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What a difference a week makes; last week at this time we were traveling to MI for a long weekend visit with my daughter Emily, son-in-law Jeff and grand-dog Rory. I took this shot of sunrise over Jamaica Bay as we waited for take off…

were able to hike on some local trails, our flights were delay free AND the sunrises over the lake were worth getting up later for (7:30AM) as they are at the western edge of our time zone…

Now back in New York I’m once again attending ATS: Accounting & Tax Symposium the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of NCCPAP annual 3 day tax symposium at Crest Hollow County Club.  It’s great to attend an in-person event.  Our tag line Connect-Learn-Share says it all as I once again attend together with my professional friends and colleagues and we discuss current tax laws and consider potential extender bills and new laws.  We are hoping for reasonable timing and information on expected tax updates so we can complete tax season 2025 before focusing  and considering new laws, updating our clients and working up new tax minimization strategies …

I am so glad to be able to attend in person and catch up with friends, some of whom I only see at these events…

FYI I checked with Jen, one of the conference volunteers who is under 30, she assured me that my outfit was trendy and it was NOT necessary for me to switch from my color coordinated sneakers (by accident of course) to the “cute” shoes I had brought with me.  I did have to announce this at the beginning of our presentation as well.

Kotti the service-dog-in-training and my roommate, has been enjoying the attention from the attendees and of course he’s leaning alot about tax law…

I have been attending the symposium for years.  Yesterday Robert Brown, CPA, my friend and current co-president (of the Education Foundation of the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of NCCPAP) sent me this photo of us with our friend Ruthanne Corazzini, CPA as we presented during the 2011 conference…

I head home this afternoon and hope the weather holds up for the weekend so I can get back on the beach for a sunrise walk .  I hope you have great plans for the weekend and the holidays too. I’m looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving in Southern California with my west coast family and friends 

Weekly Take Away

If you want to be remembered by your grand-dogs imprint your scent on the gift you bring and play with him with.  We start “prepping” for our visits with our grand-dogs a week or two before our visit. We sleep with a new dog toy so it picks up our scent, then present them with it when we arrive. This visit Rory got a brand new “smelly” squeaky orange snake. He seemed to love it, and then I saw him pull his green squeaky gecko from his toy basket and start carrying that one around too.  We had gotten him the gecko in April; maybe he really does associate those toys with us.  He is always happy to see us, does he remember us, or is the new toy and the extra love and attention we bring?

TAX ISSUES/TAX PLANNING

Erin Collins the National Taxpayer Advocate Criticized IRS Move to Shorten Notice Requirements

We often work with the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service (whose role is to assist us as we try to resolve ongoing IRS cases); and have found them to be really helpful in obtaining favorable outcomes for our clients. Last week Erin Collins the National Taxpayer Advocate posted a blog post, in response to the IRS notice of proposed rulemaking that would shorten the time taxpayers have to respond to notices.

The Blog Post Summary/Excerpts: “Proposed regulations permitting the IRS to shorten third-party notice requirements in certain circumstances erode important taxpayer protections and could result in taxpayers bearing the consequences for IRS-caused delays.

This spring, the IRS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG-117542-22) that would implement exceptions to the 45-day notice requirement enacted in the TFA. Proposed Treasury Regulation § 301.7602-2(d)(5)(iii) through (v) would provide that the IRS may shorten the statutory 45-day notification period to ten days when there is a year or less remaining on the statute of limitations for collection and certain other circumstances exist.

Example: In the examination context, the IRS could reduce the 45-day notice requirement to ten days if there is a year or less remaining on the statute of limitations, the case involves an issue with respect to which the IRS would have the burden of proof in a court proceeding, and the IRS has requested but the taxpayer has refused to extend the statute of limitations by agreement. Or, in the collection context, the proposed regulations would reduce the 45-day notice requirement to ten days if there is a year or less remaining on the statute of limitations and the IRS intends to request the Department of Justice file suit to reduce assessments to a judgment or to foreclose a federal tax lien.”

Those exceptions could unfairly punish taxpayers for the IRS’s own delays.  “The IRS typically has three years to assess additional tax and ten years to collect unpaid tax,” she wrote. “The Taxpayer Bill of Rights includes the taxpayer’s right to finality — meaning, the right to know the maximum amount of time the IRS has to audit a particular tax year or to collect a tax debt. The statute of limitations is an important component of the right to finality because it sets forth clear and certain boundaries for the IRS to act to assess or collect taxes.”

Let’s hope this proposal does not go through as it is currently worded.

Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting Under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) Enacted in 2021 Who the Company Applicant, and Are they Correctly Reporting?

