Schneider: Ways and Means Releases Discussion Draft of Financial Product Tax Reform

Steven R. Schneider, Ways and Means Releases Discussion Draft of Financial Product Tax Reform, January 25th, 2013:

On January 24 the chair of the House Ways & Means Committee released proposals to reform the taxation of financial products.  The reforms include:

• Mark-to-market taxation for speculative financial investments.  Specifically the draft would require taxpayers engaged in speculative financial activity—but not business hedging against common risks—to mark certain financial derivative products to fair market value at the end of each tax year, thus triggering the recognition of gain or loss for tax purposes.  The proposal would apply to property acquired and positions established after December 31, 2013.
• Eliminate the requirement for many common business transactions to separately “identify” hedges for tax purposes.  For taxpayers that are engaged in hedging business risks, the draft would allow transactions that are properly treated as hedges for financial accounting purposes to be treated as hedges for tax purposes.  This taxpayer-favorable proposal would minimize inadvertent failures to identify a transaction as a hedge for tax purposes, even though the transaction satisfies all of the substantive requirements for hedging transaction tax treatment.  The proposal would be effective for hedging transactions entered into after December 31, 2013.
• Eliminate phantom income on non-write-down debt restructurings.  The draft would reform the tax rules that apply to debt restructurings that do not involve a forgiveness of principal. This change would reduce the prevalence of “phantom” cancellation-of-indebtedness income when debt is restructured—a common practice during economic downturns—thereby creating a more taxpayer-favorable rule.  The discussion draft would eliminate the phantom taxable income problem associated with many debt restructurings by generally providing that the issue price of the modified debt instrument cannot be less than the issue price of the debt instrument prior to modification.  The proposal would be effective for debt modifications that occur after December 31, 2013.
• Harmonize the Tax Treatment of Bonds Traded at a Discount or Premium on the Secondary Market. The draft would require the holder of the bond to recognize taxable income on the discount over the remaining life of the bond.  Further the amount of discount to be recognized for tax purposes would be limited to the discount that typically reflects an increase in interest rates that has occurred since the date the bond was originally issued—as opposed to steeper discounts that often reflect deterioration in the creditworthiness of the borrower.  The proposal would be effective for bonds acquired after December 31, 2013.

See full article from taxlawroundup.com here.

What is the Difference Between Forms W-2 and 1099?

With tax season looming around the corner, Robert W. Wood explains the differences between IRS Form 1099 and IRS Form W-2 in his article on Forbes.com: 1099 or W-2? Giving or Receiving, Be Careful:

Both key tax forms arrive in January or February, so watch your snail mail. If you’re an employee, taxes must be withheld. You’ll receive an IRS Form W-2 from your employer in January the following year. If you’re an independent contractor, you are liable for your own taxes. Assuming your total pay was $600 or more, you’ll receive an IRS Form 1099.

But is it that simple? What if you’re the employer rather than the recipient? This key decision is made thousands of times daily all over America, often, it seems, without much thought. Some employers ask “1099 or W-2?” as if they were asking how you take your coffee.

If you’re the worker, you may be tempted to say “1099,” figuring you’ll get a bigger check that way. Of course, you’ll actually owe higher taxes. As an independent contractor, you’ll owe not only income tax, but self-employment tax too.  In contrast, if you’re an employee, you pay only one half the Social Security tax, plus one half the Medicare rate. Your employer pays the other half.

Apart from tax law, employee status carries protection under nondiscrimination laws, pension and benefits laws. Wage and hour protections apply to employees but not to independent contractors. For all of these reasons, employers have considerable incentives to try to pay independent contractors rather than employees. This can often be done in ways that are perfectly proper.

See Robert W. Wood, Forbes.com: 1099 or W-2? Giving or Receiving, Be Careful:, January 25, 2013.

QUICK TIP:  Skillserv.com has a handy online tool, which can be found here, that compares the different effective 'take-home pay' of equally compensated W-2 and 1099 employees.

