Top Tax Blogs, Tax News, Tax Updates, Tax Legislation, TaxConnections

05 Jan 2024

The Role Of Technology In Streamlining Ecommerce Sales Tax Compliance

It has been over 5 years since the pivotal ruling essentially creating the concept of “economic nexus” thresholds in South Dakota v. Wayfair (US Sup Ct – 2018). And yet, we still field questions from e-commerce companies daily about how to navigate compliance. Ecommerce businesses operate in a complex landscape where sales tax compliance is of paramount importance. Compliance is not merely a legal obligation; it is a critical component of financial stewardship. Failing to comply with sales tax regulations can lead to financial penalties, audits, and a negative impact on the business’s reputation.

As ecommerce transactions cross state and international boundaries, understanding and adhering to the various tax laws and rates remains a formidable challenge.

This article explores the significance of sales tax compliance for ecommerce businesses and how both technology and the human element of a consultant play a pivotal role in simplifying this intricate process.

Here’s what we’ll be covering:

Challenges Faced by Ecommerce Businesses in Sales Tax Compliance
- Specific challenges in sales tax compliance:
  - Varied Tax Jurisdictions: Navigating different tax rules in various locations.
  - Tax Rate Determination: The complexity of calculating accurate tax rates.
  - Handling Exemptions: Managing exemptions for certain products or transactions.
  - Evolving Regulations: Adapting to changing tax laws.
  - Borderless Commerce: Coping with the complexity of cross-border transactions.
  - Accurate Calculation, Filing, and Record-Keeping: Ensuring precision in tax-related tasks.
  - Non-Compliance Consequences: Consequences of failing to comply with tax regulations.
The Evolution of Sales Tax Software for Ecommerce
- The evolution of sales tax compliance methods:
  - Traditional Sales Tax Compliance Methods: Manual and spreadsheet-based approaches.
  - Introduction of Sales Tax Software Solutions: Automation of the compliance process.
  - Advantages of Using Sales Tax Software for Ecommerce: Benefits of using software solutions.
Key Features of Sales Tax Software for Ecommerce
- Essential features of sales tax software:
  - Tax Calculation Software: Automates precise tax calculations for each transaction.
  - Tax Filing Software: Streamlines the submission of tax returns.
  - Tax Management Platforms: Centralized hubs for monitoring compliance.
Beyond the Software: The Role of Consulting in Sales Tax Compliance
- The importance of consulting in sales tax compliance:
  - Importance of Expertise in Tax-related Challenges: Expertise in complex tax laws.
  - How Consulting Can Complement Sales Tax Software: Combining expertise with automation.
The Human Touch Before Technology
- Emphasizes the role of a knowledgeable consultant before implementing automation solutions in tax compliance.

Written by Monika Miles

04 Jan 2024

Can LIFO Still Provide Tax Savings In 2023?

While inflation is not at the high levels seen in the last couple of years, if you haven’t elected LIFO previously, now is the time to look at Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) accounting. If you have inventories of machinery and equipment, glass products or any concrete or cement inventory, there could be tax savings available for 2023. Whether you are already on LIFO or not, analyzing the IPIC LIFO method could be a great opportunity. IPIC LIFO uses indexes published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to measure inflation on your inventory. In 2023 these indexes show inflation is still on the rise in many industries, which means businesses of all sizes could experience tax savings using LIFO.

Whether you are a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer, you have the opportunity to mitigate the negative impact of price increases and annually save money by using the LIFO inventory method. Adopting LIFO removes the phantom profits caused by inflation, lowering your tax liability and creating cash for reinvestment in your business. Any business with over $2M in inventory that is experiencing inflation is a qualified candidate for electing LIFO. Depending on the inflation rate and the inventory level, the cash savings can be quite substantial.

Written by Sara Richardson

04 Jan 2024

Living In California Imposes a $26,478.72 “Cost-of-Living Penalty” On Typical Middle-Class Family

A bombshell report from the Transparency Foundation calculates the total higher costs paid by Californians versus national averages – and lays the blame for higher costs on California politicians for costly mandates and negligent policies.

Everyone knows living in California is more expensive than in other states – but a new report out makes a staggering total calculation of all the added costs and blames state politicians for imposing “unreasonable and completely unnecessary cost-of-living-penalty.”

“This report should be a wake up call to all Californians that they are being unfairly punished by the bad policies imposed on them by their politicians – and they are literally paying the price for it,” says Carl DeMaio, Chairman of the Transparency Foundation – the non-profit, non-partisan group that published the study.

The Transparency Foundation’s Cost of California Report compares costs in every major household budget category between California and national averages – including for housing, utilities, food, gas, transportation, healthcare, insurance, childcare, and taxes.

“In every household budget category, the cost of living in California is exponentially higher than the national average – and costly mandates and bad policies are to blame,” says DeMaio.

