Archive for March 28, 2013

A Collection… The Humorous Side Of Tax… (#2)

joke♦ A tough old cowboy from south Texas counseled his grandson that if he wanted to live a long life, the secret was to sprinkle a pinch of gunpowder on his oatmeal every morning.

The grandson followed this advice religiously until the day he died at age 103.

He left behind 14 children, 30 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, 24 great-great-grandchildren, and a 15-foot hole where the crematorium used to be. Courtesy of Michael Lied

♦  “The tax code, once you get to know it, embodies all the essence of [human] life: greed, politics, power, goodness, charity”.  David Wallace via NY Times Courtesy of Jessica Tovrov

♦  Loud dramatic music like you’d hear on TV or at the movies — “DUN-DUN-DUN” — echoes in my head as I pull a letter from our mailbox; it’s from the Internal Revenue Service. I don’t know about you but when Uncle Sam’s money collectors drop a line in the middle of summer instead of around tax time I open the thing right up.  I mean, I don’t mind paying taxes. The USA is a big ol’ country and my hard-earned money helps with such groovy things as superhighways, thermonuclear devices to protect us from rogue nations and anti-revolution insurance. But I know I paid my taxes that year. Uncle Sam’s records said I’d only paid a few hundred dollars but my records showed that I’d paid a few thousand. Somewhere along the way someone, and it wasn’t me, left off a digit. Grant McGee 8-13-10

♦  “A tax shelter is a dumb transaction done by smart people that will put my kids through college.” Chuck Rettig, tax controversy lawyer, at a 2005 tax conference.

♦  America is the land of opportunity. Everybody can become a taxpayer.

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

Contemporaneous Charitable Contribution Documentation

Contemporaneous charitable contribution documentation is quite a mouthful, but it’s important if you want to survive your IRS audit.  The IRS requires you to keep documentation of the things you claim on your tax return, the income and the expenses.  That part generally makes sense, but the rules can get very specific for charitable contributions.

For cash contributions of more than $250 you need to follow the rules exactly and they are different than the rules for contributions of less than $250.  For that $50 donation to United Way, a copy of the check will be just fine.  But if you give a $500 check to the United Way, a copy of the check is not going to cut it.  That’s where the contemporaneous charitable contribution documentation comes in. 

If you give more than $250 you need a receipt from the charity that says how much you gave, what year it’s for, that it’s a charitable organization and it needs to contain the words “no goods or services were provided” or a very similar phrase.  Obviously if it’s a silent auction that you spent $1,000 and got $400 worth of items, it will say $400 was provided so you can deduct the other $600.  The key phrase is “no goods or services were provided” when you just hand over a check and get nothing in return.

My favorite example is if you give money to the Carlson School of Management at the U of M.  You will probably get a thank-you letter of some kind from the University, from the Carlson School, maybe from the accounting department, and maybe one from the charitable receipt department.  The one from the charitable receipt department (or whatever they call themselves) is the one that will say “no goods or services were received”.  The other ones are probably just letters from the various deans or presidents and those do not count. 

Contemporaneous means you must have the documentation in your hands before you file your tax return.  If you are audited two years from now, you cannot go back to the organization and ask for a new letter; the IRS won’t accept it.  I realize it’s a bit crazy to think that a copy of the check and 3 letters from the University about your $10M gift isn’t sufficient for the IRS unless one of them says “no goods or services”, but the IRS has gone to court and won every time.  You need to go by the absolute letter of the law on this one or the IRS will deny those charitable contributions.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you on this one.

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

Identity Theft, Phishing Top IRS’s “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams

The IRS recently issued its “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams, highlighting fraudulent schemes commonly committed by and upon taxpayers. The annual warning, released to coincide with tax filing season, emphasizes the most egregious schemes involving filing false returns or return items, but it also advises yearlong vigilance against practices that prey upon the unwary and uninformed. The 2013 list is little changed from a year earlier and for a second year is headed by:

1. Identity theft: The IRS spotlighted its measures, including its new Identity Protection web portal, to prevent and combat the growing problem of tax fraud involving stolen identities, which it called one of its top priorities. During 2012, the IRS prevented issuance of $20 billion in fraudulent refunds including those related to identity theft, up from $14 billion in 2011, it said. The IRS also noted that its identity theft enforcement sweep in January led to nearly 300 indictments, complaints, and arrests, on top of thousands of enforcement actions against identity theft tax fraud in 2012. (See “Dozens indicted on stolen identity tax refund fraud charges” in the Journal of Accountancy)

2. Phishing: The IRS again this year warned against fake electronic communications designed to obtain recipients’ information, reminding that the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages, or social media to request personal or financial information.

