Executive's Tax & Management Report articles from May 2003

Executive's Tax & Management Report archives from May 2003

IRS zeros in on offshore deferred pay schemes.
May 7, 2003... The IRS and Treasury Department are warning taxpayers about participating in certain offshore deferred compensation arrangements involving domestic and foreign employee leasing companies. An advance copy of IRS Notice 2003-22 says that the tax...

IRS plans new probe of deductions for car donations.(Brief Article)
May 7, 2003... Thinking about donating your old jalopy to your favorite charity? The General Accounting Office recently testified before the Committee on Finance of the U.S. Senate about its study of charitable car donation programs. One main concern is that...

Retailers with Web sites get a break on tax-free spinoffs. (Corporations).
May 7, 2003... An increasingly popular way to cash in on the tax laws to create shareholder value is the use of the tax-free "spinoff." Under this setup, a company separates, or spins off, a subsidiary into a separate company. Distributions of stock in the...

IRS OKs tax-wise way to salt away more in 401(k) plans. (Compensation & Benefits).(paying unused vacation sums into 401(k) plans offers tax advantages)
May 7, 2003... Most companies have a use-it-or-lose-it vacation policy. That is, employees forfeit unused vacation days at the end of the year. One employer put a silver lining on this tough policy by turning it into a way that employees could contribute more...

IRS pulls controversial cash balance plan rules. (Compensation & Benefits).(Brief Article)
May 7, 2003... Roughly 1,000 employers have either switched or plan to switch their defined benefit pension plan to a cash balance plan. Reason: Cash balance plans are seen as big cost-savers for employers. However, they have been mired in controversy because...

New case points up key limit on home-office deductions. (Business Deductions).
May 7, 2003... A few years ago, the tax law was changed to make it easier for taxpayers to claim home-office deductions. This goes for self-employeds and employees. However, the deduction can still be elusive--as a new case illustrates. NEW CASE * A...

Getting a tax refund? Here's what to do with it. (Personal Taxes).(seven smart uses for an income tax refund)
May 7, 2003... For many taxpayers, tax time represents the annual windfall--the tax refund. While it's okay to blow some of it on something fun, some of it should be put to good use. "Many people are quick to spend their refund on new summer clothes or...

Tax question. (Personal Taxes).(unmarried couple with child ask whether to file taxes jointly or not)
May 7, 2003... Q I have a girlfriend who lives with me, and we have a child together. For tax purposes, are we considered married? Also, can I claim her as a dependent? A Maybe. You and your girlfriend are considered married if you are in a common law...

Companies plan to attack T&E costs with Web-based systems. (Technology).(travel and entertainment )
May 7, 2003... After payroll, employee travel and entertainment (T&E) expenses typically represent the second highest controllable cost at most companies. Automated systems will play a key role in controlling T&E costs. Giga Information Group Inc....

How 7-Eleven uses the Web to control T&E costs. (Technology).(Brief Article)
May 7, 2003... 7-Eleven, Inc., the convenience store operator with over 2,000 U.S. employees, wanted to transform its T&E corporate payment process. "We needed to gain T&E reporting functionality that would give us the ability to track how we're spending, and...

New study suggests ways to help employees in a funk. (Management Ideas).
May 7, 2003... Employees today are not feeling all that satisfied with their jobs. More than half of employees recently surveyed expressed "negative emotions" about their current work experience. In fact, a third have "intensely negative" feelings about their...

Execs owe less tax on personal use of company planes. (Executive's Briefcase).
May 7, 2003... If an executive uses a company aircraft for a nonbusiness trip, the value of the personal flight--just like the personal use of a company car--must be included in the executive's income and is subject to income and employment taxes. Just as...

New Web page gives tax help to military families. (Executive's Briefcase).(Internal Revenue Service upgrades Web site)(Brief Article)
May 7, 2003... The IRS has created a new section on its Web site containing important information to help ensure that members of the U.S. Armed Forces serving in a combat zone get all of the tax benefits available to them. The new section--"Armed Forces Tax...

Happy Birthday, FMLA! You need an overhaul. (Executive's Briefcase).(Brief Article)
May 7, 2003... The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides 12 weeks of job-protected leave for family and medical issues, recently had its tenth birthday. But a new survey reveals that employers continue to struggle with the law's complexities and...

McDonald's sued by super-sized new hire never called. (Executive's Briefcase).(Brief Article)
May 7, 2003... Joseph Connor, who weighed 420 pounds, was offered a job flipping burgers at a McDonald's in Hamden, Conn. He had applied for the job with 10 other applicants. Connor told the manager he would need uniform pants with a 54-inch waist and an...