Outside of the analysis of each category of living costs is a calculation made by the foundation to illustrate the effects of California’s high cost of living on a typical middle-class family.

The study shows that a typical middle-class family of three earning $130,000 a year faces a shocking “Cost of California” penalty of $26,478.72 versus if they simply paid the national average of cost in each category.

What’s worse, the typical middle-class family examined by the report ends up running an annual deficit of $23,710.20 versus being able to run an annual surplus of $2,768.52 if their costs were simply benchmarked to the national average in each category.

Written by Carl DeMaio

04 Jan 2024

US Expat Tax News For 2024

As the year 2024 approaches, individuals and businesses need to be aware of the upcoming tax changes that will impact their financial planning. From adjustments in tax rates to updates in deductions and credits, understanding these changes can help taxpayers prepare and make informed decisions.

In this overview, we will discuss the key tax changes that will take effect in 2024, providing insights into how these revisions may affect your tax liability and overall financial situation. Stay informed and stay ahead of the game by keeping up with the latest developments in tax laws and regulations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 2024 US EXPAT TAX UPDATES

Tax Deadlines: The standard filing deadline for US residents is April 15, 2024, but expats get an automatic extension to June 17, 2024.
FBAR and FATCA Reporting: International taxpayers with foreign accounts get an automatic extension to October 15, 2024, to file their FBARs. FATCA reporting is tied to your individual tax return deadline.
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion: The FEIE for 2024 is increased to $126,500, aiding American citizens in managing their worldwide income more effectively.
Standard Deduction Increases: The standard deduction for various filing statuses has increased for 2024, impacting both passive and unearned income reporting.
Stimulus Checks and Compliance: US expats who haven’t claimed their stimulus payments for tax years 2020-2022 can still do so. Additionally, those who are behind on their tax filings can use the IRS amnesty program to become compliant without facing penalties.

WHEN DOES THE 2024 US TAX FILING SEASON START?

Written by Olivier Wagner

03 Jan 2024

Don’t Hire A Cost Segregation Provider Until You Ask These 10 Questions

“IRS VITA Volunteers Needed Immediately”: The Food Bank For New York City’s Call To Action (Time Sensitive Need)

NOTE: TaxConnections will provide a complimentary one year membership( $299.95 Value) for any tax professional who supports the food bank and the IRS VITA Volunteer team by contacting Peter Scalise immediately to join this program. He needs help for the team within the next 24 hours. Peter Scalise will recommend your name for these complimentary memberships.

The Food Bank For New York City, a registered I.R.C. 501(c)(3) non-profit and member of Feeding America, has been working to end food poverty in the five boroughs for over 40 years, and now it’s getting assistance from a group of volunteer accountants.

As the city’s largest hunger-relief organization, the Food Bank takes a multifaceted approach to helping low-income New Yorkers overcome their circumstances and achieve greater independence. The Food Bank powers an extensive member network of over 800 food pantries, community kitchens, senior centers, shelters, campus partners and other community-based organizations across the five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

As a philanthropist committed to giving back to my local community, I founded in January of 2023 the Accountants United to End Insecurity Council to bring the accounting profession together throughout the five boroughs of New York City to provide greater awareness of the noble mission of the Food Bank and raise much-needed funding. The Food Bank supports communities on myriad levels including:

Free meals and services through a community soup kitchen and food pantry in West Harlem that serves more than 100,000 meals each month. The Food Bank’s team includes professional chefs, community nutritionists, program administrators and caring volunteers ensuring families and individuals receive healthy and nutritious meal choices;
The senior program, which launched in 2012, provides a place for elders to get together, enjoy a meal and gather for special events. In addition to meals and pantry services, seniors can enjoy activities and are provided with resources such as health management workshops and nutritional guidance; and
As one of the nation’s largest Internal Revenue Service Volunteer Income Tax Assistance providers, the Food Bank provides eligible New Yorkers with free tax compliance filing services and has put more than $1.3 billion back into the pockets of hardworking New Yorkers. The VITA program, an IRS-sponsored program, relies on hundreds of dedicated accounting volunteers to ensure filers receive the crucial and necessary tax refunds they depend upon and ultimately help people fight poverty and food insecurity.

Written by Peter J. Scalise

02 Jan 2024

Learn How Congressional Big Spenders In Washington DC Waste Taxpayers Money

During the holiday season while taxpayers are busy with their families and holiday vacations, many people miss one of the best reports of all and that is Senator Rand Paul’s, (Republican from Kentucky) report on government waste. This is Senator Paul ninth year announcing government waste. He calls this “Festivus Report” which spotlights $900 Billion dollars of waste of taxpayer money. Last years’ 2022 report, Senator Paul brought to our attention the national debt was $30 TRILLION. He tells us both parties of Congress managed to approach 34 TRILLION in debt in just one year later. Remember BOTH parties VOTED to raise the debt limit to borrow even more in 2024. I think the media barely mentioned it on national tv. What does that mean for us? Higher taxes… for certain!