3. Return preparer fraud: In addition to suggesting taxpayers make sure paid preparers sign returns and enter their preparer tax identification number (PTIN), the IRS this year included information about using Form 14157, Complaint: Tax Return Preparer, to report abusive tax preparers.

4. Hiding income offshore: This warning also updated the number of participants in the IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program to 38,000 and its collections to $3.4 billion from the 2009 program alone (March 23, 2009, through Oct. 15, 2009) and $1 billion so far in “up-front” payments from the 2011 program (Oct. 16, 2009, through Sept. 9, 2011). In 2012, the program was extended indefinitely. (See “IRS announces third offshore voluntary disclosure program.”

5. “Free money” from the IRS and tax scams involving Social Security: With fliers and advertisements “appearing in community churches around the country,” promoters of schemes promising refunds for returns with little or no documentation have enticed “unsuspecting and well-intentioned” victims, some of whom have spread the word to friends and relatives, the IRS said. One scheme falsely advises taxpayers to claim the American opportunity tax credit even if they have no current qualifying educational expenses.

6. Impersonation of charitable organizations: Some fraudsters have doubly victimized people hit by a natural disaster by claiming to be working on behalf of the IRS to help them claim a tax casualty loss but instead steal their financial and personal information. This replaced “abuse of charitable organizations and deductions” from the 2012 list.

7. False/inflated income and expenses: Exaggerating wage or self-employment income is a common ploy by some unscrupulous preparers to inflate refundable credits, including the earned income tax credit, by more than any additional tax.

8. False Form 1099 refund claims: One scheme involves issuing a bogus information return, often Form 1099-OID, Original Issue Discount, to the IRS. A refund is then claimed on a corresponding tax return. The IRS says this is based on the theory that “the federal government maintains secret accounts for U.S. citizens and that taxpayers can gain access to the accounts by issuing 1099-OID forms to the IRS.”

9. Frivolous arguments: The IRS maintains a webpage describing some of the more common and legally fanciful of these theories.

10. Falsely claiming zero wages: A Form 4852, Substitute Form W-2, or “corrected” Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, is fraudulently filed to reduce or eliminate income on a legitimate information return. Sometimes it is accompanied by a frivolous argument regarding the income.

11. Disguised corporate ownership: The IRS said it works with state authorities to identify entities by which taxpayers underreport income, claim bogus deductions, and engage in other misconduct.

12. Misuse of trusts: The IRS said it has seen an increase in improper use of private annuity trusts and foreign trusts to shift income and deduct personal expenses.

By Paul Bonner, senior editor, Journal of Accountancy , March 26, 2013

Edited and posted by Harold Goedde CPA, CMA, Ph.D. (taxation and accounting)

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

Fifteen Things To Watch Out For On Form 1040 Part III

A Thomson Reuters tax analyst explains what’s new, changed, or no longer available on the 2012 individual income tax return. 13 Mar 2013

Shared in Parts I, II and III.

Example 3.(i) Employer is a professional sports team. Employer requires its employees (players and coaches) to stay at a local hotel the night before a home game to conduct last minute training and ensure the physical preparedness of the players. Employer pays the lodging expenses directly to the hotel and does not treat the value as compensation to the employees.

(ii) Employer has a noncompensatory business purpose for paying the lodging expenses. Employer is not paying the lodging expenses primarily to provide a social or personal benefit to the employees. If the employees had paid for their own lodging, the expenses would have been deductible by the employees under section 162(a) as ordinary and necessary business expenses. Therefore, the value of the lodging is excluded from the employees’ income as a working condition fringe.

(iii) Employer may deduct the expenses for lodging the players and coaches at the hotel as ordinary and necessary business expenses under section 162(a).

Example 4. (i) Employer hires Employee, who currently resides 500 miles from Employer’s business premises. Employer pays for temporary lodging for Employee near Employer’s business premises while Employee searches for a residence.

