Federal court rejects FTC’s noncompete agreement ban Image
Federal court rejects FTC’s noncompete agreement ban

The Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements is now in limbo after a recent court ruling.

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9/19/2024
The Tax Implications of Owning a Corporate Aircraft Image
The Tax Implications of Owning a Corporate Aircraft

Ever wonder how much of a tax break you’d get if you bought a private plane for your business? Here are the bas...

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12/9/2021
Small Businesses: There Still May Be Time to Cut Your 2021 Taxes Image
Small Businesses: There Still May Be Time to Cut Your 2021 Taxes

There may be ways your small business can save on 2021 taxes. But you must act before Dec. 31.

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12/3/2021
U.S. House Passes the Build Back Better Act Image
U.S. House Passes the Build Back Better Act

The Build Back Better Act is one step closer to becoming law as it passes the U.S. House.

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11/29/2021
Infrastructure Law sunsets Employee Retention Credit early Image
Infrastructure Law sunsets Employee Retention Credit early

The sun has set on the valuable Employee Retention Credit. Here’s what happened.

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11/29/2021
Businesses Can Show Appreciation — and Gain Tax Breaks — With Holiday Gifts and Parties Image
Businesses Can Show Appreciation — and Gain Tax Breaks — With Holiday Gifts and Parties

Is your business giving holiday gifts to employees or customers this year? Or are you throwing a holiday party? Here ...

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11/18/2021
Potential Tax Law Changes Hang Over Year-End Tax Planning for Individuals Image
Potential Tax Law Changes Hang Over Year-End Tax Planning for Individuals

If you’re concerned about your 2021 tax liability, consider these year-end tax planning strategies.

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11/10/2021
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Includes Tax-Related Provisions You’ll Want to Know About Image
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Includes Tax-Related Provisions You’ll Want to Know About

Congress has passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Find out what tax-related provisions have been built ...

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11/10/2021
Businesses Must Navigate Year-End Tax Planning With New Tax Laws Potentially on the Horizon Image
Businesses Must Navigate Year-End Tax Planning With New Tax Laws Potentially on the Horizon

Allocating year-end tax planning time now can prove beneficial come tax filing time next year.

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11/10/2021
Would You Like to Establish a Health Savings Account for Your Small Business? Image
Would You Like to Establish a Health Savings Account for Your Small Business?

Looking for a flexible, tax-advantaged option for providing health care coverage at your business? Consider a Health ...

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11/3/2021
The Social Security Wage Base Is Increasing in 2022 Image
The Social Security Wage Base Is Increasing in 2022

Business owners and their employees don’t have to pay Social Security tax on all their wages. Amounts above a c...

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10/28/2021
Debate Continues in Congress Over Proposed Tax Changes Image
Debate Continues in Congress Over Proposed Tax Changes

The fate of the Build Back Better Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill remains uncertain as Congress continues ...

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10/14/2021
M&A Transactions: Be Careful When Reporting to the IRS Image
M&A Transactions: Be Careful When Reporting to the IRS

Have you bought or sold business assets in an M&A deal in 2021 or are in the process of a transaction? If so, you...

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9/30/2021
Disasters and Your Taxes: What You Need to Know Image
Disasters and Your Taxes: What You Need to Know

Have you been affected by one of the many natural disasters that have occurred this year? Tax relief may be available...

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9/20/2021
Claiming a Theft Loss Deduction if Your Business Is the Victim of Embezzlement Image
Claiming a Theft Loss Deduction if Your Business Is the Victim of Embezzlement

If your business is victimized by theft, embezzlement or internal fraud, you may be able to claim a tax deduction for...

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9/10/2021
Want to Find Out What IRS Auditors Know About Your Business Industry? Image
Want to Find Out What IRS Auditors Know About Your Business Industry?

If you own or operate a business, you may not know that the IRS has “Audit Techniques Guides” for certain...

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9/2/2021
Getting a Divorce? Be Aware of Tax Implications if You Own a Business Image
Getting a Divorce? Be Aware of Tax Implications if You Own a Business

Divorce may have tax implications for the spouses involved, especially if one or both of them owns a business. Here a...

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8/26/2021
Possible Tax Consequences of Guaranteeing a Loan to Your Corporation Image
Possible Tax Consequences of Guaranteeing a Loan to Your Corporation

If your corporation defaults on a loan that you guarantee, you don’t want to be blindsided by the tax implicati...

