Archive for the ‘Press Releases’ Category

Dallas CPA firm generating $345,000 and 4 new clients

Charlotte CPA firm generating $282,000 and 3 new clients

Seattle CPA firm generating $276,000 and 3 new clients.

Whether you are a regional or growing city firm, we all look for ways to grow our business.

It costs more to locate a new client than it does to retain a current one.   Client’s, especially in this tough environment are looking for a provider/supplier, in all they do, who will value add to their business, to help give their business that competitive edge and more over, financially survive.

The US Government and the IRS, provide a wealth of options to CPA’s to be able to deliver just that to their client.  The key is to identify what option you can consider would value add to your client base, with minimal time usage on your behalf.  In another words, how to increase your ROI and your clients, if you take on additional value added services.   Many big 5 firms have in-house teams offering these value added government tax incentives.

Did you know though, that  these services are also available to you for your clients, through companies like ETS; we supply specialty tax consulting services that you could not provide on your own.

A short list of these services include:

EPAct Certifications for Energy Tax Deductions

Repair and Maintenance Studies

Research and Development Tax Credits

Cost Segregation

In each case there is a substantial investment in resources and education.  Our (ETS’s) R&D department has almost a dozen professionals from CPAs to Attorneys.  You are unlikely to hire a staff this robust  to meet you client needs, but you can utilize ours and access them as your own.

Each of the other specialties has similar staffing.  Why not take advantage of  these resources and not re-create the wheel, and avoid the increases in overhead and fixed costs?

This is the check list on how to strategize on identifying the right value added tax options your firm should use, and how to do it right;

1. Don’t do it on your own. Spending all your time researching each tax law which you would like your firm to implement is not a good use of your time or the most effective way of implementing that service.  Tax laws change all the time and it would be impossible for you to keep up with the laws and do you clients or firm justice.

2. Do what your clients are doing. Your clients are asking for providers and suppliers to value add to their company and so you too should be seeking out providers and suppliers to value add back to your firm.  There are many external providers specialized in tax areas, who offer a service which you could implement into your firm.

3. Educate yourself. Before you start knocking on doors to any and every provider in the tax arena, start researching what specialty tax your firm does not offer, and identify if it is one that you should.  There are countless webinars, articles and websites that offer information on specialty tax, to give you a hint as to how it will be a “value add” to your firm and your client’s.

4.  Research your providers. Your clients and you deserve a reputable provider, especially since they will form part of your trusted advisor team.  Do your due diligence.  Questions you may like to ask:

• Who do they or have they worked for (other CPA firms and clients)
• How long have they been in the industry
• How up to date are they with their taxation laws in their specialty area
• Have they encountered an IRS audit, how did they manage that, what is their success rate and will they stand behind you
• Do they have the resources to perform the job for you and do so in a timely manner
• What materials can the provider offer your firm to offer to clients
• How many specialty services do you offer and offer successfully

5. Signing up with your Provider. Entering in an agreement with your provider will allow both of you to understand what to expect, and form a trusted relationship.

6. Introducing the specialty tax into your firm. Armed with a new service, the next step is to train staff on the new product offering.  The provider should be able to provide training and marketing material to assist staff with the new tax offering.  You, in turn, will be supporting the new offering with a pricing schedule, which you have prepared, for staff to run by.

7. Introducing the new specialty tax to clients. Data mining (researching and reviewing through your existing client base) to locate the appropriate clients, is an essential tool to ensuring your ground work was successful.  Then, before you approach your identified client(s), contact your specialty tax provider, give him basic details on the client.

For example, your client has a building, and your specialty tax provider has a tax benefit for building owners.  By providing your provider with basic information, they should be able to provide you with an estimated tax benefit, based on their experience.

With this information, you can contact the client, provide them with a brief on how you are about to increase their cash flow.  Provide the client with information on this tax benefit, and if needed, you can provide marketing material to the client as well, but most importantly show the client the tax benefit estimated analysis he would likely be looking to receive.  You may have even saved a client from becoming a victim of the economic down turn, and subsequently not lost the client.

8. Go the extra mile. Does the new tax service offer benefits that your client could implement, but because they don’t know, just doesn’t.  Take the Energy Tax, for example.  If your client spent money upgrading their lighting system, to be energy efficient, they could take advantage of the 179D Energy Tax benefits for lighting, Abandonment tax benefits, Depreciation tax benefits and State tax benefits.  Additionally, the electric bill just went down.  Here is one example of a client property;

A distribution company with a warehouse of 250,000 square feet, upgraded all lighting.

Cost $140,000

EPAct $140,000

Abandonment $90,000

Annual Energy Saving $60,000

First Year Net After Tax +$500

Five Year Benefits $300,500+

-$450,000 + the increased cost of energy

- Zero Net Cost the first year

10. Outcome. Your client, has just realized your valuable worth, even more than previous, as you have just added to their bottom line.  Your time in investing to locate a suitable provider, has proven beneficial.  Your client is undertaking these new tax benefits, you are paid for these new services, your firm has just increased spending from this client to provide your firm with increased ROI.

