With the number of tax incentives and economic stimulus plans being put into place right now, it can quickly and understandably become confusing.  Cutting through the excess language it is important to understand that the $1 trillion in benefits  will be received by two new WOTC target groups:

• Incentives for new jobs
• Incentives to hire unemployed veterans and disconnected youth.

Any unemployed veteran or disconnected youth who begins work for the employer during 2009 or 2010 shall be treated as a member of a targeted group.

Definitions

The term `unemployed veteran’ means any veteran who is certified by the designated local agency as having been discharged or released from active duty in the Armed Forces during 2008, 2009, or 2010, and being in receipt of unemployment compensation under State or Federal law for not less than 4 weeks during the 1-year period ending on the hiring date.

The term `disconnected youth’ means any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as having attained age 16 but not age 25 on the hiring date, as not regularly attending any secondary, technical, or post-secondary school during the 6-month period preceding the hiring date, as not regularly employed during such 6-month period, and as not readily employable by reason of lacking a sufficient number of basic skills.’.

When Does This Start?

The amendments made by this section shall apply to individuals who begin work for the employer after December 31, 2008.

If you want more information, please contact us directly here.

WOTC is a Federal credit that provides you with a dollar for dollar tax credit of:

• $2,400 for each new adult hire;
• $1,200 for each new summer youth hire,
• $4,800 for each new disabled veteran hire, and
• $9,000 for each new long-term family assistance recipient hired over a two-year period.

Employees can qualify based on any one of nine target groups.

There are strict requirements for submitting paperwork to qualify employees for the credit. Contact C&I now to sign up for this valuable credit.

WOTC is a Federal credit that provides you with a dollar for dollar tax credit of:

• $2,400 for each new adult hire;
• $1,200 for each new summer youth hire,
• $4,800 for each new disabled veteran hire, and
• $9,000 for each new long-term family assistance recipient hired over a two-year period.

Employees can qualify based on any one of nine target groups.

There are strict requirements for submitting paperwork to qualify employees for the credit. Contact C&I now to sign up for this valuable credit.

As reported by the Mohave Daily News, the city of Needles, CA, is planning today to submit an official application to the state in order to become a qualified Enterprise Zone.  With the current economic environment in California, if Needles is accepted, the city could begin attracting companies that are moving away from the large municipalities in order to cut costs and augment revenues.

Marj Dario also noted in the article, “City Manager Bill Way suggested that application sections be assigned to several subcommittees.  Those subcommittee topics are: program and marketing goals; five-year commercial/industrial retention, expansion and attraction plans; data collection; financial; job development; and local incentives. NEDC members have been assigned to the subcommittees.”

This news once again establishes the value of the California Enterprise Zones and their expanding visibility to the public.  If you have a company that is in an enterprise zone, contact us in order to see what credits you qualify for.

This past week was an exciting time for one key California Enterprise Zone.  On November 17th, the Santa Clarita Signal reported that “The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation named Santa Clarita the most business-friendly city in the county among cities with populations of more than 50,000 at its 13th annual Eddy Awards on Monday.  Santa Clarita is a state of California Enterprise Zone and does not assess businesses for a utility user tax, which allows them to save up to five percent more on their electric, telephone, water and gas bills.”

The Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone covers 97% of all commercial, business, and industrial zoned land within the City of Santa Clarita. July 2008 marked the 1 year anniversary for the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone which received its official designation from the State of California back on July 1, 2007.

If your business is located in the City of Santa Clarita or you plan to move your business to Santa Clarita, you should check to see if you are within the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone boundaries – making your business eligible for significant savings through tax credits and deductions.

Please review the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone map or list of street ranges to determine if your business is located within the qualified area.

This past week in CNN’s small business blog, C & I Tax Consultants had a great feature.  See below for an excerpt of the article:

“In 2003, for example, a year California gave away $300 million in tax credits, less than 10% of potentially eligible businesses actually claimed them, says C & I Tax Consultants, an accounting firm that specializes in tax credits.

“There’s absolutely no reason not to look into this,” says Steve Dotan, president and CEO of the Los Angeles company.

And just because you missed the boat on past credits doesn’t mean that the benefit is gone forever. Most states will allow you to go back several years on returns and amend the information, something Dotan says will often uncover plenty of unused credits that are still available.

“I get a lot of, ‘Wow, really?’”

Plus, some credits are refundable, he says, meaning that if you are struggling and not paying taxes, you can actually get cash back.”

The industry is beginning to catch on that there are sizable tax credits available to businesses that can be taken advantage of immediately.  If you want to see what benefits your company is entitled to, contact us for a free consultation.