“As our Congressional Representatives spend more to reward their favorite projects, American taxpayers pay more for everything.” Senator Rand Paul also states, “The same big spenders teamed up again to continue sending Americans hard earned money to foreign countries and funding endless wars, all while ignoring our southern border.”

LEARN how your taxpayer money is being wasted:

What was supposed to be an A.I. System to verify proof of identity quickly exposed the stupidity of the 800 BILLION government Covid Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Some applications used Barbie Doll faces as proof of identity. The Small Business Administration approved the applicants, did not catch on barbie head shots in time and sent out improper Covid -19 PPP payments.
$659 Billion for Interest on our National Debt: Borrowing to spend money we do not have is expensive! In Fiscal Year 2023, the US Department of Treasury spent $659 Billion just to pay interest on our National Debt.
Dr Fauci’s Monkey Business: $33.2M to run South Carolinas 3,000 Monkey Colony. The NIH (National Institute of Health) signed a $33.2Million contract with a business to house, feed, and care for these 3,000 monkeys before the monkeys are sent to research labs around the country. Senator Rand states “Apparently monkey business is BIG Business.”
$6 Billion to boost Egyptian Tourism. The United States Agency For International Development(USAID) approved spending $6 Million to boost tourism in Egypt. The U.S. government has spent over $100 Million on Egyptian Tourism so far.
Walking hot dogs and checking their rectal temperatures. The Agricultural Research Service at the USDA funded the study at Southern Illinois University and gets $1.7 BILLION a year from Congress allocated to “cutting edge” research funding to support a summer study that walked 16 dogs of two different colors – and measured their rectal temperatures.
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Written by TaxConnections Admin

26 Dec 2023

Organize All Your Professional Assets Online To One Location: TaxConnections Makes A Difference In Your Marketing Strategy

The week between Christmas and New Years is the ideal time to organize yourself and your tax services practice for a maximum marketing effect for the coming year. Tax professionals waste so much time looking for information to forward to clients throughout the year, we built the TaxConnections platform to save valuable time. We also want to emphasize that most tax professionals have assets spread out all over the internet working to elevate big tech media sites. TaxConnections works to elevate the tax professional members online.

Tax Professionals have assets that include: articles written, blogs posted, podcasts, recommendations, tax questions you have answered, twitter/X links, videos, work history,and the list goes on. TaxConnections understands the value of having all your professional assets available in one online location that elevates the tax professionals expertise. Tax professionals often do not have the time to market and need a better marketing strategy for themselves. TaxConnections fills the role through a platform that does the heavy lifting marketing tax professionals in the accounting and legal profession. TaxConnections also helps promote professionals in wealth planning, estate and gift planning, financial planners, bookkeepers and any professional who supports the tax profession (marketing professionals, software companies, small, medium, and large size businesses, and more.)

How much time do you spend looking for content about you and your services throughout the year? A TaxConnections Profile provides an advantage over competitors by positioning you for success.
Is your content helping big tech sites or is your content elevating your expertise to taxpayers searching for your expertise online? Answer: your content is being used by big tech sites to build a social credit score on you. The worst part is you are participating with sites who are using your information so governments can build social credit scores that work against you.

Secret most people do not know. Whenever you click a Like button, you are giving them permission to track your likes which the big tech companies store for your social credit score. So Stop clicking the tracker buttons on yourself!

What happens if your business is disrupted due to electricity being down in your area? TaxConnections provides all members with a backup Virtual Office you can access via your cell phone. Your business operations are back up in a few minutes by using your cell phone to access your services in the cloud… as long as you are a TaxConnections Member and you have taken 20 minutes to set up your Virtual Office. You simply add your links to your Virtual Office of your cloud services and never need to give us your passwords for improved security. You are in control.

Watch these two videos to see what we have built for all of you: https://newdev.taxconnections.com/videos

Call 858.999.0053 for help in elevating your tax services firm or software company to a dedicated tax audience. Marketing you is what we do!

Written by Kat Jennings

26 Dec 2023

What Does The IRS Extending The R&D Tax Credit Claims Transition Period Mean?

The IRS extended the transition period for taxpayers to perfect their refund claims for R&D Tax Credits through January 10, 2024. Taxpayers are now provided 45 days to perfect a research credit claim for a refund prior to the IRS’s final determination on the claim, according to the IRS.

The transition period was initially listed at 30 days and was set to expire on January 10, 2023.

An R&D tax credit provides businesses with a tax benefit for conducting qualified research activities. When submitting an R&D claim for refund, it’s essential to provide specific details and supporting information.

