Ask the Experts

The Pros and Cons of Flexible Staffing
The Expert: Nancy Barrett

Question: Is Flexible Staffing the Best Option for Your Firm? Answer: Tax directors often request my input into how to structure their departments around their most valuable and limited resource—people. My response is always nuanced, cautioning that the answer is highly dependent on a defined core mission and the intended… Read more »

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Using Your Capital Investment Budget to Maximize Value From Economic Development Incentives
The Experts: Wes Bowen and Rudy Watkins

Every year, companies invest billions of dollars into property, plant, and equipment for new and existing facilities. Such capital investments are made to meet changing market demands, improve operational efficiencies, enable expansion, and maintain the integrity of existing assets. Federal, state, and local governments offer various economic development incentives to… Read more »

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The Tax and Other Costs of Paying Executives the Big Bucks
The Experts: Sheryl VanderBaan and Julie Collins

Tax reform legislation expanded the one-million-dollar annual deduction limitation applied to certain compensation paid to top executives of publicly held companies. The result? More disallowed compensation deductions for more companies and on more employees, a higher financial statement cost of compensation, and more work to account properly for the new… Read more »

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Practical Insights for Combatting New York’s Expansion of Sales Tax Law
The Experts: Zach Gladney and Matthew Hedstrom

Much has been written about the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance’s positions on the taxation of software, software as a service (SaaS), and other software-based services. The critiques have concerned, in part, the department’s guidance on the sales and use tax consequences of cloud computing and other… Read more »

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Refund Claims—Don’t Leave Money on the Table
The Expert: Rob Kovacev

Refund claims for open tax years are an often overlooked opportunity to ensure that a taxpayer takes advantage of tax benefits to which it is entitled. The recent tax reform legislation makes refund claims more valuable, particularly for tax benefits that will be reduced or eliminated beginning in 2018. It… Read more »

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Elevating Examination Concerns Within the New LB&I
The Expert: Rosemary Sereti

For contentious U.S. federal tax issues, tax controversy management tends to follow a horizontal path from examination to appeals and finally litigation. The likelihood of being embroiled in a contentious issue increased recently as the Internal Revenue Service’s Large Business & International (LB&I) Division announced another round of campaigns. Campaign… Read more »

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An End-of-Examination Checklist
The Expert: S. Starling Marshall

Nearing the end of an Internal Revenue Service exam cycle can feel like time to wrap up the process quickly and move on to the next task and then the next cycle. However, considering a few things to do now can result in a faster, more successful resolution of issues… Read more »

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State Tax Matters for Foreign Corporations
The Experts: Maria Todorova and Eric J. Coffill

The Experts: Maria Todorova and Eric J. Coffill Even though state taxation has moved away from the worldwide unitary method, with Alaska being the only state currently requiring use of the worldwide unitary method and only then regarding oil and gas corporations, there are still many situations where non-U.S. companies… Read more »

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Practical Implications of New Partnership Audit Rules
The Experts: Michael Hauswirth, Todd McArthur, and Adam Feuerstein

Ignore the new partnership audit rules at your own peril. Absent an election of earlier application, they take effect for tax years beginning in 2018. Under the new rules, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) generally will collect tax at the partnership level on adjusted partnership items at the highest corporate… Read more »

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Tax Reformers Consider Cash Flow Business Taxes, VATs, and Integration
The Expert: Harry L. (Hank) Gutman

In the last Congress, tax reformers considered cash flow business taxes, VATs, and integration as part of potential business tax reform. What’s the Outlook for Congressional Tax Reform? The second session of the last Congress saw some positive developments in the seemingly never- ending quest for business income tax reform.… Read more »

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