You may want to pack this update in with your favorite novel and the sunscreen as you head out for some beach or poolside fun this spring… because effective May 9, 2013, several changes to the administrative code will occur throughout the sunshine state. Light spring reading is good, smart spring reading is even better. The Florida Department of Revenue recently announced the following amendments, modifications and/or updates and we want our clients and all Florida taxpayers to be well-informed   [Read More...]

Tax Provisions of the “Fiscal Cliff” Legislation On New Year’s Day, Congress passed legislation that supposedly prevented our economy from falling over the “Fiscal Cliff.” This legislation has raised the income tax rate on higher income individuals, permanently extended certain tax provisions while only temporarily extending others, continued emergency unemployment insurance and other programs, postponed the automatic reduction in Medicare reimbursement to doctors, and effectively delayed (until March) the broad range of federal spending cuts that were scheduled to take   [Read More...]

Over the New Year’s weekend, both houses of Congress voted to approve legislation that will avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” – the American Taxpayer Relief Act.   The law does increase income taxes on the wealthiest taxpayers in the U.S. and keeps tax rates the same for single taxpayers with taxable income under $400,000 and for joint filers with taxable income under $450,000.  The law also makes permanent changes to the alternative minimum tax that will literally save millions of Americans   [Read More...]

Year-end tax planning is always complicated by the uncertainty of what the following year may bring and 2012 is no exception. Indeed, 2012 is one of the most challenging in recent memory for year-end tax planning. A combination of events, including possible expiration of some or all of the “Bush-era” tax cuts after 2012, the imposition of new Medicare taxes on investment and wages, doubts about the renewal of tax extenders, and the threat of massive across-the-board federal spending cuts,   [Read More...]

The clauses requiring the most attention in a construction contract, whether it is a standard or customized contract, are progress payment and retainage clauses. Other clauses also deserve special attention from both the contracting parties and the practitioner because they have financial statement and tax implications. Change orders The change order clause permits additions, deductions, or changes to the contract after work has begun. If the change order clause is not included in a Fixed-Fee Contract, additional work will have   [Read More...]

Hill, Barth & King LLC (HBK), Certified Public Accountants and Business Consultants, are proud to announce that HBK Sorce Financial LLC, an independent advisory firm, has been named as one of the Top Assets Under Management CPA/Financial Planning Firms, Wealth Magnets – Billion Dollar Club by CPA Wealth Provider Magazine. Official rankings were published in their July issue. In CPA Wealth Provider magazine’s ranking of CPAs by assets under management, HBK Sorce Financial was ranked in the top nine firms   [Read More...]

HBK is an independent member of BDO/Seidman Alliance, a nationwide association of independently owned local and regional accounting, consulting and service firms with similar client service goals.  This gives us a greater worldwide presence and expands our offerings to clients. One example is the BDO Knows Healthcare Newsletter.  You can download the Spring 2011 Edition by clicking on the cover photo to the right.  If you’re interested in receiving a free subscription to this newsletter which is published several times   [Read More...]

In addition to extending the Bush tax cuts, providing relief from the AMT, and cutting the payroll tax by two percentage points, the recently enacted “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010” (Tax Relief Act) extends a host of other important tax breaks for businesses and individuals. I’m writing to give you an overview of these key tax breaks that were extended by the new law. Please call our office for details of how the new   [Read More...]

The Bush tax cuts refer primarily to tax changes in two major pieces of legislation back in 2001 and 2003: the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA).

The accounting and business consulting firms of Hill, Barth & King LLC (HBK) and Gilbert, Wallace, Stewart, Stramel & Sowers, P.A. (GWSSS) announced that they have signed an agreement to merge effective November 1, 2010.