Category Archives: Accounting
Federal Reserve shows no signs of new action
The minutes from the March 13th Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting were released today, and the idea of a fourth round of asset purchases (a.k.a. quantitative easing) seems to be no more than a remote possibility. The FOMC is … Continue reading
New studies show heavy debt burdens are holding areas back
New studies highlighted in a New York Times article today show that “…the recent recession may have brought about an enduring shift in the geography of American growth.” It goes on to say that, “Various kinds of economic activity, including … Continue reading
U.S. district court grants IRS injunction against church leader
Earlier this month a U.S. district court granted the IRS an injunction against a church leader who was advising other ministers of his church (incorrectly) that they didn’t need to pay taxes to the IRS. The defendant was advising these … Continue reading
Retail sales for February strongest in five months
The Commerce Department released their monthly retail sales figures for February showing a 1.1% increase in sales from the previous month, and a 6.5% increase from the same period a year earlier. Sales numbers from January were also revised up … Continue reading
Employment and confidence gain, but high gas prices could threaten recovery
Since the start of 2012, economic data points have been moving in the right direction and seem to point to a recovery that is picking up steam. Friday’s report from the Labor Department provided more evidence to that end, with … Continue reading
Congress does something right, for a change.
Back in December, Congress voted to extend the 2011 reduction in the social security rate paid by employees (the 2% reduction those of us subject to social security tax have been enjoying) until February 29, 2012. Last Friday, they voted … Continue reading
Fun with FICA tax!
One confusing area of church payroll is how to handle Social Security & Medicare taxes for Ordained/Licensed ministers. Ordained/Licensed ministers are considered to be self-employed when it comes to their income from the church. This means that churches are not … Continue reading
Employee Classification
One of the things that have been on the IRS’ radar in recent years is employee mis-classification. Companies are tempted to classify workers as contract labor rather than employees because it saves them money on taxes. Others just simply don’t … Continue reading
Staying on top of 1099′s
Staying on top of 1099’s Another January has come and gone, and for us accountants, that means the headache of 1099’s is behind us for another year. The best way to avoid those January woes is to stay on top … Continue reading
Economists See Accelerated Economic Growth in 2011
With the stock market up close to 100% from its March 9, 2009 low and with modest GDP growth for the past year and a half, economists are starting to see a rosier outlook for 2011. Leading economists are forecasting … Continue reading