Silkin Management Group clients, all small business owners and primarily health care professionals, are certainly interested in anything having to do with taxes. Nobody likes to pay more taxes than they have to, and many of us also feel that excessive taxes adversely affects the economy and penalizes small businesses. Therefore knowing upcoming tax trends is important and relevant to Silkin Management Group clients and anyone reading our various Silkin Management Group blogs.
Today we’ll start a several part series covering upcoming tax issues and trends that we all should be aware of for this new year.
• An increase in tax audits: The last thing anyone of us wants to get is that dreaded notice in the mail that our tax returns are being audited by the IRS. Given that the IRS system often finds one guilty until you prove yourself innocent, a tax audit can often put fear in one’s heart. A recent survey of corporate executives by KPMG showed a 61 percent increase in federal tax disputes and a 37% increase in state tax disputes. As we have written about in earlier Silkin Management Group blogs, a big issue with the IRS is whether or not businesses are properly determining whether or not someone is an independent contractor. This is often a key point of any audit as it affects whether the business is paying proper payroll taxes. There are very specific rules that qualify whether someone is or is not an independent contractor, and both the IRS and many states are cracking down on what they see as abuses in this area. Make sure you know the federal and state rules and regulations regarding this if you pay anyone as an independent contractor.
• How will the health care legislation affect taxes?: As we’ve written about in numerous Silkin Management Group blogs, the health care legislation, also called “Obama-Care”, is being fought tooth and nail in the courts. The key points of the legislation are now before the Supreme Court with initial oral arguments happening in March of 2012. Depending upon the ruling of the Supreme Court, many small businesses could be forced to carry health insurance for their employees and, as part of that, some businesses could be eligible for a tax credit for helping to pay for their employee’s coverage. The high court is expected to rule on the legislation in June of this year.
We will add to this list of potential 2012 tax issues in future Silkin Management Group blogs.
Dave McKevitt
Silkin Management Group Consultant
Find out more about Silkin Management Group by visiting our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com
