Corporate Tax Planning

Bob Keebler provides LISI members with a "hot off the press" PodCast on the new tax law that was passed late at night December 16, 2010. Here's info on how you can learn more on the tax law from Bob and his associates: Learn the latest on the Estate Tax Bill during Keebler Associates 90 minute teleconference next week - Monday, the 20th. Resolution of the Estate Tax - An Update on the "Final" Estate Tax Bill 2010 Choices - Urgent Decisions are Required The GST Quagmire with repeal of EGTRRA $5 Million Gift Tax Exemption $5 Million GST Exemption Carryover Basis and More 35% Tax Rate Two Year Window of Opportunity -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHEN: Monday, December 20 from 12 noon - 1:30pm CENTRAL WHAT: Resolution of the Estate Tax - An Update of the Estate Tax Bill REGISTRATION FEE: $150 per phone line. Unlimited attendance on one phone line. REGISTER ONLINE: Safe and Secure registration link or call Kristina Schneider at 866-754-6477 with you

Bob Keebler keeps LISI members ahead of the new tax law curve with this incredibly timely PodCast. Here's info on how you can learn more from Bob and his associates: Learn the latest on the Estate Tax Bill during Keebler Associates 90 minute teleconference next week - Monday, the 20th. Resolution of the Estate Tax - An Update on the "Final" Estate Tax Bill 2010 Choices - Urgent Decisions are Required The GST Quagmire with repeal of EGTRRA $5 Million Gift Tax Exemption $5 Million GST Exemption Carryover Basis and More 35% Tax Rate Two Year Window of Opportunity -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHEN: Monday, December 20 from 12 noon - 1:30pm CENTRAL WHAT: Resolution of the Estate Tax - An Update of the Estate Tax Bill REGISTRATION FEE: $150 per phone line. Unlimited attendance on one phone line. REGISTER ONLINE: Safe and Secure registration link or call Kristina Schneider at 866-754-6477 with your credit card information. LIMITED ATTENDEES: Reg

This PocCast is about the definition of an employee. We look at the matter in the case of Maimon v. Commissioner, TC Summary Opinion 2009-53. Dr. Maimon attempted to argue that he was not an employee of the professional corporation he worked in (and owned some shares in), but rather was an independent contractor. He was interested in holding this position because he had ended up personally paying over legal fees and, ultimately, a $1 million settlement, in a case involving his medical services. The case is interesting because the Court held Dr. Maimon was not an officer and thus actually stepped through the common law tests for employment status. In the end the court found Dr. Maimon was an employee, but the case gives a good outline of the analysis to go through even in cases that aren't quite as "bad facts" as this one. Materials for the podcast are available at http://www.edzollars.com/2009-04-25_Employee.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergser

This PodCast concerns a case dealing with the trust fund recovery penalty under "6672. In the case of Richard A. Smith v. United States, 2009 TNT 30-6, CA10, (http://ca10.washburnlaw.edu/cases/2009/02/07-4210.pdf) the Tenth Circuit refused to overturn the holding in the US District Court of Utah that Mr. Smith was a responsible person, even though he had no ownership interest in the entity in question. The case highlights the dangers for employees in accounting functions when the organization they work for begins to have cash flow problems, and payroll tax payments begin to be skipped.The materials are available at http://www.edzollars.com/2009-02-23_Responsible.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast is about the American Recovery Reinvestment Act of 2009. It has a number of tax provisions, and this podcast looks at the small business net operating loss provisions of the Act. This provision will require action for some taxpayers within 60 days after the bill is signed into law, as well as giving us a "sliding" window for when we start using a net operating loss for the year we elect to have it apply to. The podcast materials are located at http://www.edzollars.com/2009-02-16_NOL.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This Podcast concerns the final regulations on S Corporation open account debt that will change the way that many clients have to deal with their loans to the corporation. These changes are effective immediately, so we have to understand how these rules work. The materials are available at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-10-31_S_OpenAccount.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast examines a difference in application of IRC "162(k) between the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Tax Court given the Tax Court's decision in Ralston Purina v. Commissioner, 131 TC No. 4 that dealt with the taxpayer's attempt to claim a deduction for dividends paid to participants in its ESOP when it had to redeem certain stock from the ESOP to pay out terminated participants in that plan. The materials can be downloaded from http://www.edzollars.com/2008-09-15_ESOP.pdf . . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast pertains to a common accounting issue, the differences between tax and GAAP treatment of items. Here, we focus on a case involving the time for recognizing an expense. The matter involved rebates and we look at a Chief Counsel Memorandum (ILM 200834019) outlining the IRS's view on why the taxpayer in this case could not recognize the expense related to rebates at the time a sale was made. Materials for this week's podcast can be downloaded at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-09-01_Rebates.pdf This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast reviews the requirements found in the regulations for obtaining the required support for a tax position, concentrating on the methods outlined in Reg. "1.6662-4(d) in the definition of "substantial authority" which are cross referenced multiple times when considering other levels of authority. The materials can be downloaded from http://www.edzollars.com/2008-08-25_Penalty.pdf . . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This podcast is the sequel to a November 2006 podcast on the same case--that of Kadillak v. Commissioner where an individual who was caught by the "dot bomb" crash of the technology stock of his former employer attempted to mitigate the damage caused by his ISO exercise and 83(b) election made at the height of the craze. A year later, Mr. Kadillak was no longer employed by the organization, the stock price had tanked, and when he sold the stock that he didn't have to surrender got stuck with a $3,000 per year AMT capital loss deduction (probably for lifetime) to "offset" a large prior year AMT liability. The Ninth Circuit has now ruled on the case and, unfortunately for Mr. Kadillak, agreed with the Tax Court's decision. We look at the Section 83(b) election, it's downside risk that Mr. Kadillak obtained "up close and personal" experience with, and some general observations on counseling clients about the "what if" problem when they are sure they know what the future will hold. The materials are available a