Information Required for Submitting an R&D Tax Credit Claim
According to the IRS, to claim a Section 41 R&D tax credit refund, taxpayers are required to provide the following information:

Identify all business components to which the R&D credit relates to for that tax year
Identify all qualified research activities performed, name the individuals who performed each activity, and list the information each individual aimed to discover
Provide the total qualified employee wage expenses, total qualified supply expenses, and total qualified contract research expenses for the claim year
Taxpayers can submit their R&D tax credit claim by attaching IRS Form 6765 Credit for Increasing Research Activities to their amended return and a statement with the above information. The above information may sound like a lot, but with the proper assistance, it is very manageable.

Benefits of Claiming the R&D Tax Credit
Claiming the R&D tax credit provides numerous benefits, including:
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Written by Deborah Roth

26 Dec 2023

How To Claim $3200 With The IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedure

How to claim 3,200 USD with the IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore procedure

If you are a U.S. citizen and haven’t filed your 2020 and 2021 tax returns yet, please do so.

June 15 2024 is the deadline to claim a refund for your covid 19 stimulus checks using the IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore or tax amnesty.

This gives you four undeniable benefits:

Your non-compliance, which would otherwise lead to penalties, can be regularized under more friendly terms.

You can claim a stimulus check for a minimum amount of $3,200 on your 2020 and 2021 tax returns, provided that your annual income was less than $75,000 during those years.

It’s very beneficial: the value of stimulus checks exceeds the cost of the IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore procedure.

We offer free consultations if needed: Book it now. Complimentary Consultation.Olivier Wagner, 1040 Abroad.

Written by Olivier Wagner

21 Dec 2023

A Very Special Christmas Gift To Share With Your Family And Friends Every Day Starting Today Through Christmas

It is countdown time for all families to journey into Christmas 2023. The TaxConnections community is about and for tax professionals we help throughout the year. We have done so much and want more than ever to help you all to avoid the big data collection on you; and we want to educate you how to protect you and your families from the big tech data collection grinches. Get savvy, start listening to Rob Braxman on YouTube about LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, Apple phone and much more. You need to educate yourself what is happening to you online. If you want a special report and are a TaxConnections Member please ask me via email message to send you my research as a GIFT to you from me at kat@taxconnections.com. We are here to protect you from what is happening to you and your information online. Trust me, you need the protection as many sites do not protect you at all. Free sites are dangerous to your privacy. Only give up information you need to attract new business…nothing more.

Start picking up the phone and talk to people again. Start picking your associations and colleagues wisely, help each other with introductions. Stick with us and know we are always looking out for the professionals at www.taxconnections.com. Start doing things differently and take an active part in promoting your tax expertise to a world of people who need it. Over the holidays, we are working on a series about what is actually happening to you online. You need a presence online but you also want to know how to protect your privacy at the same time.

TODAY, start a special family tradition and turn this site on your computer with your family. Let’s all enjoy some happiness and pray for the safety of other human beings on our planet.

Do you know every time you click on a Like Button, you are actually giving tech companies the opportunity to track what you like on your social score. Stop clicking Like Buttons! It’s a tracker on you!

START HERE TO JOIN OUR JOURNEY TO BRING HAPPINESS INTO YOUR HOME WITH YOUR FAMILIES, KIDS, AND GRANDKIDS!

CLICK THIS LINK TO NORAD TRACKING SANTA AND HIS WORKSHOP BEFORE HE RIDES HIS SLEIGH AROUND THE WORLD ON CHRISTMAS EVE: https://www.noradsanta.org/en/

Do Your Kids Want To Call Santa? Call 605.313.4000 (It’s Free!)

Written by TaxConnections Admin

21 Dec 2023

Send Santa Tax Form 10-A SANTA To Clients And Colleagues

TaxConnections has a series of fun tax forms that we provide our paid subscription members along with a license to distribute to clients and friends. These fun tax forms are a great way to keep clients remembering you have a sense of humor all year long. All of TaxConnections fun tax forms are family friendly and you will have access to many more fun tax forms in our Complimentary eBook. We will continue to provide fun and professional content for our members to download to use for marketing purposes.

Demonstrating you have a fun personality and a healthy sense of humor definitely helps to grow your client business. TaxConnections Members are automatically given permission to send the complimentary ebook in part or in whole to their clients.

You can download all our fun tax forms in our 250+ Tax Jokes And Fun Tax Forms complimentary eBook here: https://www.taxconnections.com/best-tax-jokes-and-quotes

Santa Tax Form in back of Complimentary eBook.

Happy Holidays,

Kat Jennings, CEO

www.taxconnections.com

Rancho Mirage, CA

858-999-0053

Written by TaxConnections Admin