The New England Accounting Advisor

The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) was established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, but limitations on its availability tempered interest in the relief measure. That is about to change, thanks to significant changes made on Dec. 27, 2020, by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act). The ERTC is now available to employers that received loans under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), so any employer meeting ERTC eligibility criteria can benefit. Because employers potentially benefit from the enhanced ERTC on a retroactive basis, employers should immediately begin analyses to identify and calculate the value of retroactive or prospective ERTC benefits.

Topics: IRS, tax relief, tax credit, COVID19, Coronavirus, CARES Act, PPP, PPP Loan Forgiveness, Consolidated Appropriations Act, Employee Retention Tax Credit, The Act, ERTC

Amid a chaotic week in Washington D.C., final election results came in that determined the composition of the Senate. Both Georgia Senate seats went to the Democratic candidates, which tipped the balance of power in the Senate to the Democratic party, with Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris presiding as the presumed tie-breaking vote in a chamber evenly split 50-50. This assumes that the Senate Democrats vote along party lines, which is far from certain.

Topics: election year, IRS, Taxes, Election, Tax Reform, senate, COVID19, Coronavirus, Republican Party, Biden, Harris, #taxplan, Filibuster, democratic party, Legislative Session

The Consolidated Appropriations Act passed on Dec. 27, 2020 provided some much needed COVID-19 relief measures along with its government funding provisions. After much back and forth among Congress about the size and scope of the stimulus package, several opportunities emerged in the final legislation, the first major stimulus package released since the spring’s Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Below are eight actions your organization may want to take as part of its recovery from COVID-19 disruption.

Topics: payroll taxes, FSA, student loans, tax credit, tax legislation, Paid Family and Medical Leave, COVID19, Coronavirus, CARES Act, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Employee Retention Credits, PPP, charitable contributions, SBA, loan forgiveness, Stimulus, Employee Payroll Tax Deferral, PPP2

For much of 2020, internal audit departments have tested controls using attributes to facilitate work-from-home (WFH) arrangements. As the year and internal audit work for many organizations comes to a close, reconciling if the controls adjusted for remote work arrangements will pass external audit scrutiny is top of mind for many CFOs and internal audit professionals.

Topics: COVID19, Coronavirus, remote work, work from home

Topics: COVID19, Coronavirus, PPP Loan, payment protection plan, PPP Loan Forgiveness, Nondeductible Expenses

A close 2020 election may dampen prospects for some of the more ambitious tax changes proposed by former Vice President Joe Biden, who was declared the winner of the presidential race over the weekend by several news outlets. The situation is still uncertain, however, with President Trump filing lawsuits challenging the vote count in several states and refusing to concede the election at this time.

Topics: election year, IRS, Taxes, Election, Trump, COVID19, Coronavirus, Biden, Harris, #taxplan

As the 2020 presidential election approaches, many are looking ahead to how tax rates will be shaped by the next administration. President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden hold strikingly different views on tax law, with planned changes to the current law expressed by both candidates.

Topics: IRS, Taxes, Donald Trump, Trump, COVID19, Coronavirus, Biden, Harris, #taxplan, capital gains

Operating budgets will be monitored with scrutiny for the near future as COVID-19 recovery remains uncertain. For many organizations, this may mean that traditional hiring practices will likely be greatly limited, and one of the functional areas that may be affected by hiring limitations is information security.

Topics: cybersecurity, cyber attacks, cyber security, IT Risk, COVID19, Coronavirus, cybercriminals, remote work, cyber threat, staffing

The dog days of summer generally mean that the annual budgeting process is about to be upon many entities. However, you may feel as if your organization has been in perpetual re-forecast mode for most of 2020. Feeling stuck in re-forecast mode complicates future year planning, loans and capital assistance considerations, and implementation timing of long-term strategies. It can also affect some elements of accounting that will be important for your 2020 financial statement audit.

Topics: internal control, impairment testing, COVID19, Coronavirus, cash flow

George H.W. Bush was the last person to be elected President after serving as a Vice President. Presidential candidate Joe Biden would be the first in over 30 years. Without many modern day examples, it is difficult to gauge the influence of a Vice President’s positions on actual U.S. policy, although Dick Cheney was highly influential on the policies of President George W. Bush. History aside, there are reasons to believe that the positions of Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris would be a strong influence. Her role as a former District Attorney and subsequently Attorney General of California is one significant reason. Another reason is that Biden, who would be 78 at the time he takes office if he wins, would be the oldest person to become President in U.S. history. With these factors in mind, it is time to examine, compare, and contrast Harris’s tax policies with Biden’s.

Topics: IRS, Taxes, COVID19, Coronavirus, Biden, Harris, #taxplan, Kamala Harris