Archives for Newsletter and Updates

The term “onboarding” hasn’t yet graduated from mere business jargon to an entry in the Webster’s Dictionary. Still, it’s a term that’s common in today’s business world. It refers to “the process of helping new hires adjust to social and performance aspects of their new jobs quickly and smoothly,” according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The sooner new employees are truly on board, the faster they can be productive. It’s no longer considered sufficient to show new employees around, introduce them to a few coworkers, complete basic legal paperwork and then wish them good luck. SHRM research
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With both major political party conventions finally behind us, it’s time to focus on the upcoming national election. Among their many differences, the Republicans and Democrats have widely divergent tax platforms. While platforms are always relatively nonspecific and not necessarily synced with what the presidential candidates have in mind, it’s still good to know what tax positions the two parties and their presidential candidates have staked out. Here’s a quick summary. Democratic Party Tax Platform Republican Party Tax Platform The 2016 Democratic national platform was adopted on July 25. It includes generalized goals that you might expect from the Democrats,
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Businesses and individuals that have activity, are licensed and/or organized in Nevada are starting to receive notices in the mail requesting the completion of a Nevada Commerce Tax pre-registration form.  The registration is now required for all entities doing business in Nevada.  If you have sales in Nevada or have an active business license in Nevada, you will be required to register with the Nevada Commerce Tax.  The registration is required in order to file an annual Commerce tax return and pay any Commerce tax liability. The Commerce tax is imposed on businesses with Nevada gross revenue exceeding $4,000,000 in
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Say you own highly appreciated land that is now ripe for development. If you cash in by subdividing the acreage, developing the parcels, and selling them off for a hefty profit, it could trigger an uncomfortably large tax bill. In this scenario, the tax rules generally treat you as a real estate dealer. That means your entire profit — including the portion from pre-development appreciation in the value of the land — will be treated as ordinary income subject to a federal income tax rate of up to 39.6%. You may also owe the 3.8% Medicare surtax on net investment
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It can be a hard choice to make, but successful companies often have to make strategic decisions to “fix it or exit.” In other words, every element of a business must earn its keep, be fixed or let go. Companies must have a growth and profitability mentality that prompts them to maintain their winning profit centers and dump the marginal earners and losers. Many businesses tend to avoid taking the time to identify their key profit centers and eliminate marginal products or services. During good economic times when sales are booming, problems tend to go unnoticed. But when business turns
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For years, people have questioned the long-term viability of the Social Security system. In June, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. It projects that the combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will become depleted in 2034. Additionally, the Disability Insurance Trust Fund will become depleted in 2023. More generally, people approaching retirement age often have other questions about benefits they may be eligible to receive from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Here are the answers to
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Data protection has become an increasing challenge at many organizations. Events such as the loss or theft of customer records, the accidental forwarding of sensitive e-mails, and violations of corporate policies have pushed information-loss prevention to the top of the agenda. Critical issues facing most businesses include: Ensuring regulatory compliance. Enforcing appropriate data use and access policies. Protecting intellectual property. The consequences can be enormous, and include: Fines. Disclosure of trade secrets. Loss of customers and their trust. Lawsuits. Charges of fraud. Regulatory compliance alone is a particularly critical issue. There are complex laws governing the collection, storage and use
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Many small businesses prepare — and regularly update — a strategic plan, but many overlook this important task. Whether your business falls into the “have” or a “have-not” category, The Anatomy of a Strategic Plan First, let’s review some basics about strategic planning. Fundamentally, it is an activity that helps: Set priorities; Focus energy and resources; Strengthen operations; Ensure that employees and management work toward common goals; Establish agreement around intended outcomes; and Adjust direction as the business environment changes. The best way to start is to skip to the ultimate goal: What do you want your business to accomplish? This amounts to
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Few people enjoy giving money to the IRS, but some types of taxes are viewed more unfavorably than others. Here are three worthy candidates vying for the title of most-hated tax. Penalty Tax on Individuals without Health Insurance As you probably know, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes a penalty on individuals who fail to have so-called minimum essential health insurance coverage for any month of the year. This requirement is commonly called the “individual mandate,” and individuals must pay a penalty for noncompliance with the mandate. You may be exempt from paying the penalty, however, if you fit into
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Are you feeling charitable? High-net–worth individuals over age 70 1/2 can replace taxable required minimum distributions from their IRAs with qualified charitable distributions. In other words, instead of paying taxes on distributions, you can donate money to your favorite IRS-approved charity and avoid those taxes. Here’s more on how this strategy works and guidelines for whom it might benefit. You can make cash donations to IRS-approved charities out of your IRA using so-called “qualified charitable distributions” (QCDs). This strategy may be advantageous for high-net-worth individuals who have reached age 70 1/2. It expired at the end of 2014, but QCDs were
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