Building Construction

Tightening your toolbelt: How to stay afloat in tough times
Home builders across the country are pulling out all the stops to simply survive what many industry experts are calling the worst housing market decline since the Great Depression. New single-family home starts nationwide were down 40 percent from September of last year, according to national building permit activity. From large to small, few home builders are immune to this downturn.

Mortgage Fraud: Growth so staggering even gangs are involved
If things weren’t bad enough with the controversy over subprime loans and a slowed housing market, mortgage fraud is also contributing to the woes of the mortgage lending industry. Mortgage fraud is such a profitable crime that criminal gangs have taken it up.

Government contracts? New withholding rules coming in 2011
If your company contracts with government agencies, it’s not too early to start planning for 2011. A change made by the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (TIPRA) will require government entities – federal, state and local – to withhold 3 percent on payments made by government entities for services or property. Although the law was passed in 2005, the new withholding rules do not go into effect until 2011, giving taxpayers, government agencies and the IRS time to plan for its launch.

Family Business

Should you recruit outside the company or promote from within?
In a family-owned business, you probably like to fill vacant management positions by promoting from within the business whenever possible – and especially from within the family. But you know that, for the sake of the business, you need the best managers you can get. And promoting the wrong person could be a costly mistake. How do you decide when to promote from within and when to recruit externally?

A business is only as good as its senior leadership
Recruiting for the senior management team is one of the most critical jobs of a company president. And there are many ways to go wrong in the process. You could promote your brightest and best-performing supervisor or mid-level manager, or hire an external applicant with a stellar track record as a mid-level manager. And either of them could bomb as a senior executive. The reason is that senior executives need well-developed leadership skills, which are different from managerial skills.

Business tax cuts favor smaller businesses, capital spending
If you listen to the televised reports about recent tax law changes, you would think the only decision you face is how to spend your rebate check. But for businesses, the headliners of Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 are the rules designed to encourage investment in equipment. It doesn’t matter whether your business operates as a C corporation, an S corporation, a partnership, an LLC or a sole proprietorship.

General Business

Simplify your workplace for improved productivity
Have the inner workings of your organization become so complex that more work seems to be needed to produce less product? During these challenging economic times, streamlining your organization can bring improved productivity. There are steps you can take to simplify the work life of your company – and be more productive at the same time.

Taking bites out of crime: Intellectual property rights gain support
One downside of the Internet is that it has made intellectual property theft much easier, and the fight to protect rights much harder. But owners and producers of intellectual property have reasons to hope.

Five ways to target customers for your business
One of the many challenges of operating any business, large or small, is determining how to effectively allocate a marketing budget. Though every business needs to develop its own marketing strategies, some ways to target customers are universal, marketing experts say. Here are some tips.

Manufacturing

Better customer service crucial in down economy
Times are tough. The marketplace is competitive. You need an edge to keep your customers from going to your competitors. The more homogeneous your products or services are, the more critical it is that your customer service be the best it can be. Don’t take current customers for granted in your vigor to get new customers. At the same time, you need to manage your cost structure. How can you enhance your customers’ experience without breaking the bank?

Three steps to building a winning sales strategy
In view of today's economy, most businesspeople would probably agree that sales are important. The truth is, however, sales are always important, regardless of economic trends. Neglecting your focus on sales can be hazardous to the health of your business. The current confusing state of the economy can actually be useful in helping you to understand the strengths or weaknesses of your company's sales strategy.

How can you manufacture a successful Web site?
Online marketing has become a big business, and manufacturing companies need to develop strategies for their Web sites in the same way they coordinate larger advertising and marketing efforts. Taking a strategic approach to Web site design means first understanding what the site is intended to accomplish. Certainly, improving sales is the point of most marketing efforts, but the question is, how will you use the Web site to accomplish that goal?

Nonprofit Organizations

How to grow your nonprofit
Nonprofits are growing -- and thriving -- in this uncertain time. Discover the goals that help them aggressively meet the challenge.

Study highlights leadership challenges
A 2006 study by Boston consulting organization The Bridgespan Group Inc. sounded an alarm bell about an imminent leadership void at nonprofit agencies in the United States.

Nonprofit crisis: Where is the next generation of leaders?
The nonprofit sector faces a leadership vacuum that’s considerably bigger than a household Hoover. A study released earlier this year by the Meyer Foundation, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Idealist.org indicates that worries over low pay, work-life balance, fund-raising responsibilities and other factors may prevent younger members of the workforce from becoming leaders of nonprofit organizations.

