By Jeff Faust, CVA, Director of Valuation Services
ASL Business Valuation Services
Recently, the IRS began pushing back on discounts used within estate and gift valuations, specifically the discount for lack of control (DLOC) and the discount for lack of marketability (DLOM), calling for lower discounts to be applied. Valuation discounts have always been critical in estate and gift valuations because they measure the restrictions on the ownership interest being valued. These discounts also can be used as a planning tool to help lower overall estate and gift taxes. As a result, the IRS reviews these discounts carefully and can push back on them. The DLOC is typically applied when the non-controlling interest is being valued and the DLOM is applied to account for the limited liquidity of the ownership interest. (more…)
By Jerry Quintos, CPA, Director
ASL Construction Group
Are you a construction industry company utilizing all your local resources here in Silicon Valley? Most of you probably are, but some of you… perhaps not. I’m thinking about the Construction Financial Management Association of Silicon Valley (CFMA), Builders’ Exchange of Santa Clara County (Builders’ Exchange), and the Construction Group here at Abbott, Stringham & Lynch (ASL). (more…)
By Rachel Gillespie, CPA, Tax Principal
ASL Real Estate Group
In December of 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was enacted by Congress, which gave us the most sweeping and dramatic changes to the Internal Revenue Code in more than 30 years. The Act created the Internal Revenue Code Section 199A deduction which has the potential to help taxpayers reduce their liabilities with a 20% deduction against their “qualified business income”. Section 199A provides individual taxpayers and certain trusts and estates a deduction for qualified business income from a partnership, limited liability company, S-corporation, sole proprietorship, trust or estate. The deduction applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026. (more…)
By Deepa Bhat, CPA, Audit Principal
ASL Construction Group
As we head into another busy tax season, I am mentally preparing myself to answer questions from my contractor clients on how they stack up within their industry and against their peers. Lucky for me, I have access to industry benchmarking data that makes my client conversations productive and informative. In addition, as a bonus, the benchmarking reports provide a deep insight into the Company’s present and, often, their future. (more…)
With all of the changes to the meals and entertainment deduction under the new tax law, we thought we would summarize the rules in this handy table. Please reach out to us if you have questions. (more…)
By Abe Livchitz, CPA, Senior Tax Manager & Tingting Zhang, CPA, Tax Senior
Tax deferral, gain exclusions, tax free appreciation. These seven words are very exciting as they offer potentially significant tax savings for our clients. All three of these benefits are possible by investing in a “Qualified Opportunity Fund” (QOF). The creation of these funds and their related tax benefits were authorized by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) passed by Congress in December 2017. The Internal Revenue Service recently issued guidance to clarify questions unanswered by the TCJA, so QOFs should gain in popularity in the coming months. However, additional guidance is expected in the future, as many questions remain unanswered. (more…)
By Steve Carter, CPA, Principal
ASL Construction Group
When you see a cement mixer going down the street, or at a site getting ready to pour, do you think immediately of the effects upon our environment? I must confess, I have not. Until recently.
Cement is a major component of concrete. Cement is often referred to as the glue that holds concrete together. But cement is very harmful to our environment. One ton of cement production releases one ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. With cement production currently at 2.8 billion tons per year, and expected to only increase, that is a lot of CO2 released into our already fragile atmosphere. (more…)
By Rachel Rabindran, Accounting Consultant
In April, 2018 the California Supreme Court issued their long-awaited ruling in a class action lawsuit concerning delivery drivers. The court unanimously ruled in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County that a worker will be considered an employee of the hiring entity unless the hiring entity can establish all three of the following factors (also known as the “ABC test” to identify independent contractors): (more…)
By Jeff Faust, CVA, Director of Valuation Services
ASL Business Valuation Services
First, a little background, 409A is an IRS Code section that requires companies to grant stock options at Fair Market Value (FMV), meaning no discounts anymore. In order for a company to prove they granted stock options at FMV, they’ll need to follow the valuation rules surrounding 409A. (more…)
