by Leif Jensen | Nov 4, 2024 | Rant |
The 2018 Supreme Court decision that struck down a 1992 federal law prohibiting most states from allowing sports betting has transformed the US sports landscape. By 2024, the gambling industry had become deeply embedded in US sports culture, with leagues, teams,...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 30, 2024 | Rant |
The Michigan Supreme Court’s decision in Dodge v. Ford Motor Co., 204 Mich 459; 170 NW 668 (1919), established the principle of “shareholder primacy” in corporate America. The court ruled that Henry Ford had to operate the Ford Motor Company in the...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 28, 2024 | General |
S corporations have become an increasingly popular business structure for many small businesses due to their tax advantages and liability protection. And they are a common tool among tax planners. But entity planning isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. There are...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 23, 2024 | Running a Business |
Pay Yourself a Reasonable Salary: As an S Corp shareholder, pay yourself a reasonable salary to minimize payroll taxes and take advantage of lower tax rates on distributions. The IRS requires that salaries be reasonable for the services provided to the company. ...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 21, 2024 | General |
Measurement metrics offer several crucial benefits to small businesses, serving as essential tools for tracking performance, guiding decision-making, and driving growth. Some key advantages include: Improved Decision-Making: By relying on data rather than intuition,...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 16, 2024 | Taxes |
The primary purpose of estimated taxes is to provide the government with a steady stream of revenue throughout the year. This system helps taxpayers avoid large bills at the end of the year by requiring them to contribute as they earn income. By making regular...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 14, 2024 | Taxes |
To calculate estimated taxes, individuals must estimate their total tax liability for the year, including self-employment tax and individual income tax. They then divide this amount by four to determine the quarterly payment amounts. The IRS provides Form 1040-ES for...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 9, 2024 | Taxes |
The U.S. tax system operates on a pay-as-you-earn basis, requiring taxes to be paid as income is received. For employees, employers typically manage this through withholding. However, for those without automatic withholding, such as the self-employed, estimated tax...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 7, 2024 | General |
Generative AI utilizes large, versatile foundation models to create novel content such as text, images, music, audio, and videos. These powerful AI systems can multitask and perform a variety of out-of-the-box functions, including summarization, question answering,...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 2, 2024 | Rant |
During the Dark Ages, most people’s access to goods and services was confined to a 20-mile radius around their birthplace. Few individuals ventured beyond this limited geographic area over the course of their entire lives. Even the wealthy, who may not have...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 30, 2024 | Running a Business |
A written information security program, known as a WISP, is the foundation of an effective information governance strategy. By outlining policies and procedures, a WISP can help organizations mitigate the risks of cyberattacks and inadvertent data breaches....
by Leif Jensen | Sep 25, 2024 | Rant |
The 2024 presidential election represents a pivotal moment in American history, the first in nearly half a century where the names Bush, Clinton, or Biden are absent from the ticket. For 48 long years, these dynastic families have exerted a powerful grip on our...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 23, 2024 | Taxes |
If you file your U.S. tax return late, you may face two primary penalties: the late filing penalty and the late payment penalty. The late filing penalty is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%. If...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 18, 2024 | Taxes |
IRS updates draft version of Form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions; requests comments on form planned for 2025 The Internal Revenue Service today posted an early draft of the updated Form 1099-DA, which is the form for brokers to report certain...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 16, 2024 | General |
Normally, the passive loss rules bar deducting rental real estate losses. But there are two exceptions. The first is for real estate professionals who spend more than 50% of their working hours and over 750 hours each year materially participating in real estate as...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 11, 2024 | Taxes |
Normally, the passive loss rules bar deducting rental real estate losses. But there are two exceptions. The first is for real estate professionals who spend more than 50% of their working hours and over 750 hours each year materially participating in real estate as...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 9, 2024 | Taxes |
The income tax burden on high-incomers rose for 2021, per IRS statistics. The top 1% of individual filers paid 45.78% of all U.S. federal income taxes… up from 2020’s figure of 42.31%. They reported 26.3% of total adjusted gross income. Filers needed AGIs of at least...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 4, 2024 | Taxes |
Most individual tax provisions in the 2017 tax reform law expire after 2025. They include tax rates and bracket changes, higher standard deductions, repeal of personal exemptions, the $10,000 cap on deducting state and local taxes on Schedule A, and others that we...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 28, 2024 | Rant |
Classroom discussions, for students ages 12-18, cover various asset classes, risk versus reward and the power of compounding. Often, these areas are left out of traditional curriculums because they are considered nonacademic. However, these ideas overlap with the same...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 26, 2024 | Rant |
Suppose that once a week, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to £100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this… The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay £1. The sixth...