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8/19/2021
Large Cash Transactions With Your Business Must Be Reported to the IRS Image
Large Cash Transactions With Your Business Must Be Reported to the IRS

Certain types of businesses receive large payments of cash. They may be required to report the transactions to the IR...

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8/12/2021
The deductibility of corporate expenses covered by officers or shareholders Image
The deductibility of corporate expenses covered by officers or shareholders

If you spend money personally on behalf of your closely held corporation, you want to make sure either you or the bus...

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7/29/2021
PPP Forgiveness and Repayment: What Businesses Need to Know Now Image
PPP Forgiveness and Repayment: What Businesses Need to Know Now

If you received a PPP loan, important forgiveness deadlines are approaching. Are you ready?

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7/23/2021
Getting a New Business off the Ground: How Start-up Expenses Are Handled on Your Tax Return Image
Getting a New Business off the Ground: How Start-up Expenses Are Handled on Your Tax Return

Business applications have increased over the past year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. If you’re launchi...

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7/22/2021
10 Facts About the Pass-through Deduction for Qualified Business Income Image
10 Facts About the Pass-through Deduction for Qualified Business Income

Owners of “pass-through” businesses can claim a valuable tax deduction that was created by a 2017 law. He...

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7/8/2021
Recordkeeping DOs and DON’Ts for Business Meal and Vehicle Expenses Image
Recordkeeping DOs and DON’Ts for Business Meal and Vehicle Expenses

"Recordkeeping DOs and DON’Ts for Business Meal and Vehicle Expenses" | Keeping meticulous business record...

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6/10/2021
Hiring Your Minor Children This Summer? Reap Tax and Nontax Benefits Image
Hiring Your Minor Children This Summer? Reap Tax and Nontax Benefits

Are you a business owner with teenage or college-age children who constantly need cash? You may want to hire them to ...

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6/3/2021
Guiding Your Wealth to Where You Want It to Go Image
Guiding Your Wealth to Where You Want It to Go

You may know where you want your money to go when you die, but let's take a look at how to plan and strategize your w...

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6/2/2021
Help Ensure the IRS Doesn’t Reclassify Independent Contractors as Employees Image
Help Ensure the IRS Doesn’t Reclassify Independent Contractors as Employees

Employee or independent contractor? That’s the question businesses ask when they bring on certain workers. Here...

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5/13/2021
The Biden Administration Proposes Far-Reaching Tax Overhaul Image
The Biden Administration Proposes Far-Reaching Tax Overhaul

If you’re trying to keep straight all of the tax proposals the Biden administration has recently announced, her...

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5/7/2021
Providing Education Assistance to Employees? Follow These Rules Image
Providing Education Assistance to Employees? Follow These Rules

Some employers offer educational assistance plans as a recruitment and retention tool. Here are the rules to help ens...

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5/6/2021
New Law Provides Option to Delay Implementing the Updated CECL Standard Image
New Law Provides Option to Delay Implementing the Updated CECL Standard

The current expected credit loss (CECL) standard has been delayed again. Under the recently enacted COVID-19 economic...

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3/9/2021
What Are the Tax Implications of Buying or Selling a Business? Image
What Are the Tax Implications of Buying or Selling a Business?

Buying or selling a business may be the largest transaction you’ll ever make. Pay attention to taxes. After a d...

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3/4/2021
Which Door to Take?

Monty Hall and the Discount for Lack of Marketability…

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7/25/2019
"Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis": What Sting Knows About Valuing Small Businesses

Sting is one of the more cerebral pop musicians and he clearly is wise to the ways of business valuation practice. So...

EBITDA and Fair Market Value

One of the main differences between the world of real life transactions and the fair market value world is the way th...

Almost as Riveting as Game of Thrones...

Well, maybe that's a bit of an oversell, but certainly having a greater impact on the pocket book, the battle over ho...

When Goodwill has No Value

Recently, I have dealt with a number of issues relating to the valuation of goodwill. One particular case involved a ...

The Rule of Thump

An article in the Atlantic Monthly refers to the emergence of a new term - the "rule of thump" - based on confusion w...

