Fort Myers, Fla. – November 16, 2015 – Governor Rick Scott visited Eastern Architectural Systems (EAS), a division of Eastern Metal Supply (EMS) on Nov. 11, thanking EAS and congratulating the company on their success and the opening of their new 172,000 square foot facility in Fort Myers, Florida. He then went on to detail his plan to cut taxes by $1 billion.
The tax cuts mainly affect businesses, and Scott's proposal has the potential to save Eastern Architectural Systems, and companies like it, hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“So my proposal this year is to invest $1 billion of your tax dollars to make sure we diversify our economy,” Scott said. “We are going to make sure our manufacturers keep more of the money that they earn so that they can put more money back in their businesses.”
Scott’s plan includes the elimination of the state’s corporate income tax on manufacturing and retail companies and the permanent elimination of sales tax on machinery, set to expire in 2017.
“This proposal would allow us to invest in more machinery and equipment for our business, said Jim Flesher, Sales Manager at EAS. “If we buy more machinery, we can hire more employees to run those machines.”
Scott also proposed eliminating the taxes that businesses pay on their profits and cutting the commercial lease tax by one percent.
“We’ve got to help our small businesses. We have to diversify our economy,” said Scott. "By investing these dollars, we'll get more manufacturing jobs, we'll get more corporate office jobs, we'll get more retail jobs and we'll diversify our economy."
Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman, Board Member of the Southwest Florida Manufacturers Association Brian Rist, and District Vice President of Florida Realtors® Bill Poteet spoke in support of the cuts.
“These guys here at Eastern Architectural Systems, what a story this is,” said Hamman. “Lee County helped save them a lot of money, almost six figures, on their impact fees when they built this building by lowering fees. They invested that in their company, and the governor has helped them save a lot of money on all the equipment they’ve had to buy for this through that sales tax elimination. These tax cuts make sense for Lee County.”
About Eastern Architectural Systems
Eastern Architectural Systems (EAS) provides a complete line of custom-made windows & doors: aluminum and vinyl, impact and insulated impact. Tested for strength and integrity, and built with style in mind, EAS windows and doors exceed the requirements and challenges of today’s discerning buyer. Tested for strength and integrity, and built with style in mind, EAS windows and doors exceed the requirements and challenges of today’s discerning buyer. A wholly owned division of Eastern Metal Supply (EMS), EAS is headquartered in Ft. Myers, FL. For more information on Eastern Architectural Systems, please visit www.easternarchitectural.com.
About Eastern Metal Supply
Eastern Metal Supply (EMS) is a distributor of standard and custom aluminum extrusions and sheet products including hurricane shutters, architectural products, railing, decking, sign extrusions, and marine extrusions and accessories. Just-in-time delivery programs allow customers to order materials as they need them – freeing up valuable floor space and maintaining cash flow. With various warehouses throughout Florida and aluminum fabrication services, EMS saves customers time and money—thereby helping them to improve their bottom line. EMS has a 30-year reputation as a first class supplier of aluminum products and is headquartered in Lake Worth, FL. For more information on Eastern Metal Supply, please visit www.easternmetal.com.
Pictured above (left to right): EMS Vice President Greg Weekes, EMS General Manager Dan Madden, Governor Rick Scott, EMS General Manager Craig Lightle, and EAS Sales Manager Jim Flesher.
