Author: Tony Novak
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New nonprofit formations under scrutiny
The nonprofit formation process is under scrutiny. This week’s Kiplinger Tax Letter devoted attention to the topic. It referred to an unnamed 2019 IRS study that concluded that 46% of 1023 EZ filings were erroneously approved. Some lawmakers are calling for an end to the 1023EZ filing. Recent conversations with IRS employees the exempt organization…
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Meet the client where they are: Cloud avoidance syndrome
“I will NOT put my clients information in the cloud!” wrote a bookkeeper, on the cloud, in a forum where we all have our information stored. I still occasionally hear comments like that. But it was surprising coming from a bookkeeper. The bookkeeper went on to say that she had to run her accounting business…
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Noncash charitable donations
A snapshot of #tax issues related to large non-cash charitable deductions: – Taxpayers can avoid paying income tax on up to half of their income by making a donation to a properly registered #charity, so this is an important area of tax practice and dispute – Most taxpayers do not make charitable donations large enough…
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Five steps of pricing
1) First, look at the customer- the ability and willingness to pay. 2) Next, look at the offer – what is available and what you are willing to provide. 3) Then consider value – assign a number to economic value to the offer. 4) Do a marketplace check – look at price alignment with others…
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My tax manifesto
Tax is complicated.The system is broken.The collective knowledge is immense.The collective misinformation might be more immense.So far, nobody died.
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Boycott list
Uline Wendy’s CVS Taco Bell Estes Lauder Equinox SoulCycle Marvel Home Depot Hobby Lobby Goya MyPillow Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe
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Criminal tax representation
I’ve come to accept that representation of tax criminals – despite knowing the obvious stereotyping that even the use of this term evokes – is a challenging industry specialization that takes evolved personal skills and thick skin. It should, IMO, be the combination of tax/financial planning, legal/law enforcement and psychological/behavioral training. The focus of work…
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Start your own nonprofit business
I start more than a dozen new nonprofits of various types at the request of clients each year. It has become a specialization niche. Last week I received a referral from as far as rural Kentucky. A few of these startups have wound up as multimillion transformative organizations. One was cited by the president on…
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Six transformative changes I’ve made to control costs in my accounting practice this year
Saving time and money are no longer goals, but necessities for small business survival. Accounting industry experts note that small independent CPA firms are a dying breed. This is a long term trend that accelerated over the past two years. Recent rapid increases in costs raised the threat to crisis level. These business pressures that…
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Over due taxes: do I need a payment plan?
“If I have overdue taxes, do I need a payment plan?”It depends. There are many examples of when a payment plan will save you time and money and preserve your credit score. But there are other situations where it makes sense to handle it a different way. I’m happy to discuss the options that pertain…