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FASB 13 Impacts Operating Leases

Upcoming changes to lease accounting rules will greatly affect U.S. companies and will have a tremendous affect on return on assets and other key financial ratios. Treating lease obligations off the balance sheet has helped buffer real estate performance. However, changes to this may take affect as early as 2011. Planning is critical to reduce the impact on the bottom line. Contact HLB Gross Collins,... Read More

Virtual Back Office Finally Viable

Gross Reality Blog, week of August 23, 2010 by Steve Gross Virtual Back Office Finally Viable With the development of best of breed, coordinated, and integrated services, most businesses can now lower costs for personnel, as well as hardware and software investments in many aspects of business. In the Cloud (software-as-a-service) now allows businesses to: Pay bills automatically by scanning bills and... Read More

The Market is an Anomaly – Bad Economic News Doesn’t Equal Decline

During July, economic news contained a list of bad news. Some of the items are listed below: Unemployment continues at record levels GDP growth has slowed in the second quarter from 3.7% in the first quarter to 2.4% in the second. Fears of a double dip recession continue. Consumer confidence continues to be low. This is a partial list of perhaps a dozen set of... Read More

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

Georgia Passes Unlimited Retirement Exclusion

On May 12, 2010, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 1055 into law. This bill includes a provision to increase the amount of retirement income which is not subject to Georgia income tax. Under prior law, taxpayers who were at least 62 years old or disabled were allowed to exclude up to $35,000 of retirement income from their taxable income. Retirement income includes interest, dividend,... 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