To manage this client’s new tax benefit, is minimal as your provider is doing all the work.  As an example, If you charged your client $3,500 for the above service, and you implemented this service with 10 clients, $350,000 would be generated by the firm over the year.

11. New clients. How do you market your firm’s progress and obtain new clients.  It is simple – Talk about it.

• Ask existing clients to refer you – they will be happy to after you just saved them in energy money and through tax benefits
• Update your marketing materials – online, and in print.  Promoting the fact that you find ways to increase your client’s bottom line and reduce corporate taxes, and use case examples (anonymously).
• Target clients.  Identify client’s you would like to have and introduce your company and service.
• Align with Angel Investors or Venture Capitalist.  They are the ground floor for growing companies

12.  How to start a specialty tax revenue stream and ensure it is successful. Realizing there is a need for CPA’s to be able to provide a value added service to their clients, ETS has teamed up with Boomer Consulting, to offer a program especially to assist firms to implement a successful specialty tax offering to their clients and build significant revenue into their firm.

With this support, you can navigate the business growth plan in a more efficient and successfully proven path.  This program is selective in size and CPA firm location, as the program is highly educational and works on proven results.  The Specialty Tax Circle helps firms through each step of the way in firm growth and specialty service offering with further support through the year to ensure the investment in education is providing the returns to your firm, which it promotes.

The training program covers data mining and what to identify, RFP proposal request writing, provider assessment, pricing out your provider services, training staff on your new services, effective marketing of your new services, projecting and obtaining revenue growth, driving new client business through the specialty tax and implementing the service in a timely and cost effective manner.

There are two round table educational meetings in 2012.  The first is July 17 to 18, 2012 in Kansas City

For information on the Specialty Tax Service, visit http://www.boomer.com/?page=SpecialtyTax

or call Eric Hunt on 785-537-2358 extension 119.

On a closing note, good luck with your business growth strategy, may you reap the benefits of your planning and implementation programs.

This article was written by Julio Gonzalez, CEO, Engineered Tax Services.

You can contact Julio on 561.253.6640

A Practical Guide to Perfecting Your Tax Research Techniques and Assessing Reasonable Tax Return Filing Positions

By Peter J. Scalise, B.S., M.S.

Introduction

In order to maximize your accounting firm’s overall efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity in connection to researching and resolving a tax issue and determining the sustainability of the tax return filing position, the appropriate tax research processes must be meticulously designed, implemented, and executed. The subsequent five comprehensive steps will guide you in establishing an all-inclusive tax research effort on behalf of your entire client base while properly ascertaining the likelihood of success should a tax position(s) taken on a tax return be challenged by the Internal Revenue Service (hereinafter the “Service”) upon examination.

Tax Research Methodology

The first step in the tax research process is to establish all of the facts and circumstances provided by your client in order to determine which tax laws(s) apply to your client’s fact pattern. At this initial stage, it is imperative not to omit nor overlook any of your client’s facts and circumstances whether appearing material or immaterial. Always be guided by the axiom that facts and circumstances appearing to be immaterial individually may, in fact, be material in the aggregate.

The second step in the tax research process entails determining all of the tax issues affecting your client’s specific facts and circumstances and any and all mitigating factors. Normally, complex tax issues evolve through several stages of development. For instance an experienced tax professional, based upon his or her prior knowledge of the tax laws, can usually determine most of the initial pertinent issues in terms of general tax laws. However, after performing an initial search of the authorities to answer the initial issues, a tax professional often discovers that one or more additional specific technical questions of interpretations must be resolved before the initial issues can be fully addressed. Consequently, at this stage, a tax professional may also encounter the need to obtain additional facts from the client. Accordingly, the tax research process may have to move back from step two to step one.

The third step in the tax research process entails identifying the specific authorities to support all of your client’s tax issues while appropriately weighing authorities that may be contrary to your supporting position. Generally, this process begins with consulting statutory authority (e.g., the Internal Revenue Code) and quickly expands to encompass administrative authority (e.g., Proposed Treasury Regulations, Temporary Treasury Regulations, Final Treasury Regulations, Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum, General Counsel Memorandum,  Circular 230, Internal Revenue Manual, Internal Revenue Bulletins, IRS Field Service Advice Memorandum, IRS Determination Letters, and IRS Notices) and judicial authority (e.g., decisions by the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court).  In addition, at times, you the tax professional may have to consult the legislative history (e.g., the Public Laws and Congressional Committee Reports from the House of Representatives and the Senate) of a particular Internal Revenue Code section to fully address what Congress’s intent was in passing a particular bill. Lastly, you may also want to consult the voluminous range of editorial interpretations (e.g., Tax Treatises, Tax Journals, etc.)  available to assist in the interpretation a particular tax issue.  However, it must be duly noted that editorial interpretations are generally impressible sources of authority before the Service and the judicial system.  For clarification purposes, the subsequent synopsis will elaborate upon the statutory, administrative, and judicial interpretations previously cited:

Statutory Authority

The Internal Revenue Code

All federal level tax statutes passed by Congress into law are compiled and published in Title 26 of The United States Code. As it should be recalled, Title 26 of The United States Code contains the specific statutes that authorize the Service to collect taxes for the federal government. Generally, the tax research process begins with consulting the Internal Revenue Code and quickly expands to encompass administrative and judicial authorities based upon the complexity of the tax issue under analysis.

