CEO of Go VIP Worldwide Proposes Radical Tax Abolition and Bitcoin Incorporation to Miami Beach Government to Challenge Dubai, Become Global Financial Capital

Miami Beach resident and business leader Matthew Barnes, CEO of Go VIP Worldwide, has submitted the following policy proposal to Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner and City Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez.

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Mayor Steven Meiner
Mayor, City of Miami Beach
1700 Convention Center Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139

and

Dr. Kristen Rosen Gonzalez
Commissioner, City of Miami Beach
1700 Convention Center Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139

Subject: Strategic Imperative: Positioning Miami Beach as the Financial Capital via Eliminating Property Taxes to Strengthen the Cities Overall Security

Dear Mayor Meiner and Dr. Rosen Gonzalez,

I write to you as both a committed citizen and an observer of global economic patterns, convinced that Miami Beach stands at a historic inflection point. Our city possesses the unique opportunity to establish itself as the premier financial hub of the Western Hemisphere, but realizing this potential requires visionary leadership and bold policy innovations. I extend my sincere respect to you both for engaging in the substantive dialogue about our city's future that this moment demands. I encourage both sides to come together to commit to establishing the fiscal bedrock necessary that will solve other problems naturally.

The Bedrock:

We must revitalize Miami Beach's luxury real estate market of which has nearly grind to a halt. This market extends far beyond our city limits. This sector serves as a vital national economic engine, channeling substantial global capital into the United States and sustaining countless American jobs across construction, finance, legal services, and design. When our market thrives, it generates significant tax revenues that support essential services at every governmental level. A thriving Miami Beach real estate market represents not merely local prosperity but strengthened national economic security. Currently this year Florida is the loss leader on property values in the USA.

Current market indicators reveal both challenge and opportunity. While Miami has outperformed other U.S. markets post COVID through late 2023, this relative success masks long term emerging vulnerabilities. The luxury segment, the cornerstone of our local economy, showed clear signs of contraction since 2023, with premium property values declining over 5% in 2023 and sales volume decreasing significantly. This correction transcends normal market cycles; it signals erosion in our global competitive position that demands immediate attention.

The global landscape reveals our true competition. Dubai's prime property market surged 16.3% in 2023, fueled by over $2.5 billion in weekly transactions during peak periods. This exceptional performance stems directly from strategic policy choices, particularly their zero percent income and property tax structure. We are no longer competing primarily with other American cities, but with sovereign financial ecosystems actively pursuing the capital that has historically fueled our growth. Miami and Miami Beach's early embrace of technological innovation, particularly blockchain technology, demonstrated remarkable foresight. We must now advance beyond symbolism to implement concrete, transformative policies that secure our economic future.

I urge the next administration to pursue a comprehensive strategy of fiscal innovation:

1. Champion Elimination of Property Taxes

We must pioneer the elimination of property taxes through collaboration with state leadership. This recurring liability disadvantages us against global competitors and stifles investment. Revenue replacement through consumption-based mechanisms, including luxury goods levies and transactional fees, would establish the most attractive investment jurisdiction in the developed world while maintaining fiscal stability.

2. Integrate Bitcoin into Municipal Finance

Our ambition must extend beyond rhetoric to implementation:

A. Deploy blockchain-based property transactions and title management to reduce fraud and establish new standards of efficiency.

B. Allocate a portion of city reserves to Bitcoin, hedging against currency devaluation while cementing our status as a forward-thinking financial jurisdiction.

C. Establish a regulatory framework that attracts cryptocurrency enterprises, positioning Miami Beach as the global capital for digital asset innovation.

This transformation represents more than policy modernization, it constitutes a fundamental philosophical realignment. The 20th century economy was built on industrial capital; the 21st will be defined by digital assets and sound money principles. History's great financial centers such as Venice, London AND New York all ascended through adapting to new monetary paradigms. Miami Beach now stands before a similar historic opportunity.

These concerns manifest even in municipal operations. The Water utility's handling of customer deposits, where funds consistently lose purchasing power against inflation, serves as a microcosm of our broader need for financial innovation. This represents not just operational inefficiency, but a philosophical failure to optimize capital for appreciation rather than mere custodianship.

Imagine the profound impact of adding Bitcoin to our balance sheet while eliminating property taxes. This strategic combination would forge an unprecedented financial foundation, transforming our treasury into an appreciating asset while attracting massive capital investment. Such leadership would demonstrate that Miami Beach doesn't just anticipate the future of finance, but we intend to define it.

My commitment to this vision extends beyond theory to tangible action. Should Miami Beach embrace these innovations, I would immediately divest some of my Bitcoin to purchase waterfront property and develop a landmark estate in Miami Beach, making a substantial long-term investment in our city's architectural and economic landscape. Absent these reforms, maintaining capital in Bitcoin remains the rational economic choice and a calculation being made by investors worldwide that we have the power to influence.

A secure financial foundation enables every other civic ambition. When we establish frameworks that attract capital rather than merely tax it, we generate resources for infrastructure, resilience, and quality-of-life enhancements. Solve the capital allocation problem, and other solutions naturally follow to most of the other issues being debated. The choice before us is profound. We can embrace bold reform to secure our position as the financial capital of the future, or accept gradual decline into regional irrelevance. The world is watching so let us provide compelling reasons for their attention via the push for these two main problems to be solved.

Respectfully,
Matthew Barnes

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Mayor Steven Meiner and Mayoral
Candidate and current Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez have each contacted Barnes separately to setup a meeting to discuss the path forward to implement Barnes' vision.

N Bay Rd
Miami Beach FL
PR Contact: Charles Carnes

Incorporating Bitcoin into Miami Beach City Treasury.

This release was published on openPR.