www.scottsdeliannamaria.com

Wednesday is Locals' Day with 20 percent off all sandwiches

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Dividend income from stocks is tax preferenced

Investment Corner

As investors examine how to generate income from their investment capital, the subject of taxation on income becomes important. For those in the highest income brackets, more than 40 percent of ordinary income may be lost to federal taxes and in most states there is additional income tax at the state level (but not in Florida). Of course we are not talking about income earned inside an IRA or other tax qualified account, where taxes are paid as distributions are taken from the account, or not at all in the case of a Roth-style qualified account.

Ordinary income is that received from employment or business profits, distributions from annuities and traditional IRAs, interest payments from bonds (except municipal bonds), Social Security and other pensions.

Sheltering investment income from taxation is essentially a boost to the rate of return because you get to keep more of what you make. This is why I really like the idea of investing in rising dividend companies. Current law taxes income from what is referred to as "qualified dividends" paid on shares of common stock at lower rates than other forms of income.

Federal tax rates on ordinary income can run to over 40 percent as identified above. The current rate of tax on qualified dividend income for most investors is only 15 percent. Individuals earning over $400,000 and households earning over $450,000 pay a higher rate of 20 percent, but this is about half of the rate these investors pay on ordinary income.

I should also note there are some additional Medicare related taxes on high wage earners for both ordinary and investment income. These apply to single filers who earn more than $200,000, or joint filers who earn more than $250,000. But, the point is still valid that income from common stock dividends is advantaged from a tax standpoint.

This has not always been the case though. While dividends from common stock were totally tax-free from 1913 to 1953, with the exception of 1936 to 1939 when they were taxed as ordinary income at rates of up to 79 percent! From 1954 to 1985 dividends were taxed as ordinary income with a $50 annual exemption.

From 1985 to 2003 dividends were taxed as ordinary income with no exemption and the top rates varied from 28 to 50 percent during that time. The Bush tax cuts in 2003 reduced the tax rate to the 15 percent level for everyone, and this was then modified in 2012 to the rates cited at the beginning of the article.

A current comparison of a 3 percent dividend from a common stock versus 3 percent interest income from a corporate or government bond looks like this. The after tax yield for all but the highest income earners is 2.55% after adjusting for the 15 percent tax on dividends. If this same individual is in the 28 percent tax bracket, the after tax yield on the corporate bond would be 2.16 percent. In today's low interest rate environment this almost 0.4 percent extra yield is significant. In addition, most companies raise their dividend payment to shareholders over time, but most bonds do not increase the interest payment over time. I recommend that investors examine the role dividend paying common stocks can play in their portfolio.

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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