Daily Business Report-March 5, 2020
File photo: Amazon fulfillment center in Tracy.
Online sales tax windfall in Califormia
Amazon, Ebay and other online platforms take a hit
A new California law aimed at collecting sales taxes from online retailers generated $474.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, nearly the total amount that tax experts expected to collect in the entire fiscal year of 2020-21.
Legislation by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke of Los Angeles implements the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, South Dakota v. Wayfair, which permits states to collect taxes from online sellers such as Wayfair.
Amazon, eBay, Etsy and other online platforms must now collect sales taxes owed by third party sellers that use their platforms and remit the revenue to the state.
The Marketplace Facilitator Act was supposed to generate $476 million in 2020-21.
The act produced nearly that sum, $474.5 million, in the fourth quarter of 2019 on $5.5 billion in sales, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration reports.
Why: The economy was strong. Clearly, consumers’ habits are shifting to online purchases.
Sen. Mike McGuire, Healdsburg Democrat, coauthored the bill: “For far too long, multi-billion dollar online retailers have not been paying their fair share, while mom and pop retailers have been paying.”
–Dan Morain/CALmatters
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General Atomics acquires Neva Ridge Technologies
General Atomics has acquired Neva Ridge Technologies, a leader in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data processing technology and services located in Boulder, Colo. The business will be integrated into General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems Group (GA-EMS).
Neva Ridge Technologies has made innovations and advancements in high resolution SAR, including a unique, patented technique to produce three-dimensional precision imagery using SAR data, which align with GA-EMS’ focus on delivering cutting-edge technologies for the defense and space markets.
Founded in 2005, Neva Ridge Technologies has been a key member of the SAR community, including “new space.”
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Two new mentors join the Chairmen’s RoundTable
The Chairmen’s RoundTable (CRT), a San Diego nonprofit organization that provides pro bono mentoring to CEOs of private businesses in the Greater San Diego area, announced that Alan Lerchbacker and John Spelich have volunteered for CRT’s mentorship program.
Alan Lerchbacker is a 25-year plus military veteran working in special warfare and shipyards. In his more than 30 years of experience as a CEO, he started Austal USA and grew it from 66 people to over 1,200. He just sold his San Diego-based company and now has started his own law firm and consulting company taking on large global corporate issues around the world.
John Spelich is the chairman of Logan Spelich Associates,Inc. (LSA), a hands-on consulting firm focused on strategic business communications. LSA’s principals have provided clients around the world with solution-oriented strategic counsel and reputation management. Over the course of his career, John has held senior management positions at Alibaba, Disney, Fleishman-Hillard, Gateway, and Ford Motor Company.
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OH! San Diego offers behind-the-scenes
tours of the city’s best buildings
Hundreds of visitors will walk through the doors of old and new, big and small, private and public buildings during this year’s architecture and urban design festival. From March 6 through 8, the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s OH! San Diego will offer free tours of nearly 100 locations citywide for a rare, behind-the-scenes look at some of San Diego’s most iconic buildings and places.
Visitors will have the chance to discover some of the city’s newest, never-before-seen buildings, in addition to historic landmarks throughout Downtown, Gaslamp, East Village, Bankers Hill, Barrio Logan, Balboa Park, Point Loma, La Jolla and, new this year, Coronado. Many sites in this year’s event will feature designer-led tours and talks. A juried architectural photography competition will award prizes in a variety of categories.
Opportunities for kids and parents include collaborating with architects to sketch their own versions of architecture at Coronado Clubroom & Boathouse and Wisteria Cottage in La Jolla – recommended for kids third grade to high school.
Read more…
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Endeavor Bank announces the successful
close of its secondary capital offering
San Diego-based Endeavor Bank announced the successful close of its secondary capital offering with $7,923,109 in new capital, which reflects an oversubscription to the previously announced range of $6,000,000 to $7,500,000.
Said Dan Yates, CEO, “We are very pleased with the result of the secondary capital raise. 136 investors joined us in this raise by investing in bank stock. We now have over 600 investors, with over 90 percent coming from local San Diego business leaders.”
“The reason we embarked on this second capital raise was to invest more capital to hire more bankers and increase the lending limit we can lend to any single client. Just short of $8 million in new capital will allow us to achieve these growth goals,” said Steve Sefton, bank president.
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New portal streamlines SDSU scholarship applications
A just-launched scholarship search portal at San Diego State University has simplified a daunting and sometimes exasperating task for college students around the country, offering an application that opens doors to hundreds of opportunities for financial assistance all at once.
Aztec Scholarships automatically matches students with scholarships for which they are eligible, replacing a system in which applications to sources with different requirements had to be submitted one by one. Students then will receive notifications if any second step, such as an essay, resume, transcript or letters of recommendation, is needed as part of the selection process.
The new portal went live March 1.
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Sarah Hassaine to speak at San Diego Women’s Week
Sarah Hassaine was born in in Algiers, Algeria and grew up in San Diego. Her summers were spent back in Algeria on the Mediterranean and the travel back and forth at such a young age gave Sarah a global perspective. With her command of both Arabic and French, she gravitated towards international development work.
Her first job out of undergrad was working in refugee camps in Lebanon conducting socio-economic living assessments of thousands of Palestinians. After one year of research and advocacy, Sarah moved to Washington, D.C. where she spent seven years in government consulting, diplomacy and international development.
Sarah’s marriage took her to Saudi Arabia in 2013 where she assumed a director’s role of an organization focusing on building the skill sets of expatriate women living in the capital Riyadh. Amidst her adjustment to living in one of the conservative cities in the world, she ended up in the hospital sick and sent back to San Diego to recuperate. While away, her husband divorced her behind her back and Sarah was left pennyless and homeless.
At the age of 30, Sarah had lost all sense of direction, identity, understanding and purpose. But it was an opportunity to rebuild and rebrand and dig deep into who she was and what she really wanted to do. “The world is your oyster and the sky is the limit,” are the words her mother whispered in her ears daily.
Today, she is a strong advocate for refugees in San Diego and volunteers with different organizations, including Teach and Learn Literacy and the San Diego Tech Women Summit. She also advises and consults with many other national and local nonprofits.
San Diego Women’s Week events are March 16 -20. Everyone is invited, and tickets can be purchased at www.sdwomensweek.com.
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San Diego Community College District
events to celebrate Women’s History Month
The San Diego Community College District, San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges, and San Diego Continuing Education will celebrate Women’s History Month with exhibits, films, speakers, performances and more. Events will honor the contributions and vital role of women in American history.