(ii) Employer is paying the temporary lodging expense primarily to provide a personal benefit to Employee by providing housing while Employee searches for a residence. Employer incurs the expense only as additional compensation and not for a noncompensatory business purpose. If Employee paid the temporary lodging expense, the expense would not be an ordinary and necessary employee business expense under section 162(a) because the lodging primarily provides a personal benefit to Employee. Therefore, the value of the lodging is includible in Employee’s gross income as additional compensation.

(iii) Employer may deduct the lodging expenses as ordinary and necessary business expenses under section 162(a) and §1.162-25T.

Example 5. (i) Employee normally travels two hours each way between her home and her office. Employee is working on a project that requires Employee to work late hours. In order to maximize Employee’s availability to work on the project, Employer provides Employee with lodging at a hotel near the office.

(ii) Employer is paying the temporary lodging expense primarily to provide a personal benefit to Employee by relieving her of the daily commute to her residence. Employer incurs the expense only as additional compensation and not for a noncompensatory business purpose. If Employee paid the temporary lodging expense, the expense would not be an ordinary and necessary business expense under section 162(a) because the lodging primarily provides a personal benefit to Employee. Therefore, the value of the lodging is includible in Employee’s gross income as additional compensation.

(iii) Employer may deduct the lodging expenses as ordinary and necessary business expenses under section 162(a) and §1.162-25T.

Example 6. (i) Employer requires an employee to be “on duty” each night to respond quickly to emergencies that may occur outside of normal working hours. Employees who work daytime hours each serve a “duty shift” once each month in addition to their normal work schedule. Emergencies that require the duty shift employee to respond occur regularly. Employer has no sleeping facilities on its business premises and pays for a hotel room nearby where the duty shift employee stays until called to respond to an emergency.

(ii) Employer has a noncompensatory business purpose for paying the lodging expenses. Employer is not providing the lodging to duty shift employees primarily to provide a social or personal benefit to the employees. If the employees had paid for their lodging, the expenses would have been deductible by the employees under section 162(a) as ordinary and necessary business expenses. Therefore, the value of the lodging is excluded from the employees’ income as a working condition fringe.

(iii) Employer may deduct the lodging expenses as ordinary and necessary business expenses under section 162(a).

(d) Effective/applicability date. This section applies to expenses paid or incurred on or after the date these regulations are published as final regulations in the Federal Register. However, until these proposed regulations are published as final regulations in the Federal Register, taxpayers may apply the proposed regulations to local lodging expenses that are paid or incurred in taxable years for which the period of limitation on credit or refund under section 6511 has not expired.

Steven T. Miller,
Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement.

Edited and posted by Harold Goedde CPA, CMA, Ph.D. (taxation and accounting)

Written by | Posted in Federal • Individual • North America • Tax Policy

Fifteen Things To Watch Out For On Form 1040 Part II

A Thomson Reuters tax analyst explains what’s new, changed, or no longer available on the 2012 individual income tax return. 13 Mar 2013

Shared in Parts I, II and III.

Tax breaks that no longer apply for 2012:

First-time homebuyer credit was eliminated in 2011, except for servicemen and certain other federal employees who had lived abroad in earlier years. For 2012, it has been eliminated for everyone.

The District of Columbia first-time homebuyer credit cannot be claimed for homes bought after 2011.

Explanation of Provisions

These regulations propose to amend the regulations under sections 162 and 262. The proposed regulations under section 162 provide that expenses paid or incurred for local lodging may be deductible as ordinary and necessary expenses of a taxpayer’s trade or business, including the trade or business of being an employee. The proposed regulations provide a safe harbor for certain local lodging at a business meeting, conference, or other activity or function. Other local lodging expenses may be deductible as business expenses depending on the facts and circumstances.

The proposed regulations under section 262 provide that a taxpayer’s costs incurred for local lodging are personal expenses unless the expenses are deductible under section 162. Comments are specifically requested on whether the section 262 regulations should be amended to provide that local lodging expenses are not personal expenses if they are deductible under section 212.

The proposed regulations also amend the regulations under section 262 to remove references to section 217 that are obsolete. Section 217 was amended by the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993, Public Law 103-66 (107 Stat. 417). Under the amendments, lodging when not traveling away from home and meals are not deductible as moving expenses.

Par. 2. Section 1.162-31 is added to read as follows:

§1.162-31 Expenses paid or incurred for lodging when not traveling away from home.

