Category Archives: Recreation

Million Rec Center And Celebrate Alabama Make Opelika Al. Poised For Boom

Posted on by

While most of the nation and even the world has been embroiled in a gloomy economic outlook and continued downturn, Opelika, Alabama seems to take little notice of the current financial problems. The region continues to enjoy a sustained economic boom that has enabled it to emerge and prosper during the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression. In fact, the area continues to grow, with its potential unabated by ongoing economic troubles.

As you might imagine, the area has become home to an enormous number of businesses and industries. This has, of course, played a role in the ongoing economic good fortune of the district. With Hyundai and Kia Motors (two of the fastest growing global automakers) within the I-85 Corridor, it seems that all the pieces are in place for continued growth and development. A rich, diverse business environment exists, home to numerous types of industries, commercial outlets and residential developments investors have found this locale ideal for their wealth generation and management needs.

Investing in property within the Auburn-Opelika, Alabama district may be the solution for any investor’s needs. In fact, one property offering enormous potential stands head and shoulders above other options. Comprising 585 acres, this property is adjacent to the $1 billion Celebrate Alabama development and adjoins the $32 million Sportsplex and Aquatic Center, both of which should increase property values tremendously. Priced below appraisal, investors will find this a great opportunity for their needs.

Preinstalled sewer and water lines on property provide additional value, while the two lakes offer stunning natural beauty, as well as an ideal location for recreation facilities, such as fishing, boating and swimming. The property also boasts a large preexisting home, which can easily be converted to a clubhouse or central headquarters for development. The home features a large sundeck, pool house and an in-ground swimming pool. With the I-85 Corridor adjacent to the property, access to any of the numerous surrounding areas is easy.

Making the right choice is imperative for investors this area was voted in the Top 10 US locations for future growth and that prediction is coming true in amazing ways. In addition, the area has been voted one of the best for golf, recreation and retirement. With consumers and businesses flooding the area, the time to make the right investment decision is now.

How To Find And Use Online Dubai Coupons Codes

Posted on by

A coupon is a small piece of paper, more or less like a ticket, which are issued by a company for the consumers to avail discounts at their items. It is one of the most beneficial marketing or promotional tools. Every buyer appreciates a cut down of prices on the purchases he makes. So to control the customers purchasing, these coupons are issued which attract them and make them buy more and more.

These coupons have a code printed on them, which is basically the important part. Rest of the paper used is just to support and hold that important code. The code of the coupon identifies and differentiates each discount offer from the other.

The number system of code:

The coupon code is made up of number system called the number system character 5. This system is called character 5 system because the codes of coupons start with 5. This 5 indicated that this is a shopping coupon meant to avail the discount. Then the main code consists of two parts. The first part is the manufacturers id and the second part is called family code or the value code. This code either indicates the category of the coupon, /product /deal or something related to the amount of discount that can be availed on that discount coupon.

This can vary form company to company. For example, there is a code 5 43000 18670 6. The initial number 5 shows that this is a coupon code. Then 43000 are the identity number of the manufacturer. 18670 is the code that is used for the whole range of the products of similar category offered by that manufacturer or company. The last digit, which is 6 here, is used for verification or authentication of the code. When the coupon codes sent by the manufacturer reach the retailer, the retailer is supposed to have the databases having all the information of codes stored in them. From there, he comes to know how to place the products at the store front and how much of the discounts can be availed by the customers.

In Dubai:

The use of coupon codes has carved a niche for itself in Dubai. Many brands offer sales and promotions in different states of UAE. The coupon codes, Dubai are for numerous different purposes. From hotels, restaurants to museums, recreations, play lands, every place and every kind of product or service uses coupon codes dreaming a boost in sales by using them. And the coupon codes in Dubai have proved this vision, this dream to be valid. It did help companies achieve or even beat their targets.

Organizations realized that there could be a lot of demand of these coupons considering that the shoppers do look for discount opportunities. In Dubai, people get a lot of discount coupons because of its wide acceptance there. Every other store over there has a machine or kind of scanner that reads the coupon code upon exposure or swiping. The shopkeeper decodes it and lets you know if you can avail the discount at the desired item and how much discount can be availed.