"It was a Very Good Year" - 1959 Ruling Stands the Test of Time

Channeling Frank Sinatra this month, I turn my attention to Revenue Ruling 59-60. This key valuation document issued ...

Valuation Factors for a Franchise

On the southeast corner of a major, urban intersection is an established privately-held "fast food" hamburger restaur...

Earning Capacity: The Critical Piece of the Puzzle

Where does the value of a business come from? First and foremost, it comes from the ability to generate earnings, its...

Champagne Wishes and the Valuation Issues of the Rich and Famous

The opportunity to gawp at the lifestyles of the rich and famous was a side benefit to taking a look at a dispute ove...

Why Financial Statement Adjustments Are Made in Valuation Process

Clients are often mystified by the adjustments business valuation analysts make to financial statements when we start...

"I'm a Lumberjack and I'm OK!" - Cash Flows from Timber Apparently Trump the Value of Land

What a great start to 2015 - when a recent case allows me to include a reference to the halcyon days of Monty Python ...

Who Needs to Go to Vegas? Small Business Owners can Gamble for High Stakes from the Comfort of Their Offices!

Many entrepreneurs start a business with other like-minded business people and don’t want to think about what h...

The Season of Personal Goodwill

The case of Bross Trucking v Commissioner (Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 109) was not strictly a valuation case but did address ...

"It All Depends Upon Your Appetite" - Or More Accurately the Judge's Appetite!

This month's commentary does not feature bottles of red or white (with apologies to Billy Joel) - though other bevera...

"Losing My Religion" - An IRS Lament?

A recent tax court case allows me to dig up a reference to an R.E.M. hit single (never my favorite, but, hey, any por...

"All You're Ever Gonna be is Mean - But Which One?"

In an effort to be down with the kids, this month's title comes from a Taylor Swift hit single - a big step from my n...

"There Are Three Kinds of Lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics"

I recalled this bon mot from Mark Twain as I reviewed a recent article from Business Valuation Resources that focused...

"Let's Start at the Very Beginning" - Do-Re-Me and the Cost of Capital

Sometimes it's just good to channel Maria in the Sound of Music and go back to basics. I recently had a good opportun...

"If You Know What I Mean" - Estate of Richmond v. Commissioner, Part the Third

A Neil Diamond song title as this month's hook? What? Who? How? Calm down - all will be revealed at the end of this e...

"Bang Bang" - The Tax Court Shot Him Down...

I never thought I would be minng Cher's back catalog for inspiration for an even more tenuous link for the title to t...

A Giant LEAP for Mankind? Maybe Not, but Some Helpful Data for Valutions

This month we're going to do some finance stuff - be warned, there may even be a formula... As valuation analysts, we...

Waiting in Vain? How Long Does it Take to Sell a Company?

We know that Bob Marley didn't want to wait in vain (in fact he said so repeatedly in the song) - and neither does th...

Free as a Bird Now! Eagle Dilemma Resolved

You may recall that I sent out an e-mail last year highlighting the dispute between the Estate of Ileanna Sonnenband ...

Fly Like an Eagle? The IRS Will Bring You Back Down to Earth

I struggled with the title of this item......the story itself has been a godsend to headline writers and I don't feel...

"Doctor, Doctor - Give Me The News..." - Is the Medical Profession More Prone to Litigating Divorces Than Other Professions?

Please file the following under the "I'm just sayin'..." category - far be it from me to draw any conclusions!  ...

"I Have Only Come Here Seeking Knowledge..." But What Knowledge is Allowed to Affect a Valuation?

I have always cringed when Sting followed up the title line with "Things they would not teach me of in college". On t...

"A Man Hears What He Wants to Hear...and Disregards the Rest": S Corp Valuation Revisited

Paul Simon's lyrics seem to sum up the approach the Tax Court took in the case of Estate of Louise Paxton Gallagher v...

You Can Check Out Anytime You Like.. but you're better off if you figure out what a business is worth before you start!

Don Henley, the sage that he is, goes on to state that: "You can never leave" ... yet that isjust what every business...

"Even if We're Just Dancing in the Dark" Or on the head of a pin?

Oh yes, just squeezing in a Springsteen reference again - it's been a while. So how do I justify this random referenc...

Set A Fair Price To Sell Your Share Of The Business

If, emulating Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, you hope to climb the Pyramids and hit the tables in Monte Carlo whe...