Beware the BOE!
Here in California, as in most states, we have a sales tax. Because of Constitutional restrictions on states, and also as a practical matter, California and the other states are unable to levy sales taxes on inbound sales from out of state retailers that do not have physical locations within the state. As a result many people shop online or via mail order and avoid paying sales taxes.There is a move afoot in Congress to relax these rules and make a uniform approach to sales tax so that states can assess these transactions. So far it has not progressed much…
Stay Tuned….
as I write this new post its Thursday morning and here at O&S we are still working on getting the last few tax projections done for our clients who need them before year end. Its been a hectic couple of weeks, and I have not had a chance to compose anything interesting for the Blog.But wait till next week! I have a couple of topics that will be of interest to business owners about a little known tax perk and some big changes in sales taxes that will affect all Californians, unfortunately.Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a…
‘Tis the Season
It’s the Holiday Season already. I can tell because two annual-as-clockwork events have started occurring i.e. (1) Its finally raining in Southern California and (2) my mailbox is plugged with solicitations from charities. This time of year charities recognize the more generous holiday spirit of potential donors, as well as the looming December cutoff for tax deductible donations by the more tax aware amongst us. Either way, the radio and direct mail advertising ramps up exponentially. One area that our office sees a lot of misunderstanding about is donations of property, notably AUTOS.For donations of property you are generally entitled…
A Real Boob Job
In an effort to locate funding sources for the health care bill currently working its way through the Senate, Congress has actually proposed to create a new tax on elective cosmetic surgeries. The proposal would tax these cosmetic surgeries at a rate of 5%.The argument is that cosmetic surgeries, including Bo-tox, liposuction, tummy tucks, etc are a luxury of the wealthy, and who better to afford to help with health care funding but the rich? We keep hearing this same song from politicians, but here in So Cal, cosmetic enhancements are almost a requirement for high school graduation, not just…
Throw Grandma under the bus?
For those of you who haven’t been following this stuff, Federal tax law as currently written provides for an inheritance tax on decedent’s estates that exceed $3.5 mil. Currently if you die with a net worth over that amount, your estate (actually your heirs) will be taxed at a 45% rate on the excess value.That is scheduled to change January 1, 2010. For one year only, the inheritance tax is scheduled to go away for decedents dying between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010. After that, the “death tax” as it’s fondly referred to, is scheduled to return with…
Please define the term “Voluntary”
The IRS just announced new proposed regulations that will explain how to implement a new tax code section that requires credit card, debit card, and third party payments such as Paypal to be reported to IRS starting in 2011. Institutions will be required to disclose amounts paid to recipients. What this means is that when you pay a bill or buy something over the internet with a credit or debit card, the bank clearing the transaction will tell IRS how much was received by the payee.The reason for this rule, as announced in the IRS press release, is “to improve…