Tax Talk Plus» Enterprise Zone

Before we get into year-end tax planning, let’s focus on job creation for a moment. President Obama held his White House “Jobs Summit” – without a few key business organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which represents over 3 million companies and over 115 million employees.

Another stimulus package is being discussed, but a focus on job creation and tax reduction will be the best short-term strategy. There are numerous federal and state programs which allow employers to claim credits ranging from $500 to $15,000 per “qualified” employee. The Obama Administration needs to focus on refundable hiring credits, an investment tax credit for purchasing equipment and incentives for loaning funds or making equity investments in small businesses.

For a full library of articles focused on these tax incentive programs, please click on the following link:

www.blakechristian.com/blog

2009 federal and state tax changes provide huge opportunities for both business and individual taxpayers to minimize their 2009 tax liabilities and in many cases optimize refunds from prior years.

With some effort before year-end, March and April 15th can be much less taxing — but advance planning is necessary.

Businesses and individual taxpayers have had to navigate a challenging economic landscape for at least the last two years. In addition to trying and maintain revenue levels while paring down costs, businesses and homeowners have found their financing options dramatically limited.

Therefore it is critically important for both businesses and individual taxpayers to carefully plan now for their year-end to ensure that they minimize their federal and state tax obligations – and insome cases – secure refunds for prior tax years.

As more fully detailed in the attached links to a variety of articles addressing topics raanging from:

- How to maximize tax refunds via the carryback of 2009 tax losses – including the recently passed 5 year federal carryback option for all businesses:

http://www.cpa2biz.com/Content/media/PRODUCER_CONTENT/Newsletters/Articles_2008/CorpTax/Corporate_Tax_Losses.jsp

http://www.blakechristian.com/blog/?s=tax+loss

- How to maximize write-off of wholly and partially worthless bad debts

http://www.cpa2biz.com/Content/media/PRODUCER_CONTENT/Newsletters/Articles_2007/CorpTax/Uncertainty.jsp

- Taking full advantage of federal and state depreciation and immediate write-off of equipment and other capital expenditures:

http://www.cpa2biz.com/Content/media/PRODUCER_CONTENT/Newsletters/Articles_2009/CorpTax/Stimulus_Maximus.jsp

Claiming the wide variety of federal and state green/ eco-credits:

http://www.blakechristian.com/green_tax_incentives.html

- Claiming valuable federal and state Location-Based Investment Credits (LBICs) for hiring employees and making capital investments in any one of the 8,500+ incentive tax Zones. There are over 42 state Enterprise Zones in California which can often eliminate taxes in the highest rate state in the country:

http://www.cpa2biz.com/Content/media/PRODUCER_CONTENT/Newsletters/Articles_2008/CorpTax/EZstreet.jsp

2009 was an extremely active year for tax legislation and while federal changes were often beneficial for corporations and individuals, state changes, particularly California, often resulted in higher rates, less deductions and accelerated tax payment requirements.

For a full library of corporate tax articles log onto the AICPA Corporate Taxation Insider Newsletter:

http://www.cpa2biz.com/search/results.jsp?N=79&mode=content

For a wider variety of business and individual tax and economic articles, news and otherlinks, please click onto my personal website:

www.blakechristian.com

Our comprehensive year-end tax planning guide can be accessed at:

http://hcvt.com/

Obama Jobs Summit – Real Results or More Smoke & Mirrors

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:09:58 +0000

With trillion dollar deficits and national unemployment in excess of 10% (before factoring in employees forced into part-time positions and those terminally unemployed), President Obama is under significant pressure to create the jobs he promised during the campaign.

Interestingly the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was not invited to the Summit – even though the Chamber represents over 3,000,000 businesses throughout the U.S.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/02/obama-policy-critics-not-invited-to-jobs-summit/

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlantans-others-head-to-222929.html

While various corporate tax incentives, including hiring credits are being considered as part of the Summit, there are already a myriad of federal and state tax incentives which provide annual hiring credits ranging from $500 to $15,000 per “qualified” employee hired. Many of these programs are Location-Based Incentive Credits (LBICs), requiring the business to be located in specific economically disadvantaged regions (over 8,000). In addition there are a number of programs which can generate hiring credits regardless of the business location.

