The straight line

Business Sale: Who Owns Professional Goodwill?

When a professional corporation sells its assets or liquidates, one important tax issue is whether the corporation or the shareholder-employees own any appreciated professional goodwill (with a fair market value in excess of tax basis). For tax purposes, goodwill is an intangible asset. It represents the value of a trade or business based on expected continued...

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Don’t Take Tax Chances on Gambling

At the slots or online, remember to keep records. Gambling at the casino or the racetrack can be entertaining for many people. If you’re one of them, you should obviously risk only what you can afford to lose from a personal financial planning perspective. But from the IRS perspective, you need to be aware of the...

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President Signs Two Trade Bills into Law with Tax Provisions

President Obama signed two trade bills into law on June 29 that include various tax provisions. The focus of the trade bills is mostly foreign competition and domestic jobs, but they contain new rules for claiming higher education tax credits, new fees for failing to file information returns, new retirement withdrawal rules for public safety workers,...

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Build Teams for Growth and Success

Teamwork. It’s a common enough term these days, and well-known companies such as General Electric, 3M, Texas Instruments and Federal Express have been using it to their advantage for decades. Now an increasing number of businesses have taken up team building for growth, efficiency and competition. However, building effective teams isn’t a snap, particularly here in...

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Pull the Plug on Employee Theft

Not all crooks roam the streets at night. Some might be roaming your company hallways, stealing cash, forging or altering checks, and pilfering your inventory and property. Even worse, they may be stealing intellectual property such as confidential documents or trade secrets. What can you do to pull the plug on employee theft? Here Are 18...

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