by Leif Jensen | Nov 27, 2018 | General |
Something the Lottery does not mention much, if you win the lottery; expect Uncle to withhold a sizable amount of tax from your jackpot just too wet its beak. The current federal income tax withholding rate is 24%. Then there is the state. Illinois will want their...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 26, 2018 | General |
I was having a conversation with another attorney who was incorporating a client that was taking the stance that an LLC is better than an S-Corporation. The reduced organization fee and annual report fee do make it more comparable in price. Also once organized an LLC...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 20, 2018 | General |
A past client recently called wanting me to meet their spouse and do some year-end planning. The spouse works for their parents in their business and owns 10% of the business. But this is the parents show. They make all the business decisions and decide how all the...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 19, 2018 | General |
Workers have been deemed to be in short supply now. The concern is now how can employers adapt as more people are approaching retirement age and eyeing the exits? The recommendation is to act sooner rather than later. Start by talking to older workers. Ask them when...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 14, 2018 | General |
The IRS’s foreign account reporting rules survived the latest legal challenge. In 2015, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and several other individuals filed a lawsuit alleging that both the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the reporting mandate that it imposed on U.S....
by Leif Jensen | Nov 13, 2018 | General |
I have peers that in their desire to be more efficient have streamlined their processes so much that there is no longer any contact with the client on a face to face basis. All of it is electronically done. The clients have either granted access to their data or...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 12, 2018 | General |
5G is very fast; apparently 100 times faster than 4G, and 10 times faster than our average broadband connection. This should enable the next wave of technological and societal advancements that destined to transform our economy: Autonomous vehicles, smart factories...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 7, 2018 | General |
Because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), it is believed that more taxpayers will be embolden up to 90% of taxpayers, by some estimates—to prepare their own tax returns for 2018. With the simplification of the Form 1040, it is believed that more people will use the...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 6, 2018 | General |
With less than two months of the year remaining, now is the time to look towards the year end for tax issues and year end planning. First businesses should be making sure that they have valid up to date W-9’s for all of the Independent Contractors that they utilize. ...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 5, 2018 | General |
We have Democrat Billionaire JB Pritzker officially spending more personal money than any other person in history to get himself appointed governor of Illinois ($161.5 million). What will be his “return on investment”? I for one do not believe that there is not a...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 31, 2018 | General |
The relevance of your current data is important to the running of a successful business, especially when it starts growing larger and larger. I have a manufacturing client that has revenues that exceed $2MM. Unfortunately they do not keep their data in the most...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 30, 2018 | General |
Sad as I am to admit it, I have current clients that have at best mediocre relationships with their bank. A couple of client’s in recent times have had their bank reduced “lines of credit” by at least half. Where the banks were attempting to get the clients to leave...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 29, 2018 | General |
Podcasts, I listen to one with great anticipation, its current incarnation is “Under the Influence” with Terry O’Reilly. This past year I missed several episodes and so I am planning on purchasing them from iTunes (I hate iTunes since they don’t always work with...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 24, 2018 | General |
I have been having discussions with clients on the potential impact whether good or bad of the prospect of AI (artificial intelligence) on their businesses. Some are looking forward to further automation; others think there will be a minimal impact on theirs for...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 23, 2018 | General |
What is the ROI (return on investment) on your brokerage account or investments? What I am asking is who is making more money off of your money? You or the brokerage firm? I just had a new prospect come in and have me review his 2017 return for potential errors. ...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 22, 2018 | General |
It seems to be a very old question: are you working for your money? Or is your money working for you? If you are living paycheck to paycheck, you are definitely working for your money. It is hard to get enough money scrapped together at times to even start to think...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 16, 2018 | General |
Thoughts of retirement are changing in our society. I work with a large spectrum of clients of all ages and a lot of them are wondering if retirement is in the picture for them at all. The first to surprise me with this thought was when I was talking to a couple of...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 15, 2018 | General |
The threat of an IRS levy doesn’t let you tap your retirement plan penalty-free, according to the court informed a couple under age 59½ who withdrew more than a million dollars from their plan to help pay outstanding tax debts. After IRS assessed the 10% penalty, the...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 10, 2018 | General |
California has recently enacted a new privacy law. This law will set the tone as the toughest-ever U.S. privacy decree. While hastily signed into law in June, the sweeping policy will affect hundreds of thousands of U.S. businesses when it takes effect Jan. 1, 2020....
by Leif Jensen | Oct 9, 2018 | General |
We recently met with a couple looking to create a new Not for Profit, they were a referral from a center of influence. They are proceeding slowly and are looking for the right team to be put in place before they truly get started. I was impressed with the due...