Hopefully the Administration will explore and add additional hiring credits. Congress and the states should also invest funds to improve the marketing and education of the existing federal and state hiring credit programs to make sure employers understand that they can dramatically reduce their labor costs on new hires – as well as some employees hired in prior years. Read more about these valuable incentives @: www.blakechristian.com

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich held his own “Real” Jobs Summit today to highlight his proposed fixes.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125980635501974009.html

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=34637

Republican Congressman Boehner’s job creation/ retention letter to the President can be found at:

http://www.employernation.org/letter.aspx?utm_source=whereoware&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=OpenLetter-Prosp-Dec09

Green Tech Investments Yield Golden Tax Breaks

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:32:37 +0000

Going Green – Without Breaking the Bank

Despite the challenging economy and related capital market gyrations, business owners across the country are continuing to invest in a variety of eco-friendly technologies. Businesses that choose to invest in green technologies do so for a variety of reasons including:

- Being socially responsible,

- Reducing long-term operating costs,

- Public relations/ employee relations benefits,

- Securing tax benefits

- Or most likely a combination of these factors.

A sampling of the type of investments that business owners are making to reduce their energy costs, as well as their carbon footprint , include:

- Developing their own power sources, such as solar, cogeneration, geothermal, etc.,

- Purchasing more energy efficient office and processing equipment,

- Acquiring alternative powered vehicles,

- Installing pollution control and energy control systems,

- Adopting or improving their office and plant recycling programs,

- Using more renewable raw materials and supplies,

While great strides are being made to reduce the carbon footprints of businesses and individuals, these new eco-friendly shoes can come at a very high price. Many technologies are still being proven in the marketplace, and proven technologies such as solar, LNG powered vehicles, and LEEDS certified buildings require significant investment and long-term pay-back.

As positive as these eco investments are on the environment and the communities these businesses operates in, business owners will still naturally look to the lowest cost method for greening their business. Unfortunately, sometimes this means deferring the planned upgrades until cash flow is sufficient to justify the significant up-front costs.

On the bright side, there are a large number of federal and state tax incentives, including eco-credits such as energy and pollution control tax incentives, hiring credit incentives research & development credits and accelerated depreciation benefits (through December 31, 2009) readily available to a large cross-section of industries. The combination of state and federal credits, and bonus/ section 179 asset write-offs can dramatically reduce the after-tax cost of green infrastructure.

Energy Incentives (Just a Sampling)

- Federal Solar Credit of 30% on Solar Panels and related equipment,

- Federal Small Wind Energy Credit of 30% (Maximum Rating of 100 kilowatts),

- Cogeneration energy production from alternative fuel sources – 30% federal credit

- Alternative Fueling Stations, including electric recharging stations – federal credit equal to the lesser of: i) 50% of the eligible costs, or ii) $50,000 per station. More pricey hydrogen station credit caps are increased to the lesser of: 30% or $200,000 per station. See: www.carbondayautomotive.com for more info on plug-in recharging stations.

- Hybrid or Electric Vehicles – $2,500 to $15,000 per electric vehicle purchased or a 10% credit for conversion costs to convert a conventional or hybrid vehicle to a plug-in electric format. The pay-back period can be relatively quick at $3 per gallon,

- Federal bonus depreciation at 50% of asset costs and IRC Section 179 “expensing” of most tangible personal property for assets purchased by December 31, 2009 also offer significant up-front tax advantages,

- Federal and state Research & Development costs for developing or refining new equipment or processes

For companies that design, manufacture, assemble or distribute green technology products, some of the largest tax incentives come in the form of Location Based Incentive Credits (LBICs) which are available to most companies operating in any of the over 8,000 federal, state and local tax incentive zones throughout the country. Therefore, companies are very wise to carefully choose where they establish or expand their business in order to minimize their federal and state tax burdens.