This week I am attending the ATS Annual Tax and Accounting Conference on Long Island. Thursday morning I once again joined my friends and fellow professionals (Scott Ahroni, esq and Craig Wild, CPA) to present Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).  Even at 7:45 AM it was fun and informative.  Each time we present we include a bit more detail and advice.

This week our office sent out a very detailed email with links and advice for our clients to assist them with evaluating and submitting their forms.  Several chose to read through the guides and prepare and submit the reports on their own, others will work with us to submit their information through a third-party party provider.

After fielding questions from fellow CPA’s, I see how hard it is to have a clear understanding of the rules and roles of the individuals who are reporting to FinCEN: who is the company applicant, who are the beneficial owners sometimes it is very clear cut but sometimes we really need to dig through layers and as always Document Document Document.   I am providing this limited guidance here and encourage you to review my prior blog posts for more information:

Company Applicant:

• The rule defines a company applicant to be only two persons:
  1. the individual who directly files the document that creates the entity, or in the case of a foreign reporting company, the document that first registers the entity to do business in the United States.
  2. the individual who is primarily responsible for directing or controlling the filing of the relevant document by another.
• The rule, however, does not require reporting companies existing or registered at the time of the effective date of the rule to identify and report on their company applicants. In addition, reporting companies formed or registered after the effective date of the rule also do not need to update company applicant information.

Beneficial Owners:

• Under the rule, a beneficial owner includes any individual who, directly or indirectly, either (1) exercises substantial control over a reporting company, or (2) owns or controls at least 25 percent of the ownership interests of a reporting company. The rule defines the terms “substantial control” and “ownership interest.” In keeping with the CTA, the rule exempts five types of individuals from the definition of “beneficial owner.”
• In defining the contours of who has substantial control, the rule sets forth a range of activities that could constitute substantial control of a reporting company. This list captures anyone who is able to make important decisions on behalf of the entity. FinCEN’s approach is designed to close loopholes that allow corporate structuring that obscures owners or decision-makers. This is crucial to unmasking anonymous shell companies.
• The rule provides standards and mechanisms for determining whether an individual owns or controls 25 percent of the ownership interests of a reporting company. Among other things, these standards and mechanisms address how a reporting company should handle a situation in which ownership interests are held in trust.
• These definitions have been drafted to account for the various ownership or control structures reporting companies may adopt. However, for reporting companies that have simple organizational structures it should be a straightforward process to identify and report their beneficial owners. FinCEN expects the majority of reporting companies will have simple ownership structures.

I am including links to informative documents from FinCEN website BOI landing pages to help you analyze your situation:

Fact Sheet : BOI Reporting Rule Fact Sheet

Brochure:  BOI Informational Brochure

Reference Guide:  BOI Reference Guide

Small Business Entity Compliance Guide: BOI Small Entity Compliance Guide

ECONOMY

Wholesale Prices Edge Up 0.2% in October, Meeting Expectations Amid Moderating Inflation

As reported in this recent article from InsightsSuccess.com:  “Wholesale inflation increased by only 0.2% in October, exactly as Wall Street had forecasted, new figures from the Producer Price Index indicate, the Federal Reserve’s measure of inflation at the wholesale level. It reflects the prices producers receive for goods and services.”

Global Stocks Drop as the Federal Reserve Signals Slower Pace of Rate Cuts

As reported in this recent article from Reuters.com:  “A gauge of global stocks was set for its biggest weekly drop in two months and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit its highest level in 5-1/2 months on Friday as economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials suggested a slower pace of interest-rate cuts ahead.”

GENERAL RESOURCES

• IRS resources for stimulus payments:
  • Use the Get My Payment tool to check on EIP payment status
  • Eligibility and general information about Economic Impact Payments
  • A list of frequently asked questions for stimulus payments
• IRS information about the Advance Child Tax Credit Payments
  • A list of frequently asked questions on the advance Child Tax Credit Payments
• IRS links for disaster relief
• SBA link for Disaster assistance
• FinCEN link for BOI reporting
• The best source for up-to-date and accurate health information is the Center for Disease Control (CDC)
• Our prior blog posts, videos and prior weekly newsletters
• Entrepreneur put together a listing of free tech resources for remote work
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has warnings about COVID-related scams
• The New York Times has an online newsletter on K-12 and higher education
• The Wall Street Journal has a collection of articles on education
• The Louvre has digitized 482,000 artworks from its collection
• How to create a strong password

We sincerely hope that you and your family are well and remain well. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are here for you.

If you need help with your accounting, want to create a tax minimization plan, want to discuss your business growth plan or your finances, are concerned about retirement goals or need to be held accountable for your 90 day action plan, contact us for a complimentary discovery session or an appointment to just get started

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