You may wonder why this question is important; the reason I ask is because there may be considerable tax refunds in your prior phone bills that you have yet to discover.  What am I talking about?  I wrote in the last blog post about how we, at C & I, can help you take advantage of available tax refunds from the IRS per Notice 2006-50 (coverage).  Today I would like to talk about this on a practical level.

The telephone tax was instituted in 1898 to fund the Spanish American War. In 2006, after multiple lawsuits, the Treasury Department conceded that it was time to put the war behind us and refund all taxes that were collected within the statute of limitations.

On May 10, 2005 The American Bankers Insurance Group won an important victory in the fight against the telephone excise tax, when the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which had held that the services that ABIG purchased from AT&T were taxable.

This was one of several U.S. Court of Appeals cases that the IRS lost on the same issue. The IRS withdrew only after losing several of such cases and winning none (at the Appeals level or higher). The government has now set aside 6 billion dollars for those that submit for a refund. 6 billion dollars! We here at C & I Tax can help you receive refunds for phone bills dated between 2003-2006. Also, keep in mind that it is not only a refund for what you have paid in this governmental fees but refunds with compounded interest!

To find out if you can take advantage of these new tax credits, contact us directly by clicking here.

Let’s travel back in history for a moment.  In 2006 the IRS issued Notice 2006-50, conceding liability with respect to the federal telecom excise tax and directing telecommunications carriers to cease the collection of federal excise taxes related to long distance and bundled services.

This action effectively repealed the tax for all but “local-only service” as defined in IRS Notice 2006-50. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow had this to say about the development, “Today is a good day for American taxpayers; it marks the beginning of the end of an outdated, antiquated tax that has survived a century beyond its original purpose, and by now should have been ancient history.” Snow also called on the United States Congress “to terminate the remainder of this antique tax by repealing the excise tax on local service as well.”

Here at C&I Tax Consultants, I want you to know that along with obtaining substantial benefits for clients through California Enterprise Zone and Federal Empowerment Zone tax credits and deductions, we can also realize additional tax savings by recovering telecommunications excise taxes.

“C&I’s top priority is to reduce our clients’ tax burden while increasing their cash flow, and our expertise in federal telecommunications excise taxes will mean even greater savings for our clients in the future,” said Steven Dotan, chief executive officer of C&I.  “In this increasingly challenging economy, businesses large and small are looking to save money wherever they can.  We’re pleased to contribute to our clients’ fiscal health by obtaining every credit, deduction or other incentive that’s available to them.”

In the current economic environment, this information could be vital to your business and allow for sizable tax deductions.  To find out more on how to take full advantage of this news, contact us directly for a free consultation.

The Tax Foundation‘s 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index has ranked the stat of California number 48 out of 50 states nationally.  At first glance this appears to be extremely negative.  However, the main reason why businesses in California have higher tax rates is mainly due to the fact that they are not taking advantage of the myriad of tax credit options they have available.  Below are some of the credits we can help you receive:

• EMPLOYER HIRING CREDITS
• SALES and USE TAX CREDITS
• BUSINESS EXPENSE DEDUCTION
• NET INTEREST DEDUCTION
• NET OPERATING LOSS CARRYOVER
• DEPARTMENT of WATER and POWER RATE DISCOUNT
• SITE PLAN REVIEW and FEE WAIVER
• SEWER FACILITY CHARGE EXTENDED PAYMENT OPTION
• REDUCED PARKING ORDINANCE
• WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT

Here at C & I Tax, along with assisting accountants and companies in taking full advantage of the California EZ Tax Credits, we also feel it is our duty to spread the message of how much potential there really is for businesses that utilize these credits.  This past Friday we posted a feature article on the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone (coverage), and Carol Rock from KHTS had this to say about EZ Zones,

“What the city discovered was that their guests were unaware of the zone designation or were unable to promote it properly. On the up side, Beiry said they have heard from businesses in the San Fernando Valley that will only locate to other enterprise zones, a plus for their economic development efforts.”

Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar had this to say about Enterprise Zones, “We have a business friendly City Council and government that does not require a business license fee, does not assess a utility user tax, and offers an Enterprise Zone for even more tax savings incentives to businesses. Santa Clarita is one of the few places in LA County where there is available space and let me clarify that with ‘attractive’ available space, not just some large plot of land out in the middle of the desert but real opportunities for infill projects, or with freeway frontage, and more.”

If you want to know more information about California Enterprise Zones, click here to contact us and let us assist you in taking full advantage of the tax credits available to you.