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Important Tax Figures for 2018

The following table provides some important federal tax information for 2018, as compared with 2017. Many of the dollar amounts are unchanged and some changed only slightly due to inflation. Social Security/ Medicare 2018 2017 Social Security Tax Wage Base $128,400 $127,200 Medicare Tax Wage Base No limit No limit Employee portion of Social Security 6.2%...

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Take a Last Resort Stand on Layoffs

At the first sign of a southbound economy some companies rush into panic mode. They slash the staff and hope for the best. Certainly, labor is the biggest expense for most businesses, which is why many managers believe there is no faster, more efficient way to improve the bottom line than by cutting staff. But when...

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The Benefits of Leasing

If your company wants to improve cash flow, you might consider leasing equipment, vehicles and facilities, rather than buying. The primary advantage of leasing used to be the tax advantages. But the fact that leasing allows you to conserve cash makes it a form of financing. It’s not an alternative that works for every company so you...

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6 Last-Chance Tax Breaks: Do You Qualify?

The new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) significantly changes some parts of the tax code that relate to personal tax returns. In addition to lowering most of the tax rates and increasing the standard deduction, the TCJA repeals, suspends or modifies some valuable tax deductions. As a result, millions of Americans who have itemized deductions...

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3 Affordable Care Act Taxes Postponed by Congress

On January 22, President Trump signed into law a short-term government funding bill. It ended the brief government shutdown by funding the federal government through February 8. It also suspends the following Affordable Care Act (ACA) taxes, which were designed to help fund health care coverage provided under the ACA. Cadillac Tax Under prior law, for...

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