Thomson Reuters has added 15 chapters to the 2009 Edition of PPC’s Guide to Tax Planning Strategies, many designed to help CPAs implement strategies for dealing with current economic problems.

Topics covered provide advice that will help clients recover from a real estate foreclosure; fully utilize net operating losses; survive bankruptcy; maximize the deduction for fraudulent theft losses; minimize FICA and SE tax; realize the maximum proceeds from a proprietorship disposition; survive and prosper when employment is terminated; retain key employees during economic turmoil; and properly classify workers to avoid penalties and interest.

The  guide also includes updates to executive summaries, client letters, and practice aids to help clients minimize alternative minimum tax; maximize bonus depreciation;  utilize eligible tax credits; benefit from family limited partnerships; manage investment losses to reduce taxes; re-evaluate retirement prospects; and defer compensation.

Read more...

The best business people I know are always ahead of the financial data they possess; that is, the shrewdest people running businesses have an inherent understanding that good management decisions are based on what is going to happen rather than on what has happened. I have worked with hundreds of people who run businesses and the approach often makes no sense to the rest of us. Yet, there is clearly some reasoning that they use to gather information and break down complex decisions. This is an alien approach to those of us working with financial data because our job is to report on results.

There are many reasons that clients live in the future. Sometimes, this is how they are constructed as people Also, the best business decisions are based upon a careful review of future conditions, not on past conditions. Yet, business people need to understand the past in order to be able to make their futures happen. You cannot run a business without piecing together results and gaining insight from them.

Read more...

(RIVERWOODS, Ill. , Aug. 4, 2009) – Users must act fast to take advantage of a number of temporary tax changes enacted in February when Congress passed the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to CCH.

The tax software and research vendor notes that changes that will expire this year include the first-time homebuyer credit, which provides a maximum credit for homes purchased between January 1 and November 30. Taxpayers must be qualified buyers and satisfy income requirements. These who are eligible can file an amended 2008 tax return to get the credit earlier. Read more...