Author: Tony Novak
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38 years of small business struggle
In February 1987 I left one of Wall Street’s richest and most successful firms of that era, Drexel Burnham Lambert, led by junk bond king Michael Milliken, because I saw how this was destroying middle income Americans, small businesses, and our local towns. I set up a company Freedom Benefits that eventually became an early…
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After-the-fact payroll 2025
After-the-fact payroll is common necessity in micro-businesses doing late tax planning. There are a few points that complete the process easier.
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Will AI catch up to the speed of life?
Some in the advisory fields are raving about new AI research tools. I have yet to be convinced of their real value in my life. A few days ago I noticed an issue with workflow using Perplexity AI Deep Research. I was answering a client’s email in the early morning where he made a strange…
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Wind at the shore
Sustained high winds caused more shoreline erosion and property damage than any other force of nature over the past two years. Wind persisting for days is clearly more of a problem here lately than just storms or flooding. That was my repeated observation and often triggered my comments here on social media. Yet I have…
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5 tax reform proposals to watch out for in 2025
All of these are aligned with expressed Presidential and Congressional goals, so I assess that there is a reasonable risk that any or all of these could become law this year.
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The golden age of tax fraud:
IRS Commissioner Werfel resigned yesterday. By almost all accounts, he was one of the better Commissioners of our era based on his work to modernize service and enforcement. His tenure is widely praised for laying a foundation for digital transformation of the agency and enhancing IRS enforcement capabilities. His proposed replacement is best known for…
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Re-examining my social media strategy
Lately it seems like a hot button topic in my social media is tax shelters for W2 earners.
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40 Years of Tax Writing
I was living in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, while working for an investment banking firm headquartered in Manhattan. For convenience, I flew out of Bader Field in Atlantic City to LaGuardia Airport from my second home in Ocean City. It might sound like a cushy gig when I write it that way, but it was not. I…
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Coping with new online banking trends and terminology
“settled” “cleared”, “cancelled”, etc. do not necessarily mean what we think they mean
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Assumptions for addressing the technology ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’
It is clear that 2025 marks the point that the strong majority of larger firms will integrate AI into their core operations. 2025 marks the year that the largest and most powerful firms turn their attention beyond AI to superintelligence that will rock the word beyond our current imagination. Beyond these two clear trends, the…