This PodCast examines the American Home Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, taking a detailed look at a few tax provisions in that bill of interest. We look at the refundable first time homeowners credit, the property tax deduction for nonitemizers and the soon to start restrictions on the ability to get a full Section 121 exclusion if a property has not always been used as a principal residence that will apply to usage after January 1, 2009. Watch for the required IRS guidance on a number of these matters. The materials are available for download at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-07-28_Housing.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This Podcast is about temporary regulations that deal with start-up and corporate and partnership organization costs. Interestingly enough, the new regulations now create an automatic election to expense/amortize all such costs, and treat problems related to the identification of costs or the proper year to begin amortization as accounting method issues. The materials are located online at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-07-14_Section_195.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This Podcast pertains to HSA Accounts. The IRS has issued guidance in the form of a series of questions and answers related to Health Savings Account in Notice 2008-59. This podcast covers some of the planning and design opportunities available under this Notice. Written materials for this podcast can be downloaded from http://www.edzollars.com/2008-06-30_HSA_Guidance.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast is part two of a series on the proposed regulations for preparer penalties. . The materials are at http://edzollars.com/2008-06-23_Penalty.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast is the first of what will be a series of two on the proposed regulations for preparer penalties. Considering the length of the regulations and podcast, the first hour is in this file to listen to and digest, with part two to be posted later. The materials are at http://edzollars.com/2008-06-23_Penalty.pdf . . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast is about securing client data, the responsibility of all of financial services practitioners. A presentation by Ed Zollars at the Arizona Society of CPA's Financial Planning Conference serves as the basis for this podcast. The slides used for this presentation are available at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-06-16_Knocking.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast concerns the issue of whether "7502(c) provides the exclusive means to prove timely filing of a document by a taxpayer. What the Third Circuit had to say, the IRS didn't like hearing. In the case of Philadelphia Marine Trade Ass'n.-Int'l Longshoremen's Association Pension Fund et al. v. Commissioner, 2008 TNT 74-16 the Third Circuit held that the reports of the death of the common law mailbox rule were, in the words of Mark Twain, greatly exaggerated. That places the Third Circuit in the same camp with the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits, and opposed to the positions of the Second and Sixth Circuits. The materials for this podcast are located at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-04-21_Mailbox.pdf. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast pertains to the distinction between compensation income and gifts. Specifically, the issue is, Is a payment to a person taxable compensation income or a non-taxable (for income tax purposes) gift. The case in question is the case of Larsen v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2008-73.The materials for the podcast are at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-04-16_Gift_Comp.pdf.We also briefly discuss an interesting episode of a podcast I found on small service business operating issues at a place you might not look--check out http://macbreaktech.com/63/making-mac-your-business/ for an interesting listen that really isn't very MacIntosh (or even computer) centric--just a general discussion of issues facing small service businesses.. This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast is about the difference between an error and an accounting method. The question of whether a problem on a return was an error or a method of accounting is important. We'll look at the Sixth Circuit's ruling in the case of Huffman v. Commissioner, where the appeals court sustained the 20006 ruling of the Tax Court (126 TC 322) that the CPA's consistent flawed attempt to calculate inventory as prescribed by the regulations for the dollar-value, link-chain LIFO method. The resolution of this matter in favor of the IRS allowed the IRS to get at what would otherwise have been out of reach errors in years closed for assessment by moving that income into years that were open under the provisions of "481.The materials for this podcast can be found at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-03-17_CPA_Says_Error.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com

This PodCast examines an LLC debt restoration provision. We look at the Tax Court's second pass at the case of Hubert v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2008-46, a case sent back to the Tax Court by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to decide if the LLC debt restoration provision made the taxpayer the payer of last resort under the Sixth Circuit's test. The Tax Court comes back saying "No". The materials can be found at http://www.edzollars.com/2008-03-10_Risky_Business.pdf . This Podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, Inc. at http://www.leimbergservices.com Please visit our software, books, and PowerPoint Presentations site at http://www.leimberg.com