by Leif Jensen | Jul 27, 2012 | General |
It seems that China has plans on becoming a major world force as a cloud computing giant. Of course they will needs the help of U.S. firms to build data storage for its own population. This will be good news for major tech companies that will need to supply them...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 27, 2012 | General |
Well the unfortunate signs are in, Illinois is so desperate for cash and is looking in all of the wrong places, including making up liabilities. I just finished a letter to the Illinois Department of Revenue; they send a notice to my client claiming that they were not...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 17, 2012 | General |
With the news of the Supreme Court confirming the Health Care Reform legislation as law, everyone has been focusing on those in the top 2 – 3% of taxpayers; or those who make more than $250,000 as a joint filer or $200,000 as a single filer. As the government...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 17, 2012 | General |
Employers will now have the privilege of collecting additional Medicare taxes in 2013. As part of the increase in taxes for those deemed to be the wealthy there will be an increase in Medicare tax rates (luckily for business owners they do not have to match this fee)...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 9, 2012 | General |
This is a year to fear if you are considered the wealthy by the government. I just had a meeting with a couple of owners to go over their tax liabilities. Based upon a number of issues one was catapulted into the top 1% of tax payers for the first year, the other is...
by Leif Jensen | Jul 9, 2012 | General |
In 2013 for those who itemize; on Schedule A will find the 7.5%-of-AGI floor for deducting medical expenses will increase to 10% for filers under age 65. This increase will not apply to those 65 and over until 2017. Contributions to the health flexible spending...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 28, 2012 | General |
Last week I was meeting with a prospective client and we were discussing how to treat his medical expenses. As a small business owner this is pretty well spelled out, the basics include medical insurance is deductible on the front of his 1040; the out of pocket...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 26, 2012 | General |
There was recent case where a co-owner asked the IRS to assist in a battle with his partner. The company was behind in making its payroll tax payments. No surprises there, I am sure. The co-owner had a falling out with his partner; he discovered that the firm...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 26, 2012 | General |
It has been official for a while now. The Social Security wage base is planned to increase from the current level of $110,000 to $113,700 in 2013. Again, social security taxes are collected on wages up to this maximum – once wages exceed the maximum no further...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 26, 2012 | General |
The dawn of 2013 brings forth interesting tidings. The Medicare surtax is an additional tax that will be hitting taxpayers who make (single) over $200,000 or (married) over $250,000 with a 0.9% penalty. So married couples, who expect their combined wages to exceed...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 26, 2012 | General |
The IRS has finally issued guidance for handling the portable estate tax exemptions. After the passing of the first spouse, the surviving spouse can absorb any unused exemptions allowing for larger tax free lifetime gifts or bequeath additional assets free of estate...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 17, 2012 | General |
Apparently some states are looking at extensive job licensing requirements and rethinking the logic behind them. There are those that argue that burdensome industry-backed rules keep people from working. The careers under scrutiny are: cosmetologists, auctioneers,...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 17, 2012 | General |
Publicly financed space exploration is winding down in coming years due to budget cuts at NASA. Fortunately there are some private initiatives, as well as probes by China, the United Kingdom and Russia, are in the works, but some are decades away from being launched....
by Leif Jensen | Jun 17, 2012 | General |
New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg declaration against Coca-Cola and Pepsi’s jumbo sized drinks in his fight against obesity is unlikely to become a federal strategy. Lawmakers in both parties see Bloomberg’s proposed crackdown as a giant overreach of power. So...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 17, 2012 | General |
The evils of cell phones usage in Illinois. It is currently not illegal to use your cell phone except for the following: school zones, highway construction zones; novice drivers or the city of Chicago. But more and more employers are prohibiting workers from using...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 11, 2012 | General |
It appears that the IRS has changed their policy on issuing tax ID numbers. This change is vexing tax professionals. The agency has decided that it will issue only one FEIN per day to requesters, down from prior five. This announcement came last month from the IRS....
by Leif Jensen | Jun 11, 2012 | General |
Receiving a Form 1099-C on discharged debt does not always mean you owe tax. In a recent case a man who owed on his credit cards failed to pay up, and the credit card company eventually wrote off his debt. More than 10 years later, a firm that acquired the rights to...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 11, 2012 | General |
The final deadline is quickly approaching to become a “Registered CPA”. Illinois has been a two tiered state and has been moving towards a single tiered state. What that means is that “Registered CPA’s” have passed the CPA exam but have not maintained the educational...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 7, 2012 | General |
Are you paying for the hiring and training? I had a meeting this morning with a business consultant from a networking group. During the meeting we were discussing who my competition truly is for clients. He classifies CPA’s into three categories. The first is the big...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 3, 2012 | General |
Last week I met with someone from a networking group. They mentioned that they are currently reviewing leaving the group due to lack of success. I knew that they wanted to meet with me regarding my lack of referrals. I have discussed their services with a few...
