MFA's Business Insights

Loss carrybacks extended to five years

Craig Eaton — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:44:28 +0000

Although there is some evidence that the credit market is loosening, it is clear that the harsh lending environment of the past two years has taken a toll on a wide range of businesses. There are, however, tools that provide temporary help, including the government’s current policy on “loss carrybacks.” As part of the original stimulus [...]

Arbitrage strategy and Roth IRA conversions

Carl Famiglietti — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:30:14 +0000

I would like to highlight an interesting perspective for those who hold within their IRA accounts unregistered securities or investments in limited partnerships such as private equity, venture capital and mezzanine: using an arbitrage strategy. Let’s begin with a little background: Investing IRA money in qualified unregistered investments has been within the bounds of IRS rules [...]

IRS to consider closer look at FIN 48

Craig Eaton — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:30:10 +0000

More changes may be on the way for the now infamous FIN 48, the guidelines for reporting uncertain tax positions. For the better part of three years, FIN 48 has seen a series of delays and adjustments that have sometimes had financial departments scrambling to understand the nuances. A firm deadline for compliance was set last [...]

Roth IRAs: divide and conquer

Jeff Arsenault — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:06:26 +0000

As my MFA Partner Jim Guarino mentioned in a November 2009 blog post on Roth IRA conversions, starting this year all taxpayers — regardless of income levels — can now convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. This change applies to 2010 and beyond but carries a special tax incentive for 2010 conversions; the [...]

IRS changes fees for some nonprofit requests

Joyce Ripianzi — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:17:48 +0000

I wanted to bring to our readers’ attention changes to some fees for nonprofits, as the IRS updated amounts for various exempt organizations’ user fees. While many of [...]

Important tax information for Haiti relief donations

Joyce Ripianzi — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:56:33 +0000

We applaud any and all efforts to assist the recovery in Haiti, and the IRS is also doing its part to ease the burden on taxpayers and organizations that want to help. In fact, the IRS recently announced that the Haiti earthquake is designated for “Qualified Disaster Relief,” and is making exceptions in several areas: 1. Recipients [...]

Planning around the estate tax repeal in 2010

James Guarino — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:00:16 +0000

Here we are in late January, and we find ourselves between year-end tax planning and the actual filing period for most individuals. CPAs and wealth planners are working together to design an ideal strategy for their clients, and there is a crucial change in 2010 that will have a significant impact on the year: the [...]

Minimizing risk with internal controls audits

Will Andronico — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:22:00 +0000

A recent fraud case caught my attention as it brought to life the concern I expressed in a November post (Small companies may get SOX audit relief). I wrote that “internal controls will always be a crucial piece of the business that streamlines financials and paves the way for airtight fraud prevention, regardless of [...]

March deadline for Massachusetts Privacy law

Matt Pettine — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:30:17 +0000

One of the most significant tasks introduced in 2009 was presented by new guidelines under the Massachusetts Privacy Law, which requires a slew of changes to administrative and security processes. Compliance calls for a significant overhaul for many companies, and the deadline is just around the corner: March 1, 2010. The marketplace has demonstrated an [...]

Capturing strategic opportunities in a reshaping market

Carl Famiglietti — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:52:01 +0000

No doubt, American Businesses have seen one of the worst economic maelstroms in over 50 years. It was around this time in 2008 that we offered thoughts on a down economy: that businesses would have to be very agile, open to innovation and seek alternative opportunities to stay ahead of an increasingly corrosive economy. I [...]