Tax
FASB Changed Timeline of Four Filing Standards
FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) will delay effective dates for four key standards for some groups of Financial Statement preparers. The affected groups include accounting companies for Lease Accounting: preparers not public business entities’ new date would be January 1, 2021. Year end public businesses, employee benefit plans and non-profit conduit bond obligors remains unchanged,…
Read MoreCryptocurrency Meets Accounting
Cryptocurrency is rocketing to the forefront. When so many are purchases are made electronically, why wouldn’t currency follow and evolve? But today, many businesses are still trying to answer the question, how does basic accounting and cryptocurrency intersect and how can you protect your totals? Before we discuss a new monetary system, we should clarify. …
Read MoreHow Your Accountant’s Conference Can Benefit Your Business
The month of June is not normally regarded as important in terms of accounting deadlines. But June and July are known in the accounting industry as the Accountant Conference months. So many industry conferences are held in June and July that there are lists of the top Accounting Conferences so firms can determine which best…
Read MoreTaxes on Capital Income Are More Than Just the Corporate Income Tax
The United States’ statutory corporate income tax rate is now more aligned with the rates of other nations . However, taxes on capital income, or corporate investment, are more than just the corporate income tax. Shareholder-level taxes, such as those on dividends and capital gains, also affect incentives to save and invest. The combined tax rate…
Read MoreTexas Legislature Abandons Tax Swap, Advances Property Tax Cap
Last month, the Texas legislature considered two bills geared toward relieving Texans’ property tax burden: Senate Bill 2 and House Joint Resolution 3 (companion legislation to Senate Joint Resolution 76). Both chambers approved SB 2, a 3.5 percent limit on increases for property tax levies, but the bill is currently in conference as the two…
Read MoreFixing the TCJA’s Net Operating Losses Provision
After passage of any major piece of legislation, Congress identifies areas of the statutory text that need revision. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is no exception. Former Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) has identified a laundry list of fixes needed, but Congress has been slow to act on the changes. Much…
Read MoreReliance on Consumption Taxes in Europe
Today’s map highlights the extent to which European countries rely on consumption tax revenue. Consumption taxes are taxes on goods and services. All European countries levy consumption taxes in the form of Value-Added Taxes (VAT) and excise taxes. In 2017 (the most recent data available), consumption taxes were the largest source of tax revenue in…
Read MoreThe Tax Gap Tops $500 Billion a Year
The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) recently released a report entitled “Overview of the Tax Gap.” The tax gap is the difference between taxes paid and taxes owed, and this gap can exist for a few reasons. Taxpayers may report less than their full tax liability on their return (underreporting), pay less taxes than owed…
Read MoreThe Blessed Alice
Alice Rivlin made the world a better place in so many ways. She will forgive me for ignoring most of them in this brief essay because she was remarkably modest. Instead, this is a personal reflection based upon a string of tweets I wrote yesterday when I heard she had died. Alice was the first…
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