Mostly the coupon codes, UAE are based on two-part pricing strategy. In this strategy, the coupons are issued for the customers to get the membership for any specific range of products or services. Later, using that coupon, customers can always avail a certain percentage of discounts on those items. This provides a sort of mutual advantage to the customers as well as the companies. Hence, being in Dubai, UAE provides you with more than usual advantages of these coupons.

Auto Racing Tax Deductions

Posted on by

For many people, nothing surpasses the feeling of bombing down the racetrack at breakneck speed, passing a rival while the wind sweeps through your hair, engine grease sticks under your fingernails and a whiff of unburnt fossil fuel lingers about your nostrils. The only thing remotely comparable to winning the race might be claiming tax deductions for your efforts. Well, if your car has the right set-up, then the government may let you do just that.

Business vs. Hobby Activity
One approach to substantiating tax deductions for auto racing expenses involves characterizing the undertaking as a business rather than hobby activity under Treasury Regulation Section 1.183-2. For an example of how to do so, look to the case of Morrissey v. Commissioner, which concerned a banker who operated a competitive drag racing outfit. The taxpayer proved that he entered into racing with the actual and honest intent to earn a profit, and therefore, the court allowed him to claim deductions for racing-related expenses. Critical factors in this determination included that Morrissey had obtained sponsorship from a local casino, actively worked to make his car more competitive, enjoyed previous success in drag racing, prepared detailed business plans and maintained a separate bank account for racing transactions. (Morrissey v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2005-86)

Advertising Expense
Another way to claim deductions for racing costs rests upon the argument that the activity provides a direct benefit to your business as an advertising venture. For instance, in Ciaravella v. Commissioner, the owner of a company that sold and leased Learjets, also raced open-wheeled cars. Ciaravella’s company reimbursed him for his racing activities as an advertising expense. The IRS argued that such reimbursement actually constituted a disguised dividend rather than a deductible payment. However, the court allowed the company to claim the reimbursement as an advertising deduction, in part, because Ciaravella’s car bore the company’s logo and he used his status as a race car driver to develop relationships with wealthy race fans interested in purchasing Learjets from his company.

Yellow Caution Flag
Beware however that the Internal Revenue Service and federal tax courts have noted that people often engage in auto racing for amusement or recreation as a hobby-like undertaking. Note also that for tax purposes, the law prohibits hobby deductions in excess of hobby income. (IRC Section 183) As such, those looking to claim deductions for the full amount of their racing expenditures should be prepared to demonstrate to the IRS that their activity has an underlying profit motive. Consult with your tax attorney or certified public accountant for further advice on documenting and substantiating this position for your specific situation

Commonly Deductible Items
If you can prove that your pursuit of auto racing glory should qualify as a for-profit activity, then the tax rules allow deductions for many of the related costs. (IRC Section 162) Commonly incurred deductions related to operating an auto racing business may include expenditures for supplies (gas, oil, tires and other spare parts), travel (airfare, lodging and meals), entrance fees, licensing, repairs, uniforms, research and development, merchandising production, advertising, administrative overhead and employee salaries. However, expenditures for the cost of acquiring or improving long-term assets, such as a race car or trailer, usually should be capitalized and depreciated over a five-year period, unless an exception applies.

looking for Jobs?http://truckerhunt.com/

Private Property Vs. Public Trust

Posted on by

There are two types of property ownership recognized by law, jus privatum and jus publicum. Everybody’s familiar with jus privatum, also known as fee simple ownership. It means that you have title to a parcel of property, which confers upon you certain rights with respect to that property. Historically, private property rights have been defined as:
The right to control the use of your property.
The right to the benefits that accrue from your property.
The right to sell or transfer your property.
The right to exclude others from access to your property.
On the other hand, few people are familiar with jus publicum, also known as the public trust. Jus publicum ownership is always vested in the state, never in a private party. Unlike jus privatum, jus publicum is not transferrable. Furthermore, in any case where jus publicum can be established, it overrides jus privatum. Therein lies the rub. That enables the state to use jus publicum to abrogate your private property rights, without your consent and without compensation, in any situation where jus publicum can be established.