Administrative Authority

The Treasury Regulations

The Treasury Regulations provide the official interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code by the Treasury Department and have the force and effect of law. The most common forms of Treasury Regulations include:

• Proposed Treasury Regulations (i.e., binding only on the IRS and not the taxpayers);
• Temporary and Final Treasury Regulations (i.e., binding on both the IRS and the taxpayers); and
• Preambles (i.e., treated just like legislative histories to demonstrate congressional intent and may underlie either type of the aforementioned treasury regulations regardless of status as Proposed, Temporary, or Final).

Revenue Rulings

A Revenue Ruling is an official interpretation by the Service of the tax laws. Initially, Revenue Rulings are published in the weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin. The same rulings later appear in the permanently bound Cumulative Bulletin, a semi-annual publication of the Government Printing Office. Revenue Rulings hold less weight than the Treasury Regulations because they are intended to cover only specific fact patterns. Regardless, Revenue Rulings can provide valid precedent but only if your client’s facts and circumstances are substantially identical.

Revenue Procedures

A Revenue Procedure is a statement of procedure that affects the rights or duties of taxpayers or other members of the public under the Code. Similar to Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures are less authoritative than Treasury Regulations. However, Revenue Procedures should be binding on the Service and may be relied upon by taxpayers.

Private Letter Rulings

Private Letter Rulings (hereinafter “PLR”) are issued directly to taxpayers who formally request and pay for advice about the tax consequences applicable to a specific business transaction. Such PLR request have been employed frequently by either taxpayers themselves or the taxpayer’s representatives (e.g., a taxpayers’ representation through a CPA Firm or Law Firm) to assure themselves of a preplanned tax result before they consummate a transaction and as a subsequent aid in the preparation of the tax return’s filing position. When the IRS issues a PLR it is understood that the PLR is limited in scope and application to the taxpayer making the request.

Technical Advice Memorandum

A Technical Advice Memorandum (hereinafter “TAM”) is a special after-the-fact ruling that may be requested from the taxpayer or the technical staff of the Service. For instance, if a disagreement arises in the course of an audit between the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative and the revenue agent, either side may request formal technical advice on the issues(s) through the District Director. Under certain circumstances, TAM’s can be used as a basis for the issuance of a Revenue Ruling and can also be subsequently published as a Private letter Ruling.

General Counsel Memorandum

General Counsel Memorandum (hereinafter “ GCM”) are legal memorandum that are prepared by the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office. GCM’s analyze proposed Revenue Rulings, Private letter Rulings, and Technical Advice Memorandum. GCM’s that were issued after 1981 constitute substantial authority for purposes of the penalty assessed for the substantial understatement of income tax.

Circular 230

Circular 230 is an IRS publication that sets for the requirements and responsibilities of professionals (e.g., Attorneys, Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents, and Enrolled Actuaries) admitted to practice before the Service.

Internal Revenue Manual

The Internal Revenue Manual (hereinafter “IRM”) is an official compilation of policies, procedures, instructions, and guidelines for the organization, function, operation and administration of the Service. It is not legally binding and the policies are not mandatory. The IRM guidelines do not confer any rights on taxpayers.

IRS Field Service Advice

IRS Field Service Advice (hereinafter “FSA”) are taxpayer specific rulings furnished by the IRS National Office in response to requests made by the taxpayers or IRS Officials.

IRS Determination Letters

A Determination Letter is issued by the IRS at the taxpayer’s request to outline the Service’s position on a particular transaction that has already been completed. Generally, Determination Letters are issued only when a determination can be made on the basis of clearly established rules in the statute or regulations.

IRS Notices

When prompt guidance concerning an item of the tax law is needed, the IRS publishes notices in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. These notices are intended to be relied upon by the taxpayers to the same extent as a Revenue Ruling or Revenue Procedure.

Judicial Authority

U.S. Tax Court

The U.S. Tax Court is an independent 19 judge federal administrative agency that functions as a court to hear appeals by taxpayers from adverse administrative decisions by the Service.

U.S. District Court

The U.S. District Court hears civil actions against the United States for the recovery of any tax alleged to have been erroneously or illegally assessed or collected by the Service. Trial by jury is available at the preference of either the petitioner or defendant.

U.S. Court of Federal Claims

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims is a Washington D.C. based appellate-level court in which a taxpayer may sue the government for a refund of overpaid taxes.

