Shutting down economies around the world to fight the coronavirus has been a blunt and costly instrument, as this piece in the Wall Street Journal describes. Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong demonstrated that it was possible to reduce infection rates by widespread testing, contact tracing, cutting off travel with China and adopting masks. Such stringent controls were not possible in most states in the U.S., so instead we resorted… Read more
It’s been almost 3 weeks and we accountants, employers and employees have been waiting for answers so that we can make an informed decision. When I first read the memo I was concerned about the unforeseen consequences. Please click through to my blog post of August 10th, for the full details and concerns as next week starts the clock and I am still concerned. So are many who have been… Read more
Until scientists develop an effective and safe vaccine, and that vaccine is administered to millions of people, our best means of protection from COVID-19 is herd immunity. Recent models hint that the protective effects of a population that has already been infected by the COVID-19 virus may exist at much lower percentages than previously thought. Instead of requiring that 70 to 80 percent of a population be immune, that threshold… Read more
Presidential Memoranda – Budget & Spending Issued on: August 8, 2020 Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster I knew it was too good to be true that this weekend I would not be studying yet another new tax act, policy, rev.proc. or similar! This weekend the White House has issued a Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster. Here… Read more
It’s no surprise to most Americans that the U.S. economy has suffered greatly from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. But what may surprise you is the extent of the decline: a record 32.9% contraction during the second quarter of 2020, the biggest drop since 1947. The virus is still spreading across much of the country, and for 19 straight weeks, more than 1 million people have submitted new claims… Read more
Good morning again I am happy to be taking a short break after this long tax season. Blogging from Michigan where I am visiting with my family while MI Morning practicing social distancing. I am so glad the weather is cooperating as last night we were able to catch up and then eat dinner together while sitting at different locations in the backyard. Check out this beautiful MI morning as… Read more
“I got an Offer for an SBA Loan Now What Should I Do?” A few weeks ago I clicked on the email from disastercustomerservice@sba.gov and was a bit surprised that they were inviting me to set up my portal so I could continue my SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Application. I said to myself “I got an Offer for an SBA Loan Now What Should I Do?” Then I said… Read more
This tax season which (really) started December 2019 and just ended Wednesday, July 15th as we e-filed the last of the 2019 personal tax return extensions gives new meaning to the quote from Charles Dickens’, A Tale of Two Cities. While drafting the polling questions for our week’s NCCPAP tax and accounting live stream seminar which is focused on individual and business tax consequences of working at a “home location”… Read more
It’s the morning of July 15, 2020 and as I post this the clock is ticking on the last day of “Tax Season 2020”. With the countdown to the end of Tax Season 2020 on the opportunity will pass for a few time sensitive actions on your part: Today is the last day you can timely pay your 2019 tax liability with either your tax return or extension and the… Read more
The July 15th deadline is coming up, but it’s not too late to make an IRA contribution! Even though tax filing season is well underway, there is still time to make a regular (traditional) IRA contribution for 2019. You have until your tax return due date (not including extensions). For most taxpayers, the contribution deadline is July 15, 2020. Watch the video to see what actions to take now: Making a last-minute… Read more
One of the baffling aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the fact that we don’t yet know precisely how deadly this virus is. Estimates of the fatality rate range from a low of 0.64%, estimated by analysis of data by Australian researchers, to a high of 16% in Belgium. Many infections are asymptomatic or mild, which means there may be 10 unrecorded cases for each documented infection. What we do… Read more
In the six months since the coronavirus began spreading around the world, doctors have learned many lessons. For example, placing patients on their stomachs seems to alleviate pressure on the lungs, and prevention is crucial. However, some unknowns remain, such as long-term effects of COVID-19 infections and how long it will take patients to recover. A big surprise to medical professionals was how widely asymptomatic carriers could spread the virus.… Read more
The PPP loan applications close today at midnight, the rules have relaxed, so if you have not yet applied, today is the day to do so. It’s hard to believe that we have been researching the guidance on these programs for four (4) months and there are still so many unanswered questions. Please follow this link for the SBA Lender Match Tool if you have not applied yet. If you… Read more
As a New York City accounting office, I like many have been looking forward to seeing our staff and co-workers in person starting this week with the “Phase 2 re-opening”. We are happy to see that as businesses across the country slowly reopen, the IRS is also beginning to send employees back. So far, employees in seven states (Kentucky, Texas, Utah, Georgia, Minnesota, Tennessee and Missouri) are back at work,… Read more
Congratulations to my staff! I’m thrilled that we were able to attend the Intuit Boot-camp on the QuickBooks Online Program. We spent 2 days watching the experts show us the new enhancements and some tips and tricks. We think these enhancements will help ourselves and our clients in our cloud-based accounting software. Watch this quick video and then check out the bullet points below… Some important new enhancements: +NEW –… Read more
I was thrilled to be a participant in the Goldman Sachs Small Business Voices Virtual Capitol Hill Week. As a small business owner and CPA supporting other small businesses I was in a unique position to share my personal experience and shed light on the general hardships that small businesses have been facing and continue to face during the Covid-19 pandemic. A big thank you to Goldman Sachs who made… Read more
Resources to Help You Survive – and Thrive – During the COVID-19 Pandemic When the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning to spread, many of us were hopeful that by mid-summer, things would return to normal. However, most people are realizing that the coronavirus will be with us for some time to come. That’s one of the conclusions from a series of short articles at the New York Times aptly titled… Read more
Managing cash flow is a vital part of running a successful business. Some business owners think managing cash flow simply means keeping track of how much money enters and leaves their business, but there’s actually more that goes into it. As I take my morning run I try to clear my head and think about what I can do to help alleviate the pressures we are all facing. Our firm… Read more
I woke up this morning with lingering nightmare threads. somehow I had driven to a beach and parked my car and was now running up and down the street hunting for it. Go figure, I guess I am feeling guilty for working out indoors this week! Then I really woke up to a nightmare as I opened my emails and found that N.Y.S. had issued Notice N-20-8 changing the due… Read more
BLOG UPDATED AFTER THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY ANNOUNCEMENT ON JUNE 8TH We are thrilled that Congress, The Senate and President moved so swiftly to pass this law which gives business owners more options for applying for loan forgiveness as they start to reopen and rehire. This video summarizes the key points and pitfalls- RECORDED PRIOR TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY ANNOUNCEMENT: click through to the latest announcement by the… Read more