The idea of public trust goes back to English Common Law.

“Both the title and the dominion of the sea, and of rivers and arms of the sea, where the tide ebbs and flows, and of all the lands below high water mark, within the jurisdiction of the crown of England, are in the King. Such waters and the lands which they cover either at all times or at least when the tide is in, are incapable of ordinary and private occupation, cultivation, and improvement and their natural and primary uses are public in their nature, for highways of navigation and commerce, domestic and foreign, and for the purpose of fishing by all the King’s subjects. Therefore the title, jus privatum, in such lands, as of waste and unoccupied lands, belongs to the king, as the sovereign; and the dominion thereof, jus publicum, is vested in him, as the representative of the nation and for the public benefit.”
— U.S. Supreme Court, Shively v. Bowlby (1894)After the American Revolution, the thirteen former colonies that made up the newly formed Union assumed the title and rights of the King to all navigable rivers within their respective territories. The jus publicum was held to be non-transferrable, acting as a permanent public easement on the jus privatum title for purposes of navigation, commerce, and fishing, as originally designated under English Common Law. At a time when rivers were the most practical means of transporting people and goods over long distances, the free use of navigable waterways was considered essential for the development of local and interstate economies.

As other states were admitted to the Union, they were guaranteed equal footing with the original thirteen, and so acquired the same title and rights to the navigable rivers within their jurisdiction.

Said rivers and waterways and all navigable waters of the said state shall be common highways and forever free as well to the inhabitants of said state as to all citizens of the United States without tax, duty, import or toll thereafter.
— Act for Admission of Oregon into the United States (1859)In accordance with the original intent of the law, jus publicum was traditionally defined as the specific public rights associated with using rivers as “highways of navigation and commerce” and for purposes of fishing. While a highway is dedicated to public use, no sane person would claim the right to sit down in the middle of a highway and have a picnic. That is not one of the designated purposes of a highway. Likewise, it never occurred to anyone to claim that recreation would be an applicable purpose for which to invoke jus publicum. — Up until 25 years ago, that is, at which time the state of California came up with the notion that the definition of jus publicum could be extended to include whatever purposes the state might find convenient.

The objective of the public trust has evolved in tandem with the changing public perception of the values and uses of waterways. … [T]he traditional triad of uses – navigation, commerce and fishing – did not limit the public interest in the trust res. … “In administering the trust the state is not burdened with an outmoded classification favoring one mode of utilization over another.”
— California Supreme Court, National Audubon Society v. Superior Court of Alpine County (1983)In that case, the California Supreme Court extended jus publicum to include non-navigable tributaries of Mono Lake. The court ruled that the state could prevent the Department of Water and Power for the City of Los Angeles from using its legally owned water rights because the usage interfered with the supply of water to Mono Lake. The water rights were deemed to be a public trust for “environmental and human considerations” having nothing to do with the traditional jus publicum rights relating to navigation, commerce, or fishing. The court rejected a regulatory takings claim because the land was held to be exempt from fee simple title on the grounds that it was a public trust and, therefore, no compensation was due to the plaintiff for the loss of their water rights.

That ruling opened the door for other states to expand the scope of jus publicum beyond its original intent, in whatever ways captured their imagination.

The nature of the ownership includes two components: fee simple title (the jus privatum) and dominion as the publics trustee over the natural resource for public trust uses such as navigation, commerce, fisheries and recreation (the jus publicum).
— Oregon Department of State Lands, Rogue River Navigability Report (2008 ) Oregon, quietly and without fanfare, slipped “and recreation” into the list of rights held in trust for the public under jus publicum. Nobody blinked so, by precedent, the “right” to recreation is now part of the legal definition of the public trust in the state of Oregon. What difference does that make? If you own riverfront property, the traditional definition of jus publicum guaranteed passage for boats on the river without your explicit consent. The new and improved definition declares that anybody who wants to may have picnics and parties in your backyard (at least the part of it that extends below the high water mark). In the course of carefree recreation, people often make noise, leave litter, and sometimes do damage to property. But there’s nothing you can do about that, because the state of Oregon declared they have as much right to use your property for recreation as you do. You can ask them to pick up their litter, but you can’t enforce it. And, if they damage your property, you can try to sue them, if you can find out who they are… But you have no legal right to keep them out, or to restrict what they may do while they’re enjoying your property.