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

The U.S. Court of Appeals is one of thirteen courts including the District of Columbia and the Federal Circuit Courts, to which appeals from a trial court, such as the U.S. Tax Court, are directed.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit hears appeals from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the federal court system and in most states. The U.S. Supreme Court, under its certiorari procedure authority, reviews the constitutionality of a tax law and a small number of tax decisions by the Court of Appeals.

The fourth step in the tax research process entails the resolution of your client’s tax issues after identifying, analyzing, and interpreting all of the applicable authorities. It cannot be overstated that you should have provided, as needed, reasonable statutory, administrative, and judicial support to demonstrate that your position could be upheld if challenged by the Service upon examination and that you exercised due diligence and acted in good faith. Furthermore, at times, positions taken on tax returns may need to be disclosed on Form 8275 entitled “Disclosure Statement” or Form 8275-R entitled “Regulation Disclosure Statement” depending upon the complexity and controversial nature of the tax issue. Noting, by disclosing positions on your client’s tax returns you may be able to avoid paid preparer penalties should your position be disallowed and avoid the application of the six year statutory period for assessment under I.R.C. § 6501(e).

From a risk management perspective, in order to mitigate or avoid income tax return paid preparer penalties pursuant to I.R.C. § 6694 (i.e., penalties that are assessed on both paid tax return preparers and tax advisers that are deemed paid tax return preparers due to their consulting on matters that constitute a substantial portion of their client’s tax returns even if they were not engaged to prepare nor review the tax return), a “More-Likely-Than-Not” standard should be satisfied. The subsequent standards of the applicable levels of opinions should be scrupulously analyzed when assessing your tax return filing position:

• “Will” Standard: Generally, a 95% or greater probability of success if challenged by the IRS. A “Will” opinion generally represents the highest level of assurance that can be provided by an opinion;
• “Should” Standard: Generally, a 70% or greater probability of success if challenged by the IRS. A “Should” opinion provides a lower level of assurance than is provided by a “Will” opinion, but a higher level of assurance than is provided by a “More-Likely-Than- Not” opinion;
• “More-Likely- Than- Not” Standard:  A greater than 50% probability of success if challenged by the IRS. The “More-Likely-Than-Not” standard is the highest level of accuracy required for purposes of avoiding the accuracy-related penalties under I.R.C. 6662A;
• “Substantial Authority” Standard: Typically, greater than a “Realistic Possibility of Success” standard and lower than “More-Likely-Than-Not” standard (i.e., 40% probability of success);
• “Realistic Possibility of Success” Standard: Approximately a one-in-three or greater possibility of success if challenged by the Service;
• “Reasonable Basis” Standard: Significantly higher than the “Not Frivolous” standard (i.e., that is, not deliberately improper) and lower than the “Realistic Possibility of Success” standard. The position must be reasonable based on at least one tax authority that can be cited as valid legal authority;
• “Non-Frivolous” Standard: Approximately a 10% chance of being upheld upon examination by the Service and accordingly under no circumstance should a tax professional ever render services with this level of comfort; and
• “Frivolous” Standard: Approximately a percentage less than a 10% chance of being upheld upon examination by the Service and accordingly under no circumstances should a tax professional ever render services with this level of comfort.

It should be duly noted that each of the aforementioned standards above has a relevant meaning to both the taxpayers and tax professionals when evaluating a tax position and the related disclosure requirements. Noting, the percentages listed for “More-Likely-Than-Not” and “Realistic Possibility of Success” are specifically provided for and discussed in the treasury regulations. In contrast, the percentages for “Substantial Authority”, “Reasonable Basis”, “Non-Frivolous”, “Frivolous” have been developed based upon their relative importance in the hierarchy of standards of opinion as primarily provided for in congressional committee reports. Moreover, while not scientifically calculable, the percentages are still practical in demonstrating the relative strength of one level as opposed to another level.

The fifth and final step in the tax research process entails communicating the conclusion to your client. Your client, of course, must ultimately make the final decision concerning what course of action to take, even though the client’s decision is guided by and often dependent upon the conclusions reached by you, the tax professional. It is strongly recommended that this tax advice be rendered to your client in a written format, as opposed to verbal communication, and preferably in a formal tax advice memorandum format (i.e., Facts & Circumstances Section; Issue(s) Section; Analysis Section; and Conclusion Section) meticulously discussing the applicable statutory, administrative, and judicial authority to appropriately document your due diligence in assessing the tax issues(s) and resolving them satisfactorily to reach a strong tax return filing position (i.e., “More-Likely-Than-Not”, “Should”, “or “Will” filing positions). Finally, caveat language in the form of a disclaimer should be documented within the tax advice memorandum for any areas of the tax law that were not within the scope and application of your tax research services (i.e., the scope and application of this tax advice memorandum analyses the federal-level tax consequences only and does not provide any advice or analysis in connection to any multi-state tax consequences nor any international tax consequences).

