by Leif Jensen | May 6, 2015 | General |
Expenses in the start-up phase of a business are not always deductible right away. According to the Tax Court: in a recent case, an engineer who was a full-time employee and was also in the process of opening his own company. He visited construction sites after work...
by Leif Jensen | May 5, 2015 | General |
For those who live in a bubble with no contact with the outside world; the number of new banks is on the wane. From 1990 to 2008, new banks were formed at the rate of about 100 per year. Since the “Great Recession” bank formation has all but stopped, partly because of...
by Leif Jensen | May 4, 2015 | General |
With the current budget cuts in place, the IRS has curbed some of its criminal investigations. Most of the agency’s investigative priorities have been affected, including identity theft, international operations and money laundering schemes plus suspicious refunds and...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 27, 2015 | General |
Having an S-Corporation rent realty to a related company may not net a tax break. The owner cannot always use the rental income to offset other passive losses, according to the Williams case in which two people set up an S corporation to rent real estate to their...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 22, 2015 | General |
I have a client who was having some financial challenges. The couple had over extended themselves and created a harmful tax liability, all while being taxed at a high marginal tax rate. So at one point the couple’s family tried to help. But with one hand they giveth...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 21, 2015 | General |
I have a client that was flabbergasted by the response from a candidate for a newly crated CEO position. As a small company looking for future growth they pulled together a package that was modest in the beginning but became much more generous as the position...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 20, 2015 | General |
This tax season was a bit of an eye opener. There were a few clients that had received an additional PIN number from the IRS because their privacy had been compromised. We were also made aware of a client whose employer’s information was compromised and they would be...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 14, 2015 | General |
I work with a sub-lessee of some space. Their agreement is up shortly and it looks like they will be staying put. What makes this amusing in my mind is that the lessee and the sub-lessee have been in the same space for over ten years. The amount of money spent in...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 13, 2015 | General |
All small businesses go through cycles where there are ups and downs. When the cycles are on an upswing more space may be needed and less when there are down swings. I personally am a believer in owning the space where you run your business. I have seen a number of...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 7, 2015 | General |
2014 was a trying year for a number of client’s families. Family members had passed, but luckily they seemed to have prepared well and had plans in place. I am finding that this is not always the case with some younger clients or some of the older clients. As usual...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 6, 2015 | General |
I was at a family party and a show was on the TV that I had never seen before. It was about “expert consultants” coming in and fixing bars. This lead to a discussion, about how some business owners are their own worst enemy. I explained that I have clients who...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 3, 2015 | General |
Earlier this week I ranted about the loss of information from Joe Berrios’s Cook County Assessor’s website. Last week they had removed the ability to search for a Property Tax PIN number by address. All searches needed to have a PIN. Not a great thing when you are...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 1, 2015 | General |
It seems that t IRS is planning on focusing on real estate foreclosures, discharged debts and short sales. The IRS has issued a new audit guide that instructs agents on tax issues to look for. They will be verifying whether the taxpayer have gains from a waived debt...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 31, 2015 | General |
This is turning into a surprisingly difficult tax season. It does not seem to matter whether it is a new client or a client with whom we have worked for a decade. We have experienced incorrect basis on 1099-B’s. We have had a 1099-R that did not include nor record a...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 31, 2015 | General |
When it is time to vote for politicians , especially those whose who impact my profession life get the thumbs up or thumbs down based upon how they have impacted me personally and professionally. Joe Berrios the Cook County Assessor has just lost my vote and should...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 24, 2015 | General |
I was meeting with a prospect and was reviewing their financials. Their business did not appear to be so successful; it had not made money for a number of years. Their personal also was bereft of income. Not the likeliest candidates for a bank loan. But when I was...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 23, 2015 | General |
This time of year is special, in that I basically get to touch base with everyone of my clients. When one was in to drop off his family’s paperwork we chatted a bit. He had just changed professions and finally gotten a new full-time job in a new profession. I asked...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 18, 2015 | General |
I was meeting with a client and we were discussing the financial situation of Illinois and Chicago. My client knows a number of people who have a personal knowledge of the debts of the difficulties with both entities. As we are all aware there is no simple solution...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 17, 2015 | General |
It seems that others are finally under the realization of what I have been saying since the ACA became law. The “Cadillac” tax on health insurance may jokingly become the “Chevy” tax. The 40% excise levy starts in 2018 on high-cost insurance coverage: those above...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 16, 2015 | General |
Kiplinger is pointing to what are considered robust job gains in February to show justification that the economy is getting stronger and that this should help put such thoughts to rest. Last month brought the creation of 295,000 jobs; this apparently exceeded...