A small sampling of the 40 state and numerous federal LBIC programs include:

- The California Enterprise Zone Program (www.caez.org) available in 42 Zones throughout the state, which offers:

hiring credits up to $13,000 per year/ per qualified employee
equipment credits up to 10.75% on pollution control, energy control, technology, manufacturing and processing equipment used exclusively in a Zone,
lender tax exemption for loans to businesses operating exclusively in a Zone
Employee-Level credits up to $525
Favorable permitting, bidding, grants and loans

- Florida Enterprise Zone Program available in numerous regions throughout the state provides benefits including: hiring credits, equipment tax breaks, sales tax benefits, and property tax reductions,

- Federal Empowerment Zone Program (up to $3,000 per qualified employee/ per year)

- Federal Renewal Community Program (up to $1,500 per qualified employee/ per year)

- Federal Rural Renewal County Program (up to $4,800 per qualified employee/ per year)

- Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Program available to business operating in any location – from $2,400 to $4,800 per qualified employee and up to $8,500 for Welfare-to-Work employees.

Federal and state grants and more liberal loans are also available for these assets.

Businesses that either purchase or sell energy and pollution control equipment and spend the time educating themselves on the very beneficial green/ eco credits, state enterprise zone programs, federal tax incentive programs, can enhance their cash flow and profits and will gain significant competitive advantages.

Read additional green tech blog entries below or review the article library at: www.blakechristian.com.

For more information on identifying Location Based Incentive Credit Zones, please refer to: www.ntcgtax.com.

State and Federal Tax Audit Activity Increases With Falling Economy

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:30:09 +0000

With state and local tax revenues falling by the largest percentage in 50 years, state and local agencies are stepping up their income, sales/ use and property tax audit activities to close at least part of the tax gap.

Please click on the link below to read how 42 states have experienced drops in their tax revenue – and the current fiscal year looks equally bleak.

In light of increased audits and possible legislative tax increases, taxpayers should review the variety of ways to reduce their state and local tax bite and make sure that they only pay their statutory fair share

http://www.cpa2biz.com/AST/AICPA_CPA2BiZ_Nav/Top/Browse/Newsletters.jsp

Also read about proposed IRS collection procedures to close the $350 billion federal tax gap.

http://www.cpa2biz.com/Content/media/PRODUCER_CONTENT/Newsletters/Articles_2009/CorpTax/Federal_Tax_Gap.jsp

Tax Stimulus – March 31st Small Business Administration Presentation Handouts

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:34:35 +0000

For those attendees of the Long Beach SBDC Economic Stimulus Seminar, attached are the various handouts from my tax presentation:

Download SBDC Presentation 3.31.09 ppt

Download LB Magazine April Article

Download LBACC Advocate Spring column Blake Christian

Download Socially Responsible YEP Article

Download CA Tax Rates article 12.2007

Download CA Reduce Emissions article 12.2007

Additional articles, videos, etc. are available below and in the "Library" section of this site.

Hire a Veteran – Give a Job and Get a Tax Refund

Blake Christian — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:54:24 +0000

Our returning troops are coming back to one of the worst employment environments in decades. After giving so much for our country, we can show our gratitude by providing them a good job. In addition to "doing the right thing", employers will find a variety of federal and possible state hiring tax credits ranging from $4,500 to $13,000 per veteran hired.

Read more how veterans can use these programs to improve their job prospects and how employers can save tens of thousands of dollars annually:

Download Veteran-Employer Tax Breaks REVISED for 2009 Recovery Act

Download NTCG Tax Credit Card Press Release 11.12.2007

Jobless rate for recent military veterans rises – CNN.com

www.usvetsinc.org

www.ntcgtax.com Check out our Tax Credit Card

Stimulus Take 2 – Pork? Which Banks Have Received Infusions? 2009 Crystal Ball.