Conclusion

By following the preceding all-inclusive steps in the tax research process you should be able to render your research services to your entire client base in a more efficient, effective, and productive manner while adequately weighing risk management concerns in connection to tax return filing positions. As a final reminder, the guidance contained in this article should be applied with due professional care including seeking further professional advice from a subject matter expert should it be deemed warranted based upon both the complexity and contentious nature (i.e., a Tier 1 IRS Audit Directive issue; taking a tax position contrary to a Treasury Regulation on Form 8275-R, etc.) of the tax matter under review.

About the Author

Mr. Peter J. Scalise serves as the National Tax Practice Leader and Executive Managing Director for Engineered Tax Services, the preeminent national professional services firm that specializes in engineered based tax consulting services. Prior to joining ETS, Peter served the BIG 5 CPA Firm industry for over 15 years as a National and Regional Tax Practice Leader. Peter also serves on the Board of Directors and Board of Editors for The American Society of Tax Professionals; is the Founding President and Chairman of The Northeastern Region Tax Roundtable; and the highly renowned National Tax Columnist for The Tax Professional’s Update journal.

Former Congressman Jim Ramstad (right) of alliantgroup greets Anderson Engineering of Minnesota President Roger Anderson before a Wednesday session on research and development tax credits. “The tax credits could help us grow and help us employ more people. I’d like to learn more about them,” Anderson said after the event, hosted by the Minnesota High Tech Association. (Photo: Bill Klotz)

Posted: 3:55 pm Wed, June 1, 2011
By Chris Newmarker

High-tech leaders think expansion suffers from lack of awareness

Minnesota high-tech industry leaders complain that there’s a lack of awareness about the expansion of the state’s research and development tax credit that went into effect last year.

The situation means that companies are not taking advantage of tax incentives already available to them, even as the state Legislature considers taking more revenue away from a cash-strapped budget to expand the credit further.

Minnesota High Tech Association officials have seen enough lack of information among members that the group on Wednesday hosted educational sessions at the Minneapolis Club to raise awareness among business owners and accountants. The association plans similar events in the future, said Margaret Anderson Kelliher, the group’s president and chief executive officer.

“We have one of the best research and development tax credits in the country,” Kelliher said. “That’s something that people need to know about. That can directly mean more jobs, more economic activity.”
Groups such as the MHTA need to raise awareness about the tax credit, and the state needs to make business taxes even more competitive, she said.

About three dozen small business owners and accountants on Wednesday sipped coffee, ate sausage and potatoes, and listened to former Congressman Jim Ramstad and others from the tax advisory firm alliantgroup describe opportunities related to federal and state research and development tax credits.
“If people know about them (tax credits), they generally take advantage of them,” said Ramstad, a senior adviser with alliantgroup and the former Republican representative for Minnesota’s 3rd District.

Starting in 2010, Minnesota joined a small cadre of states where research and development tax credits are refundable, meaning a company does not have to be earning money to get dollars back. Since many early stage technology companies are focused on developing products rather than earning money, a refundable tax credit could have more impact.

Minnesota also expanded the eligibility and potential size of the credits last year, and this year’s Legislature wants to expand it further. (See box for details.)

But the Republican-dominated Legislature is in a dispute with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton over how to close a projected $5 billion budget deficit over the next two years. Despite the shortfall, legislators included a measure in the recently passed tax bill that would increase the credit for research and development expenditures over $2 million. Dayton supports expanding the tax credit but vetoed the bill over other issues.

The research and development tax credit has its skeptics. Minnesota companies may be passing on the tax credit because they see more red tape – not because they haven’t heard of it, said Peter Bianco, a local health care consultant leading efforts to build a Minnesota Science Park next to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Bianco suggests more straightforward ways of boosting business and jobs: tax cuts, less regulation and more seed capital for startups. “Just make it easier for businesses to get up and growing,” he said.

Alliantgroup officials on Wednesday emphasized that the tax credit isn’t just for medical technology or software companies. The company has helped more than 40 Minnesota businesses bring in $6 million in federal and state credits since it opened a Twin Cities office last year. Many of the companies didn’t fit the usual mold, including a printing company that improved the rollers used in its presses.

“If they’re in business and they’re doing anything to produce new services and goods, they could qualify for this credit,” said Tracy Lustyan, a director at alliantgroup.

Roger Anderson, president of Plymouth-based Anderson Engineering, has wanted to learn more about research and development tax credits for the past six months.

Anderson, a Vietnam War veteran, was able to revive his business amid the recession by winning design contracts for veterans’ cemeteries across the country. Anderson has grown his staff from 14 in 2008 to 38 now, and he plans to hire more.

During the session, Anderson was surprised to find out that his company’s work designing better drainage and layout at cemeteries might qualify for research and development tax credits.

“The tax credits could help us grow and help us employ more people. I’d like to learn more about them,” Anderson said.

When reached on the phone later in the day, Lustyan said that Anderson is on to something and that she is meeting with him Thursday to discuss the possibilities.

