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Week of February 13, 2009 • Issue No. 033
This Week in the iNews:
▲ LUNCH & LEARN SERIES – TAX PLANNING UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA
▲ PRESIDENT OBAMA’S STIMULUS BILL
▲ IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T RECEIVED YOUR 1099 YET
▲ FOCUS ON FRAUD: DON’T MAKE IT EASY
▲ LUNCH & LEARN SERIES – MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Please join us on Tuesday, February 17th for the first installment of our 2009 monthly Lunch & Learn Series programs, Tax Planning Under President Obama. Each program will begin at noon and end around 1:00 p.m. Lunch and parking will be provided.
Please contact Michelle Ripley at mripley@pmcpa.com or at 616.774.9004 for your reservation for any of the programs.
Seating is limited. Don’t miss out!
▲PRESIDENT OBAMA’S STIMULUS BILL From the Desk of John Mack, CPA
President Obama definitely wants his stimulus bill to pass with bi-partisan support. How this will be accomplished is the 64 million dollar question. Every legislator has his/her eye on a special provision for their district. These provisions must be factored in with national goals of tax reductions, credits, jobs creation, and infrastructure projects with the overall goal to greatly improve the economy.
Having said all that – How will this be accomplished and how will the economy move forward. Come lunch with us on February 17th and learn more about the stimulus bill.
Many investors will receive their year-end tax statements later than in past years, but these forms are likely to be more accurate.
A new law, enacted last fall, changed the deadline from Jan. 31 to Feb. 15, when brokers, including brokerage firms, mutual fund companies and barter exchanges, must furnish year-end Forms 1099-B to their customers. Where a broker furnishes these forms by mail, this means that the forms must be mailed, not received by that date.
Because Feb. 15 falls on Sunday in 2009, and Monday, Feb. 16 is a federal holiday, the deadline is Feb. 17 this year. In addition, the Feb. 17 deadline also applies to other tax information that brokers report to their customers, including such items as interest and dividends, on a combined year-end statement.
This change is designed to make it easier for brokers to provide investors with accurate year-end statements on stock sales and other transactions. Inaccurate year-end statements that have to be corrected later often force investors to file amended individual returns.
You can make the tax-filing process faster and easier and often avoid follow-up correspondence with the IRS by carefully reviewing all year-end statements. Make sure all social security numbers are correct, check income and withholding amounts and contact the issuer promptly, if any mistakes are found.
▲ FOCUS ON FRAUD: DON’T MAKE IT EASY From the desk of Marty Grausam, CPA, CFE, CISA
As you consider which safeguards to use in protecting your computer system from internal fraud, remember that your objective is to make it harder and riskier for anyone to go where they don’t belong and to make it less rewarding if they do.
An accounting clerk with the skills and knowledge required to create false vendor accounts, for example, might be less tempted to attempt such fraud if colleagues always lock unattended computers and are careful to keep their desks and monitors clear of sensitive information. And the employee is likely to think long and hard before attempting a fraud that could lead to unemployment or criminal prosecution.
If your company has an anonymous hotline or other fraud reporting mechanism, make sure it’s well publicized that you investigate all tips. If you don’t have a hotline, consider getting one. It may be just the thing to prevent a payroll clerk from handing out unauthorized raises.
If you have questions or concerns about fraud prevention and detection for your company, please call our office. We will be happy to respond
Reasons Why You May Want or Need a Business Valuation in 2009
Reason 2 of 9 – Estate & Gift Tax
If you have a partnership / LLC interest then the gifting of closely
held stock necessitates an independent valuation, to provide an
objective analysis as to the fair market value of the business at the
time of the ownership transition.
Please contact John Mack at (616)774-9004 or jmack@pmcpa.com for all your Estate & Gift Tax needs.
See next week for Reason 3 of 9!