Hi, Website Visitor. Here are your Articles for October 29, 2009.
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Hood & Strong, LLP's News
Technology: Who Knows What About You?
Some state tax officials are now looking for tax cheats by digging for information on social networking Web sites. Police and the courts have used these sites to help solve crimes and even set sentences. Business competitors also look there. Meanwhile, some credit card companies are mining for information about where you spend in order to decide if you are a good risk. Ever wonder which organizations have information about you and what they know? Here are some ways that technology has resulted in more data being collected about certain people.
If your company has employee benefit plans, and is required to file IRS Form 5500 annual reports, you must cope with complex new requirements beginning in 2009. Here are some of the highlights of the new rules associated with Form 5500 filing, which informs the federal government about the financial condition, investments, and operations of benefit plans on an annual basis.
Tucked into theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is a major change in the amount of information that will be supplied to the IRS about investors' activities. These rules were passed in response to tax officials long-standing suspicion that many taxpayers overstate their tax basis when they sell securities in order to pay less tax. Click "Full Article" to find out when the new cost basis reporting rules kick in and what new information will be received by the IRS.
New IRS Guidance for Required Minimum Distributions
The economic crisis spurred Congress to pass a law that temporarily suspends the rule for required minimum distributions for some retirees and changes other retirement plan tax rules. The IRS has released some guidance for taxpayers affected by the law.
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Some state tax officials are now looking for tax cheats by digging for information on social networking Web sites. Police and the courts have used these sites to help solve crimes and even set sentences. Business competitors also look there. Meanwhile, some credit card companies are mining for information about where you spend in order to decide if you are a good risk. Ever wonder which organizations have information about you and what they know? Here are some ways that technology has resulted in more data being collected about certain people.
Tucked into the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is a major change in the amount of information that will be supplied to the IRS about investors' activities. These rules were passed in response to tax officials long-standing suspicion that many taxpayers overstate their tax basis when they sell securities in order to pay less tax. Click "Full Article" to find out when the new cost basis reporting rules kick in and what new information will be received by the IRS.
The economic crisis spurred Congress to pass a law that temporarily suspends the rule for required minimum distributions for some retirees and changes other retirement plan tax rules. The IRS has released some guidance for taxpayers affected by the law.
International Financial Reporting Standards are back in the news after falling off the radar screen for awhile. The SEC had been quiet about the issue this year while it concentrated on the stock market crisis. But recently, the SEC chairman said the agency would again take up its proposed "roadmap" for IFRS adoption by 2014. To help your company plan ahead, here are the differences between IFRS and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
Considering the purchase or sale of a business with an "earnout?" There are important tax consequences for the buyer and the seller. Click "Full Article" to find out what they are, along with some ways to minimize the tax bill paid to Uncle Sam.
Gossip and innuendo can shake the foundations of even strong organizations. Obviously, your company doesn't want false or hurtful stories spreading through the workplace, but how do you prevent it? Click "Full Article" to find out how to deal with rumors -- and learn why you don't want to institute a broad-based ban on workplace gossip.
Your domain name is exactly the one you wanted, but now you need to protect it. Otherwise you risk some major costs in the future. Click "Full Article" for the five rules of registering, defending and retaining the name you worked hard to get.