Month: September 2014
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Adoption of modern small business accounting systems is stalled
Results of a new research report published in CPA Trendlines, conducted by accounting technology consultancy Software Advice, confirm what I already suspected: the mass migration of small business accounting systems from desktop to cloud is not going as predicted. Small business clients are raising objections and remain unconvinced of the benefits or switching. The objections…
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reflections on Kent State 1970
In 1970 the Ohio National Guard, armed with bayonets on M1 rifles, marched on and shot unarmed students at Kent State University who were engaged in a civil protest event that authorities had not approved. Although there were political agitators at Kent State that week, all of those shot were university students. I was only 9…
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Notes from IRS webinar on Affordable Care Act implementation tax issues
Webinar , September 17, 2014, 2 PM eastern time. The presentation handout is at http://www.visualwebcaster.com/files/100208/SBSE%20ACA%20Webinar%20PPT%20Final_pdf_version_blk_wht.pdf Small businesses I had not heard previously that the small business credit for nonprofits was limited to the amount of their wage tax, which for a small company may be less than 35% of their health insurance costs. Q&A was led by Richard G.…
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Disagreements about taxation of individual health insurance in 2014
It seems that the most confusing tax topic this year in the wake of the Affordable Care Act implementation is the taxation of individual health insurance when an employer is involved in the payment of the cost. No doubt other confusing issues are still on the horizon, but this one is here and now. Small business…
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NAPFA definition of fee-only excludes insurance company owner
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisers (NAPFA) confirmed in am email received Friday that I would not be eligible for membership as a fee-only adviser because I maintain ownership of Freedom Benefits web sites that receives fees from insurance exchange operators, brokers or other third party firrms. Even though my accounting/advisory practice is completely separate…
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Am I a fee-only financial adviser?
This question “Am I a fee-only financial adviser?” is self-imposed. Even though I’ve received literally tens of thousands of consumer finance questions over the past 30 years, never has this question been raised by anyone. I could also raise the next logical question at this point of whether perhaps the public just does not care but that…
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The verdict on caffeine: “everything in moderation”
Caffeine remains the world’s most widely used but least understood psychoactive drug with regard to its overall impact on public health. We know that caffeine has both desirable and undesirable effects. These effects are well documented in the medical research and widely accepted by consumers. Yet most, if not all, of the often-cited research dating…
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Preparing for increased investment volatility
There is wide-spread agreement now among financial advisers that we will see an increase in volatility in the U.S. stock market followed by an increase in global market volatility. Notwithstanding the fact that widespread agreement does not make it more likely to happen, it makes sense to consider the impact of the expected consequences. When the…