Tax Relief for Victims of Wildfires in Orange County
January 17, 2018 On October 16th the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Orange County was added to the list of counties included in the federally declared disaster area related to the wildfires that took place in October. The declaration allows for postponement of certain deadlines falling on or after October 8, 2017 and before January 31, 2018. This includes extended tax returns that were due October 16, 2017 and quarterly estimated income tax payments due during that time frame. Affected taxpayers may also be able to claim disaster related losses if the loss is not covered by insurance. If…
Utilization of Key Performance Indicators As a Measure of Success
From our CPAAI (CPA Associates International) Colleagues, Rosenswig Mcrae Thorpe in Canada Utilization of Key Performance Indicators As a Measure of Success There are many challenges to managing a business in an ever-changing and competitive marketplace. Monitoring the company’s performance and progress is a key aspect of management. Many businesses use key performance indicators to measure and understand the success of their operations and to compare results against historical/industry data in order to make sound financial decisions and ensuring organizational goals are being achieved. Following are some KPIs: · Profitability: to assess a business’s ability to generate earnings compared to its expenes…
Critical Provisions of New Tax Law
Last Friday, the President signed the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017’ into law. Now that we have had some time to review the new tax law, we wanted to relay some of the more significant portions of the new tax law which may affect your spending and business decisions beginning on the first day of the New Year: Prohibition on any entertainment related expenses as a business tax deduction: Prior to 12/31/17, a business tax deduction was allowed for one-half of all business related entertainment. Meals are still eligible for the 50% deduction; however, those provided on the…
Comparison of House and Senate Bills for the 2017 Tax Reform Act
As you know, significant “tax reform” legislation is currently being worked on in the House and Senate. They have each passed their own versions and now they need to be reconciled and combine into one bill. The chart below compares the two versions as of December 4, 2017. Note that most of the provisions in the Senate bill expire on January 1, 2026, while most of the House bill provisions are permanent. PROVISION HOUSE BILL SENATE BILL Individual tax rates 4 brackets from 12% to 39.6% 7 brackets from 10% to…
Tax Reform Update
Tis the season to battle it out on The Hill. You may have heard about a little thing called Tax Reform. Well, the House of Representatives passed its version of the tax reform bill a few weeks ago. Recently, the Senate passed its version and, shockingly (sarcasm inserted here), they do not match. Both houses have until December 22nd, to agree on many issues, including tax reform, before The Government Shutdown of 2017 begins. The house and senate bills both mention change in the area of estate and gift. Lucky for us taxpayers, they do agree on doubling the lifetime…