Plymouth-based IndusTrack is a startup that provides global positioning system-based tracking of organizations’ vehicles. The company is profitable, and IndusTrack Chief Executive Officer Sarfaraz Bajwa expects more than $1 million in revenue this year.

Bajwa thinks his clients might be eligible for tax credits related to the operational improvements his company is providing. “I don’t know, I’m just guessing. … But if I can show them how to save money, and they can receive a tax credit, I can sell my product to them,” Bajwa said.

Minnesota’s R&D tax credit

• Refundable
• 10% credit for first $2M spent on R&D
• 2.5% credit for expenditures over $2M
• Qualifying companies include S corporations, partnerships and individuals

2011 Minnesota Legislature’s proposal

• 4.7% credit over $2M, after Dec. 31, 2013

This article was published on Finance and Commerce - http://finance-commerce.com/2011/06/spreading-the-word-on-minnesotas-rd-tax-credit/

For Immediate Release

For more information on ETS, please contact 800-236-6519 email info@engineeredtaxservices.com or visit www.engineeredtaxservices.com

New York – Feb. 8 – Patrick Pruett’s Alliance of Professional Association held their Real Estate and Construction Advisors Association Teleconference for its internal members. The teleconference was centered on successful funding practices for contractors and provided a detailed discussion on LEED and green building design. It also addressed concerns within the CPA community and their role in the reporting requirements with contractor clients.

Joel Ackerman, Director of Business Development for Engineered Tax Services was invited as a presenter in the roundtable conference. He discussed LEED and Green Building incentives, including the benefits of LEED certification in construction and its impact on project costs, tax reporting and rebates. Mr. Ackerman described to the audience the steps necessary for LEED certification and the process to qualify for Section 179D. ETS specializes in providing a wide spectrum of engineered accounting solutions such as energy tax credits, cost segregation studies, construction audits and insurance appraisals. ETS is a licensed engineering firm with professionally staffed engineers who marry the science of engineering with the principles of tax and accounting to arrive at financial solutions resulting in increased cash flow, minimized tax payments and increased ROI. ETS works in collaboration with clients’ CPA firm to ensure the process of obtaining your tax benefits follows legislative guidelines. For more information, please contact us at 800-236-6519 or email us at info@engineeredtaxservices.com

New York – Feb. 5 – John Cummings, Director of Business Development for Engineered Tax Services, was invited to speak at JH Cohn’s New York City office regarding the Energy Policy Act of 2005.   JH Cohn works closely with Engineered Tax Services to provide its clients with a resource for identifying and certifying tax deductions available to clients from the Act.

Mr. Cummings’s presentation drew nearly fifty guests consisting of CPA’s from JH Cohn’s New York and New Jersey offices, clients with real estate holdings, architects and engineers involved in green design for federal, state and local governmental entities throughout the area and consultants from several green energy services companies.   The 50-minute presentation addressed the basic requirements of the EPAct, the benefits available to property owners, architects, engineers and contractors and the methodology applied by ETS.

Engineered Tax Services is a nationally-licensed engineering firm with professionally staffed engineers who marry the science of engineering with the principles of tax and accounting to arrive at financial solutions that result in increased cash flow, minimized tax payments and increased return on investment.  ETS specializes in providing a wide spectrum of engineered accounting solutions such as energy tax credits, cost segregation studies, energy audits, carbon footprint certification and insurance appraisals. For more information, please contact 800-236-6519 or email info@engineeredtaxservices.com

Hauppauge, NY, February 02, 2010 – Engineered Tax Services proudly announces that they have been recognized by the Suffolk County Bar Association (SBA) as a go-to resource for engineering-based tax information and services. The SCBA published Joel Ackerman’s “Using EPAct to Speed Tax Payback” in their December 2009 newspaper, The Suffolk Lawyer, which reached thousands of attorneys on Long Island.

The published article is printed below in its entirety:

“Using EPAct to Speed Tax Payback”

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) is a complicated government method that encourages integrators to make US buildings more energy-efficient. Less than 1 percent of eligible buildings owners or leaseholders have taken advantage of this multi-billion dollar benefit.

The US government does a lot of good things to encourage more efficient building; unfortunately the process is cumbersome and requires third-party engineering certification. This comprehensive tax legislation is where we find the $1.80 per square foot tax benefit we all talk about and we’ll attempt to clarify the process and increase the awareness of this very important benefit. The elusive $1.80 that EPAct holds can be broken down into three categories: Lighting, HVAC and Building Envelope. Each is worth $0.60/SF in tax benefits. The EPAct relies on the ASHRAE 90.1-2001 specification as a baseline to calculate savings percentages. To qualify for the full $1.80, the building must be 50 percent more efficient than this 2001 standard. To qualify for the partial incentive, the savings must be 16 ²/₃ percent better than 90.1-2001 in the respective categories.