(a) In general. Expenses paid or incurred for lodging when not traveling away from home (local lodging) generally are personal, living, or family expenses that are nondeductible under section 262(a). Under certain circumstances, however, expenses for local lodging may be deductible under section 162(a) as ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred in connection with carrying on a taxpayer’s trade or business, including a trade or business as an employee. Whether local lodging expenses are paid or incurred in carrying on a taxpayer’s trade or business is determined under all the facts and circumstances. One factor is whether the taxpayer incurs the expense because of a bona fide condition or requirement of employment imposed by the taxpayer’s employer. Expenses paid or incurred for local lodging that is lavish or extravagant under the circumstances or that primarily provides an individual with a social or personal benefit are not incurred in carrying on a taxpayer’s trade or business.

(b) Safe harbor for local lodging at business meetings and conferences. An individual’s expenses for local lodging will be treated as ordinary and necessary business expenses if—

(1) The lodging is necessary for the individual to participate fully in or be available for a bona fide business meeting, conference, training activity, or other business function;

(2) The lodging is for a period that does not exceed five calendar days and does not recur more frequently than once per calendar quarter;

(3) If the individual is an employee, the employee’s employer requires the employee to remain at the activity or function overnight; and

(4) The lodging is not lavish or extravagant under the circumstances and does not provide any significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or benefit.

(c) Examples. The provisions of this section are illustrated by the following examples. In each example the employer and the employees meet all other requirements (such as substantiation) for deductibility of the expense and for exclusion from income as a working condition fringe or payment under an accountable plan.

Example 1. (i) Employer conducts training for its employees at a hotel near employer’s main office. The training is directly connected  with employer’s trade or business. Some employees attending the training are traveling away from home and some employees are not traveling away from home. Employer requires all employees attending the training to remain at the hotel overnight for the bona fide purpose of facilitating the training. Employer pays the costs of the lodging at the hotel directly to the hotel and does not treat the value as compensation to the employees.

(ii) Employer has a noncompensatory business purpose for paying the lodging expenses. Employer is not paying the expenses primarily to provide a social or personal benefit to the employees. If the employees who are not traveling away from home had paid for their own lodging, the expenses would have been deductible under section 162(a) as ordinary and necessary business expenses of the employees. Therefore, the value of the lodging is excluded from the employees’ income as a working condition fringe under section 132(a) and (d).

(iii) Employer may deduct the lodging expenses, including lodging for employees who are not traveling away from home, as ordinary and necessary business expenses under section 162(a).

Example 2. (i) The facts are the same as in Example 1, except that the employees pay the cost of their lodging at the hotel directly to the hotel, Employer reimburses the employees for the cost of the lodging, and Employer does not treat the reimbursement as compensation to the employees.

(ii) Employer is reimbursing the lodging expenses for a noncompensatory business purpose and not primarily to provide a social or personal benefit to the employees. The employees incur the expenses in performing services for the employer. If employer had not reimbursed the employees who are not traveling away from home for the cost of the lodging, the expenses would have been deductible under section 162(a) as ordinary and necessary business expenses of the employees. Therefore, the reimbursements to the employees are made under an accountable plan and are excluded from the employees’ gross income.

(iii) Employer may deduct the lodging expense reimbursements, including reimbursements for employees who are not traveling away from home, as ordinary and necessary business expenses under section 162(a).

Written by | Posted in Federal • Individual • North America

Prospects for California Tax Reform

In addition to California voters enacting two tax propositions in November 2012, they also provided a two-thirds majority in both the Assembly and Senate of Democrats. With a supermajority of one party, any bill in which one person might have a tax increase has a better chance of passing. That, of course, doesn’t guarantee it will happen or that if it did, the governor would sign it.

I have an article published this week Bloomberg BNA’s Tax Management Weekly State Tax Report on Prospects for California Tax Reform. It lists and explains various weaknesses in California’s tax system and what could and perhaps, should be done legislatively to improve it.

You can find the article at 21st Century Taxation on my Profile Page.

What do you think?

Written by | Posted in State And Local Tax (SALT)

A Collection… The Humorous Side Of Tax… (#1)

♦  IRS MOTTO: “We’re not happy until you’re not happy!”

♦  Q: How many IRS agents does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: Only one, but the light bulb really gets screwed.