Beware of this tax trap when selling small biz stock.
May 21, 2003... The tax law contains a special break for owners of small business stock: Losses incurred on such stock are not subject to the $3,000 cap on excess capital losses. Instead, you can deduct up to $100,000 of the losses as an ordinary loss. To...

People who itemize deductions are more generous.
May 21, 2003... The ability to take a tax deduction for charitable contributions plays a major role in decisions about how much to give. A new study, Deducting Generosity: The Effect of Charitable Tax Incentives on Giving, conducted by the Independent Sector,...

Court says a will's provision can allow beneficiary to escape tax. (Estate Taxes).
May 21, 2003... Generally, individuals who inherit property must pay their share of the estate taxes. But what if you decide that you don't want your heirs to have to pony up the taxes? Can your will direct that the taxes be paid out of the estate--even if...

How to rescue your IRA from the clutches of creditors. (Retirement Planning).
May 21, 2003... When debtors prepare to file for personal bankruptcy, they try to shield as much of their assets as possible from creditors. The trouble is, attempts to hide assets by giving them away or otherwise disposing of them could cause the transactions...

Good news in new proposed overtime regulations. (Managing Your Business).
May 21, 2003... The Department of Labor is proposing to update age-old and cumbersome regulations that govern which employees are exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements. As written, the proposed rules would reduce litigation and make a company's...

Tax question.
May 21, 2003... Q I plan to send my children to summer camp this year. The camp will last for one month and the fee for the camp includes food, lodging, and activities. Can I claim the child care credit for the amount I spend on the camp? A Not if it's a...

How six companies prevent loss of intellectual assets. (Management Strategies).
May 21, 2003... When workers retire, they can take a tremendous amount of organizational knowledge with them. Because a large number of workers are on the verge of retiring, companies must address the issue of knowledge retention. WHAT'S AT STAKE ...

How to win at negotiating: tips from Harvard Law. (Management Strategies).
May 21, 2003... When Pyrrhus, ruler of Epirus, defeated superior Roman forces in a famous battle at Asculum, he gazed at his decimated troops and said, "Another victory such as this and we are lost." The fruits of win-at-all-costs negotiating methods are...

Firms plan to revamp corporate performance management systems. (Technology).
May 21, 2003... Companies will move toward a single-solution corporate performance management (CPM) solution to increase accuracy in corporate planning, budgeting, consolidation, and reporting--and speed up the processes. This will also facilitate rolling...

Casino's deduction for comps not subject to 50 percent limitation. (Executive Briefcase).
May 21, 2003... Casino's Deduction for Comps Not Subject to 50 Percent Limitation. A company operates a combination resort, hotel, casino, and shopping mall. It does not operate its own restaurants, spa facilities, or entertainment facilities at the casino...

IRS revises booklet on business accounting info. (Executive Briefcase).
May 21, 2003... IRS Revises Booklet on Business Accounting Info. An updated edition of Publication 538, Accounting Periods and Methods, is now available. This publication, which provides information on how to determine the appropriate accounting period and...

New payroll tax form to be ready soon. (Executive Briefcase).
May 21, 2003... New Payroll Tax Form to Be Ready Soon. As part of its initiative to review tax forms and schedules to see how they can be simplified, the IRS is hoping to have a draft of a new Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Tax Return, ready later in the year....

FASB decides stock options should be expensed. (Executive Briefcase).
May 21, 2003... FASB Decides Stock Options Should Be Expensed. The Financial Accounting Standards Board has concluded that stock-based compensation should be recognized as a business expense. Option amounts should be recorded at their fair value measured as of...

OSHA issues new guidelines for SARS. (Executive Briefcase).
May 21, 2003... OSHA Issues New Guidelines for SARS. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the emerging, sometimes fatal, respiratory illness, has now spread throughout the world. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued...

BCG reveals e-commerce benchmarks. (Executive Briefcase).
May 21, 2003... BCG Reveals E-Commerce Benchmarks. According to the Boston Consulting Group, it costs $6.80 to market to existing customers via the Web versus $34 to acquire a new Web customer. The BCG's Industry Standard reports that it costs e-commerce...

Companies dash to management dashboards. (Executive Briefcase).
May 21, 2003... Companies Dash to Management Dashboards. A management dashboard is no longer a system that delivers mostly financial metrics about business performance to senior managers. Dashboards and scorecards have infiltrated all levels of the company and...