By Steve Carter, CPA, Principal
ASL Renewable Energy Group
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an array of financial, operational, and production challenges for businesses across many industries. Decreasing demand for products/services, constantly changing government regulations, and erratic consumer spending have left many facing unique challenges. Unfortunately, the renewable energy industry has not escaped the pandemic’s reach. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA), The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Clean Energy Progress, the pandemic has had an adverse impact on renewable energy investments. Although the causes for the delay are multi-faceted, how the industry recovers and thrives is largely based on government policies and expenditures to implement change. The good news is, several important tax incentives were recently extended and more are awaiting Congressional approval. We have summarized them below. (more…)
By Deepa Bhat, CPA, CFE, ACA, Principal
ASL Construction Group
I was once again at my annual Board retreat (virtual, alas!) for the Builders’ Exchange of Santa Clara, and came away with some fascinating data – both historical and predictive. Like many of us, I was curious to understand the impact of COVID-19 on this industry in 2020. These were the top takeaways from this meeting: (more…)
By Abe Livchitz, CPA, Senior Tax Manager
August 26, 2022 Update to Expand CalSavers to More Workers
Governor Newsom signed an amendment, S 1126, requiring all employers within the state of California with at least one worker to participate in the CalSavers program (reducing the minimum from five workers). The amendment is expected to take effect prior to December 31, 2025, and continues to apply to employers that do not otherwise offer a retirement plan to their employees.
May 9, 2022 Update
Action Is Required
The state-run CalSavers program was enacted in 2016 to provide employees an opportunity to build retirement savings and let employers avoid administrative fees and fiduciary responsibilities. An email outreach program launched towards the end of 2020, so many businesses have already received a notification to register for the CalSavers retirement plan program. In 2021, this requirement only applied to California employers with more than 50 employees, but effective in 2022, employers with more than 5 employees will be required to register.
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By Samantha Ramirez, CPA, Tax Manager
ASL Real Estate Group
A like-kind exchange, commonly referred to as a “1031 exchange”, allows for the deferral of gains from the sale or exchange of business or investment property, as long as the exchanged properties are considered like-kind. Any money or property received that is not like-kind is ineligible for gain deferral and is considered a taxable event. After the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the classification of like-kind was limited to include only real property. With the new, narrower definition of like-kind, the IRS issued proposed regulations in June 2020 that defined real property for the first time for purposes of Internal Revenue Code Section 1031. Recently, the IRS issued final regulations that adopted most of these proposed regulations, with some notable changes and clarifications. Below is a summary of the most recent changes. (more…)
By Christine Collins Madrid, CPA, Tax Director
The past few years have been a roller coaster between the pandemic, the California wildfires, and the political climate. We have seen massive tax acts enacted, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that doubled the estate and gift tax exemption to $11.7 million for single filers and $23.4 million for joint filers (indexed for inflation). (more…)