Physician Services

Privacy issues can put your private practice at risk
Snooping employees. Lax policies. Poor training. They all can lead to a breach of patient privacy – and sanctions for a physician’s practice. It has been five years since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule was first enforced to protect personal health information. Many practices that established policies and procedures to meet the initial legal deadlines haven’t revisited the compliance issue, leading to complacency and, worse, illegal actions that put practices in jeopardy. Physicians, it may be time for a checkup.

What will Medicare fees look like next year?
Along with physicians across the United States, you may be wondering for the 10th year in a row, what will happen to the Medicare fee schedule for the coming year. How did we get into this situation, and how can physician groups cope with this uncertainty in the future? Since the Medicare program was created in 1965, several methods have been used to determine how much physicians are paid for services – on the basis of physicians’ charges, by Congressional action and according to a fee schedule.

Health savings accounts make most of pretax dollars
If your organization is looking for more affordable health care, you should know that health savings accounts are looking better and better. If your firm is seeking more affordable health care, you should know that Health Savings Accounts are looking better and better. The cost is low, because the plans include a high deductible. In 2008, that means a deductible of at least $1,100 for an individual, or $2,200 for a family. Contributed funds are pre-tax, and money can accumulate year to year and be withdrawn without consequence to pay medical expenses. Many employers contribute to the accounts of their employees (such as paying the deductible) and still see substantial savings. The maximum annual contribution for 2008, (whether made by either the employee or employer): • $2,900 for self-only coverage • $5,800 for family coverage For partnerships (or LLCs that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes) the firm can also contribute on behalf of eligible partners or members. Those contributions are considered to be either: 1) Tax-free distributions of cash to partners, or 2) Guaranteed payments to partners for services rendered. The tax treatment of the contributions is determined by which method of classification is used. Consult your tax advisor for more information.

Wealth Advice and Financial Planning

Thinking of trading in that gas guzzler? Timing is everything
While downsizing an automobile to save on gas has become the goal of many Americans, making the switch too soon could end up costing you more than you’ll save at the pumps.

Investing is still possible during economic downturn
Bad economic news often leads to speculation about recession. If there is a recession, how might it affect investment decisions? Recessions can affect your income stream, whether it’s investment income, business income or salary. So, think about liquidity in the event of a layoff or other interruption in your income caused by general economic woes. After all, if your income stream stops, the bill collectors still need to be paid. You may want to maintain an emergency fund with three to six months’ living expenses invested in a money market or other investment that will not lose principal from market fluctuation.

Get ready: Capital gains tax may rise again
No one can predict the future. And predicting future changes in the federal income tax law is particularly fraught with uncertainty. But even a casual listener to the presidential campaign rhetoric will detect a certain theme: Candidates make promises. Candidates try to keep their promises. Promises come with a cost that must be paid for with tax increases.

Valuations

Could mobile devices result in loss of confidential data?
In our expanding mobile work force, electronic devices make it easier for you, your partners and your staff to stay in touch and have the data you need at your fingertips. That’s the good news. But it’s also the bad news. Increased portability of information comes with increased risk. Flash drives, handheld scanners, camera phones, iPods, smartphones, laptops, Blackberrys – the devices that make it possible to do business anywhere also make it possible to transfer confidential information out of your control. Whether by accident or design, it can bring unwelcome elements within your walls. How common are problems?

Court upholds wealth transfer to family limited partnership
A recent decision of the United States Tax Court serves as a reminder that, with proper planning and attention to detail, the family limited partnership is alive and well as a family wealth and estate planning tool.

Value and planning opportunities abound in a down economy
According to the White House, despite all of the economists’ dire warnings and ongoing declines in economic conditions, the economy will escape a recession and Americans will be just fine (at least until after the elections this fall). If you agree with that vision, this article may not make sense to you. However, if you are experiencing some effects of this slowdown in the economy – call it recession or not – you may be looking for the silver lining in the dark cloud. So, what is the good news in this down economy?

Washington Tax Update

Tax planning tip of the week

Expect IRS scrutiny if planning a ‘rollover as business startup’

Lawsuit settlements may not be tax deductible, court says

Unpaid payroll tax liens come with huge price

Tax Laughs