by Leif Jensen | Apr 17, 2018 | General |
The Illinois Annual Report, that annoying little bit of business that comes round once a year. Most businesses have delegated this responsibility to an outside Registered Agent. But now after years of moving in this direction the state of Illinois has a method to...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 16, 2018 | General |
As a teen I had a job at Toys R Us, I started as a seasonal worker, but was kept on after the holiday season Like the rest of the world and definitely as a teen, I thought ok this will be a breeze, no one buys toys after Christmas so we will get paid to show up and...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 11, 2018 | General |
I recently met with a new client; they were referred to us by an existing client who likes the fact that tells them the truth even if they don’t always like what we say. The new client was looking to buy an existing franchise and wanted someone to tell them the truth...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 10, 2018 | General |
The Ho Chi Minh philosophy is as follows “Control all the villages and the city falls”. This philosophy would be utilized when you have a consumer product and you can’t get in front of the right people at the whale table. I was at a networking event and was...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 9, 2018 | General |
The fiction of the US filing their return on a postcard is not in the future, this despite the promises made by some key GOP taxwriters. In truth based on the new tax law only a few lines from the current Form 1040 will be eliminated next year. Granted many filers...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 4, 2018 | General |
In a recent tax case; claiming a large bad debt deductions lead an investor to some tax woes. The investor had his S corporation advance funds to small companies in return for financial control and a minority equity interest. Later, the S corporation claimed a...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 3, 2018 | General |
With the passage of the new tax bill Congress effectively killed the requirement for individual health coverage by repealing the penalties under the individual mandate for post-2018 years. But two fines for noncompliance with the employer mandate go up for 2018. Firms...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 2, 2018 | General |
Trump’s infrastructure initiative is missing a key piece: How to pay for it. The recommended solution is to raise the federal gasoline tax, which has remained steady at 18.4¢ a gallon since 1993. There’s a push by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to hike the tax to 43.4¢,...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 28, 2018 | General |
Trump is again calling for increased oversight of paid preparers. The IRS is thrilled at the prospect. The Service has been asking for this ever since an appeals court struck down its regulations requiring unenrolled preparers to pass a competency exam and take tax...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 27, 2018 | General |
The IRS is giving us something that no one was asking for. A new tax return for seniors only. Seniors age 65 and older will get a new, simplified tax return to fill out, granted it is not for this tax filing season. It will take the Service some time to develop the...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 26, 2018 | General |
A sure sign that consumers are feeling good: consumers are drinking more in bars and restaurants, compared with at home. Having a drink out costs far more, and folks generally only do a lot of it when they’re optimistic about their finances. By contrast, recessions...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 21, 2018 | General |
Comcast holds a virtual monopoly on internet in my world (home and office), when I last went to try to price compare AT&T does not cover either my home of office. So Comcast is the monopoly I have to live with. At least for now other businesses are just starting...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 20, 2018 | General |
The Senate amendment to the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017” directs the Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate due diligence requirements for paid preparers in determining eligibility for a tax payer to file as head of household. So we are now again put in the...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 19, 2018 | General |
The Democrats are hoping that net neutrality will drive young voters to the polls this fall in their favor. Many are upset by the overturn on net neutrality barring telecoms from charging more for faster internet speeds or controlling content. The party...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 14, 2018 | General |
Some refunds will be held up by the IRS. Filers who are claiming the earned income tax credit as well as taxpayers claiming the refundable child tax credit will have to wait until Feb. 27 before their refunds are deposited into their bank accounts. And...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 13, 2018 | General |
Retaining too much control over a company costs an inventor a tax benefit. The Royalties he got from patent transfers do not qualify for capital gains treatment. Inventors who sell to an unrelated person their entire interest in a patent they created before commercial...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 12, 2018 | General |
The $10,000 cap on deducting state and local taxes is causing chaos. In an attempt to beat the deduction crackdown coming in 2018, many homeowners rushed out January to prepay 2018 property tax liabilities, in the belief they could deduct them on 2017 returns,...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 7, 2018 | General |
Do you need or want to apply for or renew a passport? Then you need to make sure that your taxes are paid up and current. The State Department can deny and has revoked U.S. passports of individuals with federal tax debts in excess of $51,000 and on whom...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 6, 2018 | General |
Surprise the Service’s private debt-collection program is off to a shaky start. A 2015 law called for the agency to turn over many inactive tax receivables to private debt collectors in an effort to recoup overdue taxes owed by taxpayers. The IRS began...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 5, 2018 | General |
Surprise, charity insiders who use funds for personal use can draw a huge tax penalty. The founder and chief executive officer of a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization used money in the group’s checking account to pay for a host of personal expenses (i.e....
