by Leif Jensen | Apr 22, 2012 | General |
Employer Vehicle Used for Both Business and Personal Use This is always on ongoing issue with clients. We ended up firing a client over this issue. We initially prepared his taxes without the vehicle expenses for his Schedule C since he was unable to and refused to...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 20, 2012 | General |
I do have to admit I continue to be amazed by the amount of inquiries I receive from potential new clients, immediately after tax season. The number one reason is the fact that their prior CPA ignored them during tax season. They call repeatedly because they have...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 18, 2012 | General |
Apparently with the Vietnam War needed additional financial resources, President Johnson was looking for looking under the couch cushions for more money to spend. When it was brought to his attention by an article in the Washington Post that in 1967, 155 (I have seen...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 18, 2012 | General |
Reform of our Federal income tax is long overdue. Special preferences in the law permit far too many Americans to pay less than their fair share of taxes. Too many other Americans bear too much of this tax burden. . . . We must reform our tax structure to make it more...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 15, 2012 | General |
Due to the decrease in resources and the possibility of even greater decreases the IRS is shifting its audit focus for businesses. The IRS plans to utilize less resources for the large major corporations (assets $250 million plus), it appears that they these companies...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 15, 2012 | General |
An exempt group’s volunteer board chairman is personally liable for the companies unpaid payroll taxes, according to a district court rules. Even though he did not have the power to write checks, have active management nor did he handle personnel matters. His crime...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 10, 2012 | General |
The capital-gains levy is an elective tax on owners of stock and other financial assets. Investors have the ability to control when they pay the tax by when they sell their assets. They can hold unrealized gains until the need is too great or when the tax rate is at...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 9, 2012 | General |
Now in this case I am definitely an outsider looking in, so I can only speculate on some of the facts. But in any case it is an intriguing idea and possibly maybe even borderline criminal. It starts with a Board of Directors (BOD) for a Not-for-Profit (NFP). As with...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 9, 2012 | General |
It is always refreshing when a client not only listens to me, but is able to profit from it as well. I just met with a client this weekend that has been dabbling with a side business. This last year he made decent revenue and outsourced the projects and kept the...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 8, 2012 | General |
I was talking to someone I know who recently had to close their business. Luckily for me they were never a client of mine, unfortunately for them they were not. I had inquired whether they had filed for unemployment benefits yet. I was informed that they were never...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 8, 2012 | General |
The states are continuing to eye the marijuana industry (heroin second, crack third, cocaine fourth) as an additional source of new revenue. This, despite the fact that there are federal laws in place against marijuana possession. In November, Colorado voters may...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 8, 2012 | General |
I love a mystery. I have a client that is using a quote from G.K. Chesterton and I asked if he liked his work., unfortunately the client liked the quote but was unfamiliar with the author of Father Brown, The Napoleon of Notting Hill and the Club of Queer Trades. But...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 8, 2012 | General |
In an ongoing search for state revenue under every rock and crackpot idea. Some now believe that they can tax cloud computing services, no matter where they’re located? Utah is the first to try this approach, so others are likely to follow. A recent tax code change...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 8, 2012 | General |
In the following case a taxpayer decided to disregard a 1099-DIV. The investor owned stock in several publicly traded Canadian companies and received the actual dividends. Although the 1099-DIV’s were received by the taxpayer from each corporation saying the payouts...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 31, 2012 | General |
Whenever I meet with clients that want to start up a business together I suggest when they are forming the partnership/operations/organization agreement that they plan the divorce along with the marriage. I always then get that look. You know the one that I am...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 31, 2012 | General |
This tax season is definitely different then those in the recent past. Everyone seems content with their financial advisors, insurance agents, bankers, attorneys and thankfully their CPA. What they are no happy with is their property taxes. There is a lot of anger...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 31, 2012 | General |
The recent reductions in the IRS’ budget are negatively impacting taxpayer service. All are experiencing longer wait times to talk to a live person on the phone, processing delays with correspondence and more time standing in line at Taxpayer Assistance Centers. Also...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 31, 2012 | General |
In the past I have seen this from time to time. But, this year I seem to be seeing a few more employees with W-2’S that also received 1099’s from their employers. I know that the statisticians have been saying that this is where businesses are moving to and that last...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 31, 2012 | General |
The last couple of years I seem to be taking on clients that are a it behind in the filing of their tax returns. This is not a real problem for me, I prepare the returns for them to file. You cannot electronically file old returns. But something new has happened in...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 17, 2012 | General |
The IRS has changed the auto depreciation for autos that are put into service during 2012. There is a $100 increase from 2011, the 2012 first-year ceiling is $11,160 for new cars and $3,160 for used cars. The second- and third-year caps are $5,100 and $3,050. After...