Lighting

Lighting consumes approximately 40% of the energy in commercial buildings; the goal is to rein in this energy hog. By using a $0.60 per SF tax benefit, EPAct encourages the use of more efficient fixtures and controls. In order to qualify for the lighting portion of the available deductions, lighting energy consumption must beat the ASHRAE 90.1-200 1 specifications for efficiency by 16 ²/₃%. If the building is undergoing a lighting retrofit or adding controls, it is worth investigating whether or not this new system will qualify for the $0.60 lighting deduction. In majority of cases the lighting savings level is achieved and can be introduced to your ROI calculations – win-win.

HVAC

HVAC is the second largest energy consumer in commercial buildings and can be very tricky to retrofit without major renovation and disruption to the space. The addition of new controls has the ability to bring the system energy consumption down by 16 213 percent in order to achieve the second tax benefit of $0.60/SF. This total of $1.20/SF could be included in the ROI calculations for your building owner. In a 100,000 SF building, this could be as high as $120,000 in tax benefits. Unlike tax credits, deductions don’t translate dollar for dollar; rather they are calculated as part of your tax return. The numbers add up fast and can make the purchase decision for your building owner easier.

Architects and designers

The benefits get even better for the architect and specifying segment of the market. The Government doesn’t pay tax, so what happens when the tens of thousands of schools, federal and state buildings are upgraded? Prior to 2008 this tax benefit was simply lost, or wasted. The government quickly realized that in order to encourage architects and designers to implement energy efficiency in federal buildings they had to provide encouragement. The EPAct was amended to run until 2013 and included a provision that for all public, government or non-profit buildings the EPAct tax benefit would go back to the designer of the specifications which could be the architect, designer or lighting contractor. This has resulted in approximately $25Mper month in tax benefits being discovered by one engineering/tax firm alone. As with many Federal grants and subsidies this EPACT deduction is out there to reward taxpayers for their efforts in saving energy. What better reward than with cash in the pocket from tax savings.

Want to be a hero to your clients? Did your client construct or renovate their lighting, HVAC, or building envelope to their commercial building? Discuss EPACT — you could save the client thousands of tax dollars.

Joel E. Ackerman, CPA is Director of Business Development for the Northeast for Engineered Tax Services, Inc. He earned a Masters degree in Tax from C.W. Post – Long Island University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University. With over 16 years of experience in public accounting, Joel specializes in engineering-based real estate tax products such as cost segregation studies and energy efficiency studies.  He is active in the local CPA community and serves on the Board of Directors for the Suffolk County chapter of the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants. He is currently planning a series of seminars for the Suffolk and Nassau County Bar Associations on the benefits and technical aspects of real estate related tax and engineering opportunities.

ABOUT ENGINEERED TAX SERVICES

ETS has provided thousands of energy tax certifications since 2005. Handling over 50 certifications every month, they have perfected the process by working closely with the Internal Revenue Service on a regular basis. Their precise documentation meets and exceeds the standards required by the Department of Energy and the IRS and has consistently withstood the toughest scrutiny. ETS is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). With the most innovative and highest-quality LEED and green building knowledge and training, the approved USGBC educational courses helps green building professionals across all market sectors build the capacity to build their careers.

Engineered Tax Services (ETS) is a nationally licensed engineering firm with professionally staffed engineers who marry the science of engineering with the principles of tax and accounting to arrive at financial solutions that result in increased cash flow, minimized tax payments and increased return on investment.  ETS engineering professionals have over 100 years of combined experience in energy modeling. The ETS team consists of multi-disciplinary professionals including Professional Engineers (PE), LEED Accredited Professionals (AP), Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and architectural professionals. ETS specializes in providing a wide spectrum of engineered accounting solutions such as energy tax credits, cost segregation studies, energy audits, carbon footprint certification and insurance appraisals.

CONTACT:
Joel Ackerman

Engineered Tax Services

Toll Free: 1.800.236.6519

Northeast Office: 631-870-3920

email: jackerman@engineeredtaxservices.com

website: www.engineeredtaxservices.com

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West Palm Beach, FL, February 02, 2010 – Engineered Tax Services, a nationally licensed engineering firm that marries the science of engineering with the principles of tax and accounting, announced today that Julio P. Gonzalez, CEO, will be presenting at the MiaGreen Expo & Conference on February 25 & 26. The presentation, “Government Programs and Tax Rebates for Energy Efficient Buildings” will cover what the tax benefits of the extended incentives originating with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 are, who they affect, and how to go about achieving and applying for them and maximizing their benefits.

“The most often overlooked benefits relative to the Energy Policy Act extension are the tax benefits construed for commercial building owners,” explained Mr. Gonzalez. “The Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes a tax deduction for investments in energy-efficient commercial building property designed to significantly reduce the heating, cooling, water heating, and interior lighting energy costs. It is important that people understand what opportunities lie within green building practices.”

