By Howard Kass, CPA, CGMA, AEP®
Partner
Family Business Conference Panelist: Chip Marous
After starting Marous Brothers Construction Inc. in 1980, local businessman Chip Marous has achieved great success with his family owned and operated company for over 30 years. Chip is a scheduled panelist for a discussion on “ The Transition Process – Planning for the future” during the 2012 Family Business Conference, sponsored by Zinner & Co.
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Seven Things to Consider When Buying out a Partner
With an increasing number of baby boomers reaching retirement age, business owners are choosing to leave the workforce. This means the end of a partnership and a change in the way you do business.
Will the tariffs on Chinese imports hurt my business?
A primer on how to navigate the changes
In the past few months, phrases like “tariffs on Chinese imports” and “trade war with China” have been floating around in the news. The government levied a 25 percent tariff on over $50 billion of products imported from China.
read more…Deadline nears for Workers’ Compensation true-up
The deadline is approaching for private employers to “true-up” with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).
A press release posted on the Ohio BWC website reminds employers they have until Aug. 15 to complete an important action necessary for the BWC to accurately calculate premiums.
According to the press release, prior to each policy year (July 1- June 30), employers’ payroll amount, the basis for their premium, is estimated based on historical data. When the policy year-ends, employers are required to true-up, which means they must report the actual payroll for the policy year that ended on June 30 and reconcile any difference in premium paid.
No tax deductions for business entertaining
The good news is that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 lowered corporate tax rates from a graduated schedule that reached 35 percent to a 21 percent flat rate. The bad news? Many business expenses are no longer tax deductible. That list includes all outlays that might be considered entertainment or recreation.
As of 2018, tickets to sports events cannot be deducted, even if you walk away from the game with a new client or a lucrative contract. The same is true if you treat a prospect to seats at a Broadway play or take a valued vendor out for a round of golf. Those outlays will be true costs for business owners without any tax relief.
Drilling down
Does that mean that you should drop all your season tickets supporting local teams? Cancel club memberships? Pack away your putter and your tennis racquet? Before taking any actions in this area, take a breath and crunch some numbers.
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Scam Alert: Fraudsters Posing as Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
Some taxpayers receive emails that appear to be from the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) about a tax refund. These emails are a phishing scam, trying to trick victims into providing personal and financial information.
Do not respond or click any link. If you receive this scam, forward it to phishing@irs.gov and note that it seems to be a scam phishing for your information.
TAP is a volunteer board that advises the IRS on systemic issues affecting taxpayers. It never requests, and does not have access to, any taxpayer’s personal and financial information.
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Zinner & Co. Quickbooks Support Policy: What you need to know
Effective June 1st 2018 Zinner & Co. will officially adopt Intuit’s Quickbooks Discontinuation policy. If you are using Quickbooks version 2015 or older, you will need to upgrade to maintain compliance. This policy will maintain support for the three most recent versions of Intuit Quickbooks. The annual drop date for the oldest product version is May 31st. Intuit’s current “Disco” policy states:
Electronic Delivery of Invoices to Begin January, 2018
Fall 2017 | Winter 2018
Zinner & Co. is ready to ring in the New Year with a commitment to sustainability, focus on our environment, and assurance that our clients receive year-round service. 
As part of this initiative, beginning in January 2018, business client invoices will be delivered via electronic mail. To ensure timely and effective receipt of your invoice, please take a moment to update your company information by downloading the form here and adding your billing department information if it is different than your primary company contact. (Please let us know if you prefer to continue to receive your invoice via USPS). You can return the form to us at ClientUpdate@zinnerco.com or via US mail:
Brett Neate Featured Speaker at Wire-Net Event
Learn “5 Things Every Business Owner Should Do Before December 31” during WIRE-Net’sOctober workshop, Thursday, October 12 at Cuyahoga Community College’s Advanced Technology Training Center. The event is open to members and non-members.
Partner Brett Neate will educate business owners and decision makers as they face the Q4 flurry of activity that is critical to accurately closing 2017 and properly preparing for 2018.
The full-morning session will address business succession, inventory and fixed assets, financial statement preparation, compensation and budgeting, and daily management of a business.
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Since 1938, Zinner has counseled individuals and businesses from start-up to succession. At Zinner, we strive to ensure we understand your business and recognize threats that could impact your financial situation.
Electronic payment requirement will not affect 2024 tax returns
There will soon be a big change for some taxpayers in how they send tax payments to the federal government or receive refunds. Executive Order 14247, Modernizing Payments to and from America’s Bank Account, is intended to modernize financial operations, reduce costs,...
New Ohio Withholding Rates Go Into Effect on Oct. 1
Ohio employers and employees should prepare for an important payroll update this fall. Starting Oct. 1, the Ohio Department of Taxation will implement new state income tax withholding tables. The change was necessitated by the passage of House Bill 96, the state’s...
The Opportunities and Risks of AI to End Users
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not just for tech companies and research labs; it is quickly becoming part of everyday life. Today, many people are already using AI without even realizing it, and in the next few years, it will be as common as smartphones or Wi-Fi. Let...
Zinner & Co. joins the Ohio Accounting Talent Coalition
Like many other industries, there is a shortage of talent entering the public accounting industry. To combat this issue, the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA) formed the Ohio Accounting Talent Coalition (OATC), whose mission is to create a thriving...
Executive Order Requires Electronic Payment of Federal Tax
On March 25, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14247, Modernizing Payments to and from America’s Bank Account. The Executive Order is intended to modernize financial operations, reduce costs, minimize fraud and eliminate inefficiencies associated with...
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