Bonner & Nevius: Congress Passes Fiscal Cliff Act

Paul Bonner and Alistair M. Nevius, Congress passes the fiscal cliff act, Journal of Accountancy:

Pulling back from the “fiscal cliff” at the 13th hour, Congress on Tuesday preserved most of the George W. Bush-era tax cuts and extended many other lapsed tax provisions.

Shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill that had been heralded and, in some quarters, groused about throughout the preceding day. By a vote of 89 to 8, the chamber approved the American Taxpayer Relief Act, H.R. 8, which embodied an agreement that had been hammered out on Sunday and Monday between Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The House of Representatives approved the bill by a vote of 257–167 late on Tuesday evening, after plans to amend the bill to include spending cuts were abandoned. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature.

“The AICPA is pleased that Congress has reached an agreement,” said Edward Karl, vice president–Tax for the AICPA. “The uncertainty of the tax law has unnecessarily impeded the long-term tax and cash flow planning for businesses and prevented taxpayers from making informed decisions. The agreement should also allow the IRS and commercial software vendors to revise or issue new tax forms and update software, and allow tax season to begin with minimal delay.”

With some modifications targeting the wealthiest Americans with higher taxes, the act permanently extends provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, P.L. 107-16 (EGTRRA), and Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, P.L. 108-27 (JGTRRA). It also permanently takes care of Congress’s perennial job of “patching” the alternative minimum tax (AMT). It  temporarily extends many other tax provisions that had lapsed at midnight on Dec. 31 and others that had expired a year earlier.

The act’s nontax features include one-year extensions of emergency unemployment insurance and agricultural programs and yet another “doc fix” postponement of automatic cuts in Medicare payments to physicians. In addition, it delays until March a broad range of automatic federal spending cuts known as sequestration that otherwise would have begun this month.

Among the tax items not addressed by the act was the temporary lower 4.2% rate for employees’ portion of the Social Security payroll tax, which was not extended and has reverted to 6.2%.

See full article by Paul Bonner and Alistair M. Nevius, Congress passes the fiscal cliff act, Journal of Accountancy, January 1, 2013.

ESOPs as a Plan to Help Business Owners Avoid "Taxmageddon"

Jerry L. Ripperger & Brian D. Hector: ESOPs: a plan to help business owners avoid "taxmageddon":

The potential massive tax increases looming in 2013 will be felt by many taxpayers, but they could take an especially hard toll on business owner clients who have plans to sell.  With nearly 80 percent of their net worth tied up in the value of the enterprise¹, such business owners could lose a significant amount of assets which they have spent a lifetime amassing.

On the horizon

If Congress allows the Bush-era tax cuts to expire in 2013, long-term capital gains rates will increase to 20 from 15 percent.  On top of that, the health care reform act will impose a new 3.8 percent tax on capital gains for certain individuals in 2013, bringing the capital gains tax to 23.8 percent.  The jump to 23.8 from 15 percent is a 60 percent increase.

Higher income taxpayers will also experience a reduced benefit from itemized deductions if these tax cuts expire. The net effect could boost their capital gains tax rate to 25 percent from 23.8 percent.  Further, Congress and President Obama are discussing reducing deductions in other ways.

Then there are state taxes. Some, like California or New York, already have high capital gains tax rates, some as much as 8-10 percent, which high income taxpayers would pay in addition to the increased Federal rates.   Consequently, for the business owner who sells his or her business in 2013 as part of a succession plan, the collective tax increases could wipe out as much as 30 to 35 percent of the wealth the owner worked for decades to build up in the business and accumulate for retirement regardless of whether the owner’s stock is redeemed or sold to a third party.

Enter the ESOP Advantage

There is a way to help business owner clients soften (and in some instances completely eliminate) the impending tax blow and unlock substantial assets by using an employee stock ownership plan. Because of their special tax features, ESOPs allow owners to sell their stock and diversify their wealth on a tax-favorable basis, while effectively retaining control of their business.

See full article by Jerry L. Ripperger & Brian D. Hector at ESOPs: A Plan to Help Business Owners Avoid "Taxmageddon", LifeHealthPro, Dec. 10, 2012.