Ideas & Insight

Starting to take effect on January 1, 2022 the minimum wage in Michigan: Will increase from $9.65 to the new rate of $9.87. This is a a $0.22 increase from the current rate, and the first increase in Michigan since 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The 85% rate for minors aged 16 and 17 will […]

The use of a company car is a valuable fringe benefit for owners and employees of small businesses. This perk results in tax deductions for the employer as well as tax breaks for the owners and employees using the cars. (And of course, they get the nontax benefit of getting a company car.) Plus, current […]

Year-end is a good time to plan to save taxes by carefully structuring your capital gains and losses. Consider some possibilities if you have losses on certain investments to date. For example, suppose you lost money this year on some stock and have other stock that has appreciated. Consider selling appreciated assets before December 31 […]

Once a revolutionary breakthrough in communications technology, email is now an afterthought for many people. But that can cause problems for businesses: Servers get filled up, messages get lost, and employees’ productivity isn’t quite what it could be. Although doing so may seem superfluous or antiquated, providing employees with some retraining or upskilling on proper […]

Among the biggest long-term concerns of many business owners is succession planning — how to smoothly and safely transfer ownership and control of the company to the next generation. From a tax perspective, the optimal time to start this process is long before the owner is ready to give up control. A family limited partnership […]

If your business is successful and you do a lot of business travel, you may have considered buying a corporate aircraft. Of course, there are tax and non-tax implications for aircraft ownership. Let’s look at the basic tax rules. Business travel only In most cases, if your company buys a plane used only for business, […]

Awards and settlements are routinely provided for a variety of reasons. For example, a person could receive compensatory and punitive damage payments for personal injury, discrimination or harassment. Some of this money is taxed by the federal government, and perhaps state governments. Hopefully, you’ll never need to know how payments for personal injuries are taxed. […]

The tragic news of the mass shooting at Oxford High School will impact everyone differently. We are providing you support to help your student (and your own families).  The killing of high school students and injuries of others can create fear, anxiety, shame, guilt, and feelings of not being safe. For students who have experienced […]

Don’t let the holiday rush keep you from considering some important steps to reduce your 2021 tax liability. You still have time to execute a few strategies for tax savings. Purchase assets Thinking about buying new or used equipment, machinery or office equipment in the new year? Buy them and place them in service by […]

If you’re starting to worry about your 2021 tax bill, there’s good news — you may still have time to reduce your liability. Here are three quick strategies that may help you trim your taxes before year-end. 1. Accelerate deductions/defer income. Certain tax deductions are claimed for the year of payment, such as the mortgage interest […]