By Michael McAndrews, CPA, Principal
ASL Technology Group
With all that has been happening, both within the US and internationally, Tax Reform legislation seems to have faded somewhat into the background. While it is still alive and well, the prospects for passage of major tax reform in 2017 have dimmed a bit. Most analysts are predicting passage of a modest tax reform measure in 2017, without the dramatic changes the Trump administration has proposed. (more…)
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) updated its report comparing the corporate income tax rates of the U.S. and other G20 countries.
The report examines not only the statutory top rates, of which the U.S. has the highest, but also provides information on the average and effective corporate tax rates, including insight as to how certain corporate decision-making is influenced by each. (more…)
By Abe Livchitz, CPA, Senior Tax Manager
ASL Construction Group
The issues related to proper worker classification impact many businesses, including contractors. The rules are often unclear and their application is based on each employer’s specific facts and circumstances. An Internal Revenue Service or California Employment Development Department audit resulting in the reclassification of workers can have a significant bottom line impact. As a result, it is important to correctly determine if your workers are employees or independent contractors. (more…)
By Mark Sheffield, CPA, Principal
ASL Emerging Business Group
Historically many Silicon Valley start-ups have been unable to generate immediate benefit from the R&D credit because of having no taxable income. The law changed with 2016 tax returns. If you have qualifying research activities and expenditures in 2016, you can now use the credit to offset payroll taxes in 2017. This new and exciting benefit is for start-ups that have gross receipts for five years or less, and less than $5 million of gross receipts in 2016. (more…)
By Anu Joshi, CPA, Senior Tax Manager
ASL Family Wealth & Individual Tax Group
As promised during his campaign, on April 26, 2017, President Trump unveiled a new broad tax-cut plan. Besides slashing business and individual tax rates and eliminating the net investment income tax and the alternative minimum tax, the proposal also includes eliminating certain itemized deductions such as the state and local income tax deductions. However, deductions for mortgage interest and charitable giving are expected to stick around. (more…)
By Kay Filler, CPA, Principal
Historically originating through the lens of the independent auditor, whose auditing standards require the auditor to consider “going concern” matters and potentially include cautionary language in the auditor’s report, all companies that issue GAAP-based financial statements are now required to perform their own evaluation and provide explanatory footnote disclosures in defined circumstances. (more…)
By Patrick Ngai, CPA, Audit Manager
ASL Nonprofit Group
The internet has been around since the 1980s. Personal computers and smartphone technology had experienced exponential advancements on an annual basis since the 1990s. There was a time when it would take a full 10 minutes of load time just to get to the homepage of Yahoo.com. Now, we basically have the collective knowledge of the entire human civilization in the palm of our hand. (more…)
By Jeff Faust, CVA, Director of Valuation Services
ASL Business Valuation Services
The recent reports by PitchBook and the Silicon Valley Business Journal indicate that 2017 will be a healthy year for Venture Capitalists. Experts believe that the Venture Capital (VC) industry is coming back to “normal” levels after the boom of activity in 2015.
Interestingly, there was a lot of talk recently about the VC funding cooldown which raised concern about the Series A funding crunch. The recently published 1Q 2017 PitchBook report confirms that angel and seed financing continued to decline in 2017, and it is getting more difficult to secure Series A financing. In fact, first-financing activities have been falling since the middle of 2015. (more…)
