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Income Tax Rates Fall as Governments Compete Globally
Income tax rates are falling as governments feel the pressure to compete due to increasing global labor mobility. Top personal income tax rates around the world have fallen by an average of 2.5 percentage points in the past six years, according to KPMG’s Individual Income Tax Rate Survey 2008. Worldwide,
Capt. David Mitchell, USN, CPA
I was raised in Columbus, Ohio, in a working-class family. I had been interested in flying since the first time I saw an airplane and knew what it was. When I was 14, I started riding my bike out to an old country airport and got a part-time job there.
Forecasting With Excel
Your client, Dave’s BBQ, a local independent restaurant, is interested in determining the effect on sales revenue of certain advertising strategies. Dave has weekly data on advertising dollars spent as well as sales revenue from the restaurant and has come to you, his CPA, to help him determine the link
CEOs Weigh In on Global Economy
As the global economy faces continued uncertainty, PricewaterhouseCoopers interviewed CEOs around the world to learn what challenges they face in the evolving marketplace. Here are some key findings from the 11th Annual Global CEO Survey: n CEOs in North America, Western Europe and Japan are more cautious in their near-term outlook
Practice Management
A survey of 2,722 CPA firms revealed strong growth during the past two-year period but less progress in succession planning and professional training. According to the 2008 National Management of Accounting Practice survey, 75% of responding firms experienced growth ranging from 1% to 19% from May 2006 through June 2008.
Uniting the Global Profession
Robert Bunting became president of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in November, beginning a two-year term. Prior to this, he was deputy president of IFAC for two years and has been a member of the IFAC Board since 2005. Bunting is a partner in Seattle-based Moss Adams LLP, where
The Virtues and Challenges of a Long Break
Some people do solo retreats for personal development. Others provide volunteer services. One CPA firm partner took his two adopted children back to their homelands—Korea and Vietnam—where his 21-year-old son was reunited with his birth mother, brother and sister after 14 years, and discovered he had six nieces and nephews.
FICA Required on 403(b) Salary Reductions
The Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling that FICA must be withheld on contributions made by salary reduction to a section 403(b) retirement plan. The circuit also affirmed the trial court’s upholding of a penalty for failing to deposit the taxes. The University of Chicago made contributions to purchase nontransferable
Subsequent Deferrals Under Section 409A
Nonqualified deferred compensation plans must now comply with a vast set of new rules. The transition relief expired on Jan. 1, and the final regulations under IRC § 409A are now in effect. These rules include the subsequent deferral election rules, which could bring unpleasant surprises for employers and employees.
Creating Joint Ownership: Avoiding the Tax Traps and Other Pitfalls
Many property owners add their children and other family members to the title of their property without thinking through the consequences. Many seem to favor joint tenancy—a convenient way to ensure that assets will ultimately pass to family members without the need for probate and other costs. Joint tenancy—commonly referred
Partners’ Agreement Subject to At-Risk Rules
The Court of Federal Claims denied a taxpayer’s claim that the terms of his partner’s closing agreements with the government allowed him to use previously disallowed passive losses to offset nonpassive income. Lyman Bush was a limited partner in two partnerships, Lone Wolf McQuade and Cinema 84, which were among
Small Business
The number of loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration declined sharply in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, amid a climate of tightened credit by commercial lenders, declining creditworthiness and reduced demand for loans by small business borrowers. After approving a record 110,000 loans in 2007, SBA’s approvals dropped
Why Can’t They Read My Word 2007 Document?
I recently switched to Vista and Word 2007 and, while I’m finally getting used to the new setup, I am having a serious intermittent problem. Here’s the thing: Sometimes when I send a memo to a client who uses Word 2003, I’m careful to configure the file in the older
IRS Releases Revised Per Diem Rates and Rules
In October, the IRS provided an optional method by which employees and self-employed individuals may compute the amounts deemed paid or incurred for business meals and incidental expenses for which they are not reimbursed. Revenue Procedure 2008-59, which was effective Oct. 1, 2008, also updated rules for substantiating employees’ ordinary
Record Number of People Waste Time at Work
Scheduling a hair appointment, reading the newspaper online, chatting with co-workers—we all do it. But how often do we do it? Salary.com’s fourth annual Wasting Time at Work survey found that: n 64% of respondents reported wasting one hour or less each day; 22% wasted approximately two hours daily; and
Securities Trader Status Not Satisfied
The Tax Court ruled against a couple’s deduction of securities losses as ordinary rather than capital and against expenses as trade- or business-related, saying the taxpayers failed to qualify as securities traders and therefore were subject to the capital loss and itemized deduction treatment of investors. William Holsinger and Joann
Cleantech Figures Big in VC Market
Gaining parent company support of corporate venturing—as a concept and on individual deals—is the most significant challenge facing today’s corporate venture capital (CVC) professionals, according to a survey by Ernst & Young in association with the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and the National Venture Capital Association. The
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Create interactive dashboards with Excel PivotCharts and slicers
Leave the static spreadsheets behind. This JofA Technology Q&A article with video walkthrough provides a step-by-step guide for creating interactive dashboards in Excel that decision-makers can use.
From The Tax Adviser
January 31, 2026
Trust distributions in kind and the Sec. 643(e)(3) election
January 31, 2026
Effects of the OBBBA on higher education
December 31, 2025