From Garrison Keillor’s ‘Pretty Good Joke Book’.  Sent to me by R. Scott Shifley.

♦  “Ignore them and they’ll go away” is great advice for some of life’s annoyances. Unfortunately, it doesn’t apply to taxes. Martha C. White, Time.com  April 17, 2012.

♦  Cutting its (IRS) budget is like killing the goose that lays golden eggs — or at least putting her in a smaller pen and feeding her less.  By Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool  2-1-12

♦  A white business envelope with your name in the cellophane window and the return address of the IRS. Attention from the Internal Revenue Service can mean only one thing: They want your money. Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel, 5-6-12

♦  Over the years and out of literally thousands of tax protestors who have been criminally prosecuted, a very small handful have won acquittals in their criminal trials, by convincing the jury that they were too stupid to understand that they had to pay taxes. Financial & Tax Fraud Education Associates, Inc.

♦  Here’s a funny story relayed by Internal Revenue Service call center agents: Taxpayers sometimes call in to complain they have mistakenly received letters intended for someone named “Levy.” Gadi Dechter, Government Executive, May 16, 2011.

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

Fifteen Things To Watch Out For On Form 1040 Part I

A Thomson Reuters tax analyst explains what’s new, changed, or no longer available on the 2012 individual income tax return. 13 Mar 2013

Shared in Parts I, II and III.

While it looked as if the U.S. Congress would go over the fiscal cliff and allow many tax provisions to expire, in the end, Congress extended most of the expiring provisions. This means that 2012 return preparation will not be as difficult as it could have been. “But that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down on the Form 1040,” says Jeffrey Pretsfelder, CPA/Esq., a senior tax analyst at Thomson Reuters. “Like every other year, you must be on top of new or changed provisions on the 2012 form 1040 and provisions that were in effect last year but are no longer in effect this year.”

Here are the top new or changed items on the 2012 Form 1040:

New items and changes that apply whether or not the individual is a business owner:

2010 Roth IRAs and pension distributions. In 2010, a taxpayer could have rolled over monies from a regular Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a Roth IRA, converted a regular IRA to a Roth IRA, or taken similar steps with a “designated Roth account,” and deferred the taxes that were due on the rollover, conversion, etc. Part of that deferred tax is due as part of 2012 tax.

Transfers from IRA to charity. The provision that excludes up to $100,000 of qualified charitable distributions (distributions to a charity from an IRA if the taxpayer is at least 70 ½ years old and meets other requirements) has been extended.  If the taxpayer elects, a qualified charitable distribution made in January 2013 will be treated as made in 2012.

Local lodging expenses may be deductible.

New rules permit businesses and employees to deduct local lodging expenses under limited circumstances.

New limits on first-year write-offs for vehicles.  While a part of the cost of a vehicle may be deductible in many circumstances, there are limits. First-year limits for vehicles first placed in service in 2012 are $11,160 for autos and $11,360 for light trucks or vans (if bonus depreciation rules apply) and $3,160 and $3,360, respectively (if bonus depreciation rules do not apply).

Adoption credit less favorable. “The maximum credit you can take for adopting a child decreased from $13,360 per child for 2011 to $12,650 per child for 2012, notes Pretsfelder. “And, if it is no longer refundable because your credit exceeds your 2012 tax, the credit will reduce your tax to zero, but the excess amount is not refunded to you (although you may be able to carry it forward to 2013).”

Child tax credit form changes. New Form 1040, Schedule 8812 replaces Form 8812 for computing the refundable child tax credit. The schedule also contains a new section which must be completed if claiming either the refundable or the nonrefundable credit for one or more children who have individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) instead of social security numbers.

Education credit form changes. Form 8863, Education Credits, has a significantly different format for 2012. New Part III asks for additional information about each student for whom the taxpayer is claiming an education credit. And a separate Part III must be completed for each student for whom the taxpayer is claiming a credit.

Inflation adjustments. As is the case every year, there are inflation-related adjustments for 2012. For example, the standard deduction, the deduction for each exemption, and the amount a taxpayer can earn and still get an IRA deduction, all increased based on inflation.

