Category: Legal
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When “Hire an expert” doesn’t work for taxes
When we seek information on complex business or personal tax matters, the conventional appropriate advice is “hire an expert”. I do not disagree. I use tax and legal experts often. But increasingly I see why that advice is not useful for clients from a practical viewpoint. Consider these counter points: 1) The pool of specific…
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Questions about interstate law enforcement on abortion issues
I sent this email below to Preet Bharara this morning in attempt to gather information on this topic of immediate concern to some of our clients. Preet:Thank you for the work you do. I’m a Cafe subscriber listening to your interview with Jeannie Suk Gersen now. As an employee benefits adviser for small business clients…
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Due dilligence and compliance checklist of nonprofit organizations
When associating with a nonprofit organization an accountant, attorney, prospective board member, partner of major business associate should perform a due diligence check of the organization. Additionally, management should undertake a periodic review occasionally just to check to ensure that the organization’s records are up to date. This checklist is prepared to help make that…
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LLC and S Corporation terminology
The purpose of this post is to illustrate the use of precise terminology regarding the most common legal and tax issues of small business LLCs and S corporations. It is not meant to be comprehensive but rather to clearly state issues that we hear raised most frequently. LLC LEGAL/ORGANIZATION – A Limited Liability Company (LLC)…
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Four keys to successfully suing your accountant
We sometimes hear about cases where a lack of application of professional standards by an accountant causes problems. Sometimes things do not go as was hoped, just like any other business. If you believe that your accountant is legally responsible, consider these practical points. First, there must be substantial actual damage. In many cases, damage…
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What I learned about traffic court today
I visited traffic court in Millville, New Jersey today. I haven’t had any interaction with traffic court in at least a few decades so I spent time asking questions and looking for information. I was surprised by a bizarre ticket came in the mail last light that had a court appearance listed for this morning.…
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Trump v. Vance Supreme Court case preview
Our matter-of-survival national crisis aside, this is an interesting legal case for Constitutional law hobbyists like me. To be clear, I blog on Supreme Court cases from time to time here as an interested hobbyist, not as an adviser and not meant to imply any level of expertise. Accounting Today did a great job of…
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Address review – October 2019
For all of my adult life I’ve had more than one address. Occasionally government entities and agencies have launched investigations or made complaints about my address. I suspect this is politically motivated but I have no proof. Those government actions have accelerated lately and I anticipate more aggressive prosecutions in the future. The tension is…
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How to protect yourself from IRS Collections and Private Collection Agencies
IRS is expanding the use of private collection agencies to collect tax debt. If you are among the 1 in 15 adults who owes tax debt then there are specific steps that you should take to protect your money and your privacy. 1. You have rights. But it is up to you to know those…
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No, you don’t get to face your accuser (Small business beware!)
Anonymous whistleblower complaints are a powerful government force regularly used against small business owners. Over the weekend Donald Tump tweeted another indication of his misunderstanding of how government works. False Tweets from Trump are hardly noteworthy in themselves but this one hits a nerve for me. As a small business owner I’ve faced at least…