Oregon was not the first state to include recreation in the definition of jus publicum. In 1999 (National Association of Home Builders v. New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection), riverfront property owners were compelled to allow a public pathway along the river, through their property, with no compensation for takings, because the right to access the river for recreational purposes was ruled a public trust. Because the path is on their property, the “owners” have the responsibility of maintaining it (just like a public sidewalk) and, presumably, they also carry the liability if anyone should get hurt while traversing it.

In 2002 (Esplanade Properties, LLC v. City of Seattle), the Ninth Circuit Court used the state of Washington’s expanded definition of jus publicum to prohibit residential development of privately owned shoreline properties. Because the recreational use of the shoreline is considered a public trust, no compensation was awarded to the fee simple “owners” of the property.

According to The Idea of Property: Custom and Public Trust, in 2001 (R. W. Docks & Slips v. Wisconsin), the Wisconsin Supreme Court “expanded the public trust doctrine to include recreation and preservation of scenic beauty.” Subsequently, Florida and other states “expansively interpreted” the public trust doctrine to include both recreation and scenic beauty, as well. When the state can rule that the public’s “right” to scenic beauty supercedes the private property rights of individuals, one has to wonder if there are any limits to the ever-expanding powers of state government to abrogate our property rights for whatever arbitrary purpose they may declare.

When the state declares your property, or some part of your property, to be a public trust, it can legally deprive you of the traditional rights associated with private property ownership. In the cases cited above, property owners were deprived of the right to control the use of their property, the right to economic benefits accruing from their property, and the right to exclude others from access to their property. Yet, as long as the justification is based on jus publicum (or expanded definitions thereof), the state is not required to pay any compensation for takings under the laws of eminent domain. Because jus publicum is non-transferrable, the state will claim the property rights in question never did actually belong to you (though you will continue to owe property taxes on the property).

Contemporary Art Reproductions Of Popular Artists

Posted on by

Plenty of people will happily accept that they really do adore art, but they feel that it must be for other people to own because it is incredibly expensive for the most part. The truth is, fine art is very hot right now and not most of us might truly afford to own it because the amount of cash it would likely take is sometimes more, even for a single piece, than you would likely spend on an exceptional car or a brand new residence. Today, people will even pay thousands and thousands of dollars for work from a new artist who is unknown but shows promise. Most people adore the work of contemporary art masters such as Dali or Picasso, but they would readily never be able to afford what it costs to own one of these works. In reality, some of these paintings by the ultimate painters on the planet are so costly that there are but a dozen or so people who could ever hope to have the amount of riches it would likely require to own even a single work. Today, a lot of people have found ways to own works of modern art that are available at a price an average individual could certainly afford, but there is a solution involved.

One perception that can help you own works that are from the masters is knowing that even the museums who have works of art from these amazing men are not generally going to be owning actual originals by these painters. As incredible as that sounds, it really is true that these museums use reproductions that show the work but are not the original itself. The alternative to making art more available to everyone is to make art reproductions which are perfect copies of great contemporary art master pieces and everybody may then enjoy them. These are not some glossy poster like copies, what they are is stroke by stroke recreations of incredible paintings that have all the same colors, textures and other details recreated perfectly for people to enjoy. The distinction between a hand painted copy and one made with simply printing is huge so if you desire the true experience, you go for that extra work that matters.

Owning fine art is a genuine treat and the beauty is that it goes past basically a decorative element in your home because it is something more than that. The most remarkable oil paintings are treasures that may be valued for generations. If you have ever met anybody who owns a great painting, they might tell you that the experience only gets better with time.

I hope you find this article interesting. Consider a hand-painted http://www.artsheaven.com for your home decoration project. Our studio specialized in http://www.artsheaven.com of museum masterpieces. Enjoy large selections of http://www.artsheaven.com of most popular artists.