Blake Christian — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:54:38 +0000

As the second Stimulus Plan weaves through Congress, scrutiny is mounting regarding the specifics of the plan and which regions and industries will derive any benefit from the proposed $888 billion infusion.

Infrastructure Projects - Excellent Idea — if Executed Properly

While infrastructure projects are a cornerstone of this Stimulus Plan, careful monitoring of bidding processes, budgeting, and implementation of these large projects to ensure that the benefits are equitably spread to the communities and residents in the hardest hit regions.

The most cost effective way to allocate these contracts while ensuring that local residents are properly represented on the projects is to require that a minimum percentage (say 20%) of contracts/ sub-contracts are set aside for small businesses headquartered in the infrastructure city or county. In addition, both union and non-union contractors should be required to employ at least 25% of local residents. In addition to improving the stimulative effect, this strategy will reduce pollution and should also streamline the local approval process, since job creation and retention are the clear focus of municipalities.

Download Reduce Emissions article 12.2007

Download Long Beach Press-Telegram 2009 Infrastructure Op-Ed

Obama's Stimulus Package -Will the Democratic Bill Morph into a Bi-Partisan Bill?

Updates on the proposed Obama Stimulus Plan, and the list of financial institutions that have received federal infusions thus far are reflected below.

http://royce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=109713 Congressman Royce Comments

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/st_BANKMONEY_20081027.html TARP Recipients

http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?ARTICLEID=30588 House Passes Package

http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?ARTICLEID=30584 Senate Tax Breaks

2009 – Continuing Economic Chaos?

Looking forward into 2009, the stock market and money markets have some real challenges. Read what local economists Clyde Kendzierski and Bill Gross and JP Morgan have to say about 2009.

Download Clyde Kendzierski 2009 Economic Forecast

Download Bill Gross – Big Brother Investing (2)

Download Nouriel Roubini (NYU Professor) 2009 Economic Forecast

Download JP Morgan on Money Fund Risks

Hopefully the Senate will refine the Stimulus Package to make it smaller and more effective. A slower, more thorough evaluation process in the Senate should result in a better package for the U.S. economy, U.S. taxpayers, as well as the worldwide financial markets.

Tax Zone Locator Software Allows Identification of Valuable Federal and State Tax Credits

admin — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:55:08 +0000

There are over 8,500 distinct state, federal and local tax incentive zones throughout the U.S. which allow businesses to claim valuable tax breaks ranging from: hiring credits, equipment credits, "green"/ pollution control, income, property and sales tax exemptions, and/ or other financial incentives.

Most of these tax incentive programs allow taxpayers to claim these tax breaks in prior years via current year documentation and in some cases via amended returns for up to four years.

Due to the lack of information on eligible locations and employees, NTCG has developed the only national database of eligible business and employee addresses, which allows users to identify tax credit eligibility in seconds. Through our "batch screen" application, users can screen thousands of addresses quickly and accurately and use the results for tax planning, marketing or economic development purposes.

National Tax Credit Group, LLC in cooperation with CCH (a Wolters Kluwer Company) has developed one of the most powerful and accurate web-based software solution to allow businesses to identify all of their business locations and employees that will generate these tax incentives. The attached brochure details the power of our NTCG/ CCH software and includes screen shots of the software and output.

Download NTCG Tax Zone Locator Brochure

Hiring credits typically range from $500 to $15,000 per "qualified" employee per year under the state Enterprise Zone, and Federal programs. Statistically over 20% of businesses have one or more business facilities in a tax incentive zone and every business is eligible to claim credits under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) – $2,400 to $4,800 of credit per employee, or the $8,500 Welfare to Work (WtW) program.

The Tax Zone Locater Software allows users to document these credits and provides details regarding tax forms and logistics for claiming refunds and future benefits.

Read more about state and federal tax credits:

Download Don't_leave_valuable_incentive_credits_on_the_table

Download 2007_Nat'l_TZL_2_Sided_flyer

Download NTCG_Nov21_Press_Release