President Obama presented the American Jobs Act in his address last night. Here's what it means for small businesses. Last night, President Barack Obama presented his long anticipated plan for creating jobs: the American Jobs Act. The plan calls for a combination of tax incentives and spending that are intended to motivate companies to hire people and raise salaries while also providing economic support to unemployed people. The price tag: nearly $450 billion. Small businesses are a central … [Read more...]
IRS Makes It Cheaper To Pay Late
Every once in a while, we receive some good news from the IRS. Here's the latest. Every once in a while, we receive some good news from the IRS. Today is one of those days! The IRS recently announced changes to the interest rates used to calculate underpayments and overpayments on income tax payments sent to the agency. The bottom line is that underpayments will accrue interest charges at significantly lower rates than before. The new changes go into effect on Oct. 1, 2011. When the IRS … [Read more...]
New Legislation Targets PEO (Professional Employer Organizations)
Do you know what a PEO is? Mike Periu tackles current legislation, and what it could mean for your business. Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) offer an innovative way for small businesses to outsource the headaches associated with certain elements of human resources management. When a small business hires a PEO, the small business’ employees also become employees of the PEO. This is known as co-employment. From the perspective of the IRS and state governments, the PEO is the … [Read more...]
How To Get Rich And Not Owe Taxes. Here’s how to minimize what you owe
How To Get Rich And Not Owe Taxes. Wouldn't it be great to avoid income taxes? We can't guarantee that, but here's how to minimize what you owe. The Statistics of Income Bulletin is a report published by the IRS four times per year. Known as publication 1136, it contains detailed analysis of returns filed by tax payers in previous periods. Each SOI Bulletin addresses different topics that the IRS believes are of interest to researchers, the public and nosey people like me. The most recent SOI … [Read more...]
Did California Kill The Affiliate Sales Industry?
A controversial new law in California expands the online sales tax and places the burden on the affiliate sales industry. As state governments scramble to balance their budgets in the wake of the Great Recession, some are enacting controversial legislation, which may do more harm than good. I wrote about state efforts to plug budget holes recently and many of my concerns are coming to fruition. On June 15, California’s assembly and senate passed Assembly Bill 28, which was enacted into law … [Read more...]
The Trials And Tribulations Of Living And Working In Different States
Living and working in different states brings along complications that businesses need to consider for their employees. Most people live and work in the same state. A growing number of people, however, live and work in different states. In key hubs like the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) this has been the norm for decades. But as the cost of living in important centers of employment continue to rise, more families are being forced to commute farther—and across state … [Read more...]
Get Ready: The IRS Starts Thinking Like A Business
The IRS, which was once considered to be an out-of-date, inefficient and bureaucratic organization is starting to modernize. Get ready. Something revolutionary is taking place within the IRS. What was once considered to be an out-of-date, inefficient and bureaucratic organization is starting to modernize. While it still has a long way to go to match the efficiency of the private sector, the IRS is in fact starting to operate more like a for-profit company instead of a government agency. … [Read more...]
5 Questions To Ask Before Using A Tax Shelter
The idea of a smaller tax bill for your business can be appealing. Remember, not all tax shelters are created equally. Tax shelters are once again facing aggressive scrutiny by tax and law enforcement officials. The former CEO of BDO Seidman, one of the largest accounting and consulting firms in the country, was recently convicted along with several high profile co-defendants of “conspiring to defraud the IRS and to evade taxes and of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal … [Read more...]
How To Declare Foreign Bank Accounts To The IRS
While owning a foreign bank account is not illegal, failing to declare its existence is against the law. Nobody enjoys paying income taxes. Most business owners grumble a bit about their tax bills, find legal ways to minimize them and resign themselves to sending the government more than they would like. For some people, this isn’t enough. They look for ways to avoid paying U.S. income taxes even if it means breaking the law. A common tactic is to open a foreign bank account, conduct business … [Read more...]
Fake Tax Relief Services
Be wary of companies promising to negotiate with the IRS on your behalf. Many are fraudulent. How To Avoid Getting Scammed By Fake Tax Relief Services. By now most people have filed their tax returns or asked for an extension. While this provides a momentary respite from tax worries, nagging thoughts lurk in the back of many business owners’ minds: Will I get audited? Will the IRS dispute the amount I owe? For most people this is just normal anxiety associated with the unpleasantness of taxes. … [Read more...]