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HIRE Act Imposes New Foreign Tax Compliance Requirements

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act imposes additional reporting and disclosure requirements for taxpayers with any interest in a “specified foreign financial asset” if the aggregate value of all such assets exceeds $50,000. These reporting requirements apply to any domestic entity which holds “specified foreign financial assets” directly or indirectly, as if the entity were an... Read More

Uncertainty Surrounds Adoption of Global Accounting Rules

A leading board member for the International Accounting Standards Board recently indicated that there is much uncertainty as to whether the US will adopt global accounting rules, which could jeopardize the IASB as a whole. During the recent IASB trustee meeting, Padio Schioppa stated, “The aspiration of having global standards depends very much on the adoption of global standards by the United... Read More

HIRE Act offers Employers Potential Savings

Important Tax Savings Opportunity Reminder: The HIRE Act exempts employers from paying their 6.2-percent share of the Social Security payroll tax for the remainder of 2010 for eligible new hires, and provides a $1,000 tax credit to employers if they retain eligible workers for 52 weeks. Read More

Senate Poised to Pass Enhanced Small Business Tax Bill

The Senate is getting ready to pass a small business tax bill. One of the revenue raisers is the following: The Senate bill would require qualified taxpayers who receive rental income from real property to file information returns with the IRS and to service providers reporting payments of $600 or more during the year for rental property expenses. The Senate bill would substantially increase the penalties... Read More

The Great 1099 Tsunami of 2010

More Demanding Requirements for Issuing 1099s Generally, all persons engaged in a trade or business and making payments to individuals or partnerships for services (including parts and materials) in excess of $600 are required to file Form 1099-Miscellaneous. In order to properly complete a Form 1099, you must obtain a Form W-9 “Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification” from the... Read More

More Down Than Up – Weekly Market Watch

This will be my last prediction for the summer of 2010. So far, I am batting almost 1000 and close to being wrong every time. Perhaps if I predict a lower market, I will put a jinx on the market and it will go up. The news is all gloomy. In spite of the overriding negative bias, we are not going to zero but I believe that we have some down side exposure and it could last for a while. My Bruce... Read More

Distracted Driver Laws Effective July 1

Two new distracted driving laws go into effect July 1, 2010. One is the House Bill 23 and the second is the Senate Bill 360. The House bill prohibits drivers under the age of 18 from using wireless devices, whether they are using a hands free set or not. The bill: “prohibits use of wireless telecommunications devices by persons under 18 years of age with an instruction permit or Class D... Read More

Reasons to be Invested – Weekly Market Watch

The news continues to be focused on all of the negatives and not much positive at the moment. This news often spooks investors into panic mode and causes them to exit the market. By the time the average investor gets back in, the market has already recovered to beyond where they exited. Here are a number of reasons to be invested for the long term: Statistics show that the U.S. recovery is underway... Read More

We are Going Nowhere – Weekly Market Watch

Actually, we all might be going to lots of great places this summer but it appears that the market is going nowhere. The news is continually bad and everything seems to be an overreaction. The Euro is weakening and this is bad for the USeconomy; whoops maybe it is really good, European debt worries weigh heavy on the market, and job growth is slow. And to top it off, BP had to hit the mother of all oil... Read More