Despite the recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion, upholding the Health Care Law Congress passed in 2010, Republicans in Congress are already pledging prompt corrective action and Mitt Romney, a candidate for President, said, if elected, it will be his first act as President to repeal health care.
Category: Business & Tax
Car Shuttlers and the Michigan Unemployment Tax
Auto dealers frequently use car shuttlers to deliver vehicles to a customer, auction, or another dealer. Dealers have historically treated the car shuttlers as independent contractors and have not paid Michigan Unemployment Tax on their compensation. The Michigan Employment Security Commission (MESC) has instructed its auditors to treat car shuttlers as employees, and compensation to them as wages subject to the Michigan Unemployment Tax.
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Top Ten Things to Consider in Year-End Income Tax Planning
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Accelerate or defer income. If you have deferred compensation, consider which best suits your planning: to take your earned income now and pay taxes immediately at today’s historically low tax rates or to defer income until later and pay taxes when rates may be higher. Similarly, if you are eligible for qualified plan distributions and option grants, you need to decide whether to accelerate income recognition.
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Backups at the Tribunal
At a recent luncheon organized by the Real Property Section of the Ingham County Bar Association, Kimball R. Smith, III, Chair of the Michigan Tax Tribunal, gave his “Michigan Tax Tribunal Update.” As we all are aware, real property values in Michigan have significantly decreased in recent years. As one may suspect, the inverse is true of filings with the Michigan Tax Tribunal. For these reasons, I thought I would share some highlights of Mr. Smith’s presentation with our readers.
Majority Shareholder Conduct Can Have Consequences
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently issued a decision related to willfully unfair and oppressive conduct by majority shareholders against minority shareholders in Berger v Katz.
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Nonprofits Beware….There are new rules by the IRS for Donor and Grant Makers
The IRS has recently updated rules relating to donations and transfers to nonprofit organizations by donors and sponsors of donor-advised funds (DAFs). These rules are utilized by donors to assure themselves that their donations are eligible for charitable income tax donation and by DAFs who are required to exercise expenditure responsibility.
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Focus Remains on Job Creation
Just as our children return to school to acquire the skills, knowledge and experience to enter the job market, so too does Congress and state legislatures return to work to create the environment to stimulate job growth.
Who Does Municipal Bankruptcy Really Help?
Today’s Gongwer reports that a letter from Pontiac Emergency Manager Michael Stampfler suggests he is considering putting the city into municipal bankruptcy to resolve its severe financial problems.
Michigan Tax Law Changes Signed Into Law
On Wednesday, May 25, 2011, Governor Snyder signed a number of new tax Bills to revise Michigan’s tax structure. The new laws include elimination of the Michigan Business Tax (MBT), creation of a Michigan Corporate Income Tax and permanent spending reductions, elimination of tax credits for low-income workers, phase-out of most senior tax breaks and eliminates numerous income tax deductions and credits. The new law is effective January 1, 2012.