Handling over 50 certifications every month, Engineered Tax Services has perfected the energy certification process by working closely with the Internal Revenue Service on a regular basis. Through precise documentation required by the Department of Energy and the IRS, Engineered Tax Services has helped thousands of clients benefit from “going green”. Mr. Gonzalez explains that the most ideal candidates for EPAct deductions include:

• New Construction – Schools, Office, Retail, Hospitality, Industrial, Multi-Family, Single-Family

• Retrofits – Energy Performance Contracting, CRA Redevelopment

• Green Buildings

• LEED Certified Buildings

CASE STUDY:

· Location: Brooklyn, NY

· Project Area: 346,638 SF

· Qualified for $0.60 per sq. ft.

· 179D Energy Tax Benefit: $207,983

· Cost Segregation Study Five Year Cash Benefit: $16,975,757

· TOTAL BENEFIT TO CLIENT: $17,183,740 million

JULIO P. GONZALEZ is the Founder and CEO of Engineered Tax Services, Inc. He is supported by a staff of dedicated professionals with expertise in engineering, architecture and accounting. Julio is a pioneer is the tax energy field and devoted to the conservation of resources. He generously donates his time to the U.S. Green Building Council. Julio is committed to educating the accounting, financial advisor and real estate investor communities on engineered accounting services and the related tax benefits of these services. He is a regular public speaker on a national level regarding cost segregation studies, green construction and the emerging energy tax programs. Julio has had several articles published nationally in many accounting and real estate investment publications. Julio has worked on automating the IRS-approved software programs to help accounting professionals understand and better educate their own clients on the significance of energy efficient buildings and how substantial the tax benefits can be to the investor in addition to the Earth’s resources. Julio is also on the Board of Directors for the National Park Trust Foundation, to which he devotes his time and energy to conserving National Park resources.

ABOUT ENGINEERED TAX SERVICES

ETS is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). With the most innovative and highest-quality LEED and green building knowledge and training, the approved USGBC educational courses helps green building professionals across all market sectors build the capacity to build their careers.

Engineered Tax Services (ETS) is a nationally licensed engineering firm with professionally staffed engineers who marry the science of engineering with the principles of tax and accounting to arrive at financial solutions that result in increased cash flow, minimized tax payments and increased return on investment.  ETS engineering professionals have over 100 years of combined experience in energy modeling. The ETS team consists of multi-disciplinary professionals including Professional Engineers (PE), LEED Accredited Professionals (AP), Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and architectural professionals. ETS specializes in providing a wide spectrum of engineered accounting solutions such as energy tax credits, cost segregation studies, energy audits, carbon footprint certification and insurance appraisals.

CONTACT:
Julio Gonzalez

Engineered Tax Services

Office: 1.800.236.6519

email: jgonzalez@engineeredtaxservices.com

website: www.engineeredtaxservices.com

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Palm Beach Gardens – Jan. 2010 – U.S. Green Building Council of South Florida will hold a meeting at the PGA National Resort and Spa on Thursday January 21, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting titled “Financing LEED and Retrofits” will discuss financial vehicles available by way of tax incentives to businesses and non-profits. The event will feature presentations on financial options available for funding green projects. The meeting is free for USGBC members and $10 for non-members.

Debbie Danto, LEED AP from Engineered Tax Services will be a guest speaker at the event. Ms. Danto will discuss in detail financial methods such as cost segregation and Epact Certification. Engineered Tax Services is a licensed engineering firm with professionally staffed engineers who marry the science of engineering with the principles of tax and accounting to arrive at financial solutions that result in increased cash flow, minimized tax payments and increased return on investment.  ETS specializes in providing a wide spectrum of engineered accounting solutions such as energy tax credits, cost segregation studies, energy audits and insurance appraisals. For more information, please contact 800-236-6519 or email info@engineeredtaxservices.com

Other special guest speakers include Will Volker with Efficiency Energy who will speak about the monetization of the energy tax benefits, and John Goodrich with US Energy Capital who will speak about financing of energy-efficient renovations and retrofits.

More information on the USGBC and its South Florida chapters may be found at http://www.usgbcsf.org/.

Engineered Tax Services is pleased to announce that John Cummings, Esq. has joined us as our Director of Business Development for Florida and the Southeast United States.   John is an attorney licensed in New Jersey and New York and has over 15 years of experience in relationship and major account management.  He brings to ETS his expertise in advising clients of all sizes on the implications of tax and financial matters.

ETS is a licensed engineering firm staffed with professionals who marry the science of engineering with the principles of tax and accounting to arrive at financial solutions that result in increased cash flow, minimized tax payments and increased return on investment. These IRS-sanctioned services include Energy Tax Benefits, Energy Policy Act Certifications, Energy Audits and Carbon Audits.

Our attention to detail is second to none. We meticulously follow IRS guidelines and go beyond the standards required. Our procedures, processes and final work product set the benchmarks that others strive to reach.  We look forward to working with you.

For more information, you may contact info@engineeredtaxservices.com or 1-800-236-6519