Tax payment voucher is mandatory. In past years, filing of Form 1040-V, Payment Voucher, was voluntary for paper (versus e-filed) returns where tax was

New items and changes that apply to business owners:

Decrease in special depreciation allowance. Businesses that acquired qualified property in 2011 could, in many cases, claim a 2011 special depreciation allowance equal to 100 percent of the cost of the property. With limited exceptions, a business that acquired qualified property in 2012 can only take a special depreciation allowance equal to 50 percent of the cost of the property.

Self-employment tax’s reduced rate. The self-employment tax rate is 13.3 percent. This is the same rate as applied to 2011, but it is lower than previous year rates.

Edited and posted by Harold Goedde CPA, CMA, Ph.D. (taxation and accounting)

Written by | Posted in Corporate • Federal • Individual • North America • Tax Policy

The Mystery Shopper – What It Means To A CPA Firm

I am sure you are familiar with the practice in the retail industry of using a “mystery shopper” to assess the customer service skills of employees.

Medical practices are using “mystery patients” to do the same thing – determine what kind of care they are providing their patients.

Of course, this brought to my mind the possibility of a CPA firm “mystery call-in client or prospect.”

Are the people answering your phone trained in how to handle the prospect call? What about the unhappy client call? Do you ever call your own office and take note of how the phone is answered?

Keep in mind that many things inside a CPA firm are repeatable actions, something that happens over and over again, thus the need for systems and processes to handle these tasks smoothly and consistently. No matter what office or what person answers your phones or greets your clients – it should be the same consistent, enthusiastic, professional greeting.

Your Director of First Impressions knows who is skilled at taking difficult or awkward telephone calls. When an irate client calls, it is sometimes easily handled by an administrative person (Where is my return? Why hasn’t so and so returned my call?).

When the calls become more challenging, the Director of First Impressions should be aware of exactly who on the accounting staff has a proven track record of soothing people in such situations.  There should be a pre-arranged understanding that these challenging calls are forwarded directly to them.

Of course, if it is truly a seriously upset client, the partner will take the call.

 

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

I’m Still Waiting For My K-1 – What Should I Do?

What should you do when you are waiting for a K-1 to file your return?  If you are a business owner that has a K-1 that contains the majority of your income for the year, hopefully you have been doing tax plans so you have a pretty good idea of what that K-1 will contain.

For people who only have small K-1s from investments they do not totally control, it can be a mystery what is coming on the K-1 and when it might be coming.  One option is to file your return without the K-1 and then amend your return later. 

The other choice is to extend your return and wait for the K-1 to arrive.  An extended individual return is due October 15th, and all the K-1s are due September 15th (if they are extended), so you should have a month to take that K-1 and get your return filed.  When you do your individual extension, be sure to make any tax payments that are needed to avoid late payment penalties.  I would leave a cushion since you don’t know what exactly is coming on the K-1.  One tip for publicly-traded K-1s:  They are often available on their website or they may have an estimate of the K-1 income so you can file your extensions. 

I suppose a third choice is you can badger the accountant preparing the K-1 to have it ready tomorrow.  Do not choose this option if I am the accountant preparing the K-1, but feel free to badger the other accountants out there.  You might not always get it the next day, but it’s tax season and we are used to it. 

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

Australian Government Seeks to Increase Capital Gains Tax on Expats and Foreigners

In the 2012 Australian Federal Budget, it was announced that the current 50% discount on Capital Gains Tax would be removed for Foreign Individuals.

This will impact the many thousands of Australian expatriates and foreign nationals that own property in Australia and may have a dire consequence on the construction industry if there is a contraction of buyer activity as a result of the higher Capital Gains tax cost.

We have prepared a submission to seek the Government to change its position on this and are asking for your support on this important issue.

If the changes come into effect, they will only apply to gains after the 8th may 2012.  Profits before the date will continue to enjoy the 50% discount on Capital Gains.

For more information connect with me at: Steve Douglas on TaxConnections

Written by | Posted in Australia/Oceania • Expatriate • International • Property Tax

Succession And The Partner Pyramid

Many CPA firms are addressing succession issues inside their organizations.  It’s a time of great opportunity for those up-and-comers who have the knowledge, experience and ambition to reach the top of the Partner Pyramid.

Wait a minute….. it involves a whole lot more than playing golf, bossing people around and asking someone to get you a cup of coffee.

I explain it in this less-than-two-minute video – check it out and share it.

You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure.

Zig Ziglar

 

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections
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