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Wall Street Continues to
Sound Alarm Over State’s Lack of Budget, Tax Restructuring Progress
For the second time in less than a week, a
Wall Street rating agency has taken action against
Michigan's credit rating. On April 30, Moody's Investors Service
downgraded the state's General Obligation Credit Rating, from Aa2 with a
Negative Outlook, to Aa3. The previous week, Fitch Rating Service imposed a
Negative Outlook on Michigan's credit rating. Moody’s announcement marks the
sixth action against Michigan's Credit Rating in the last thirteen months.
Analysts say Michigan's rating could face further downgrades as a result of
continued cash flow problems, a failure to replace SBT revenues, or an
inability to move the state closer to structural budget balance. Michigan is
now rated AA- with a Negative Outlook by Fitch and AA with a Negative
Outlook by Standard & Poor's.
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Federal Court Bars
Michigan Tax Book Author from Filing False Tax Returns and Forms
A federal court in Detroit has permanently
barred
Peter and Doreen Hendrickson of Commerce Township, Mich., from filing
tax returns and forms on which they falsely report their income as zero, the
Justice Department announced last week. The injunction order, signed by U.S.
District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds, also requires the couple to repay more than
$20,000 in federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes that they had
obtained by filing false tax returns with the IRS. The order notes the
couple based their improper conduct on a book Peter Hendrickson wrote called
Cracking the Code. The book states that federal tax withholding and
income taxes on wages are applicable only for a limited class of people,
primarily government employees. Hendrickson’s scheme is number five on the
IRS’s 2007 list of the “Dirty
Dozen” tax scams.
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FASB Releases Two Final
Staff Positions
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released two Final Staff
Positions last week.
FSP No. FIN39-1 amends Interpretation No. 39, Offsetting of Amounts
Related to Certain Contracts;
FSP No. FIN 48-1 amends FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for
Uncertainty in Income Taxes.
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CPAS, Bankers and
Attorneys Make Key Connections at Exclusive Networking Event
Develop your referral network by attending the
ABC’s Professional Connections exclusively for CPAs, Bankers and Attorneys
being held Thursday, May 31, 2007 from 4 – 6:30 pm at the Radisson Kingsley
Hotel in Bloomfield Hills. Make connections with peers and build business
leads while meeting with leaders in these three key professions. The evening
kicks off with a short presentation: The Do’s and Don’ts of Networking, by
Barry Demp, president of Barry Demp Coaching. This premier event is
sponsored by the MACPA in partnership with the Brighton Bar Association,
Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, Macomb County Bar Association and the
Washtenaw County Bar Association. To download the registration form,
click
here.
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Top 5
Productivity Killers
Laurie Shufeldt, vice president of strategic business development at
FileVision, specializes in helping small businesses increase productivity
when it comes to the handling of documents. Shufeldt says disorganization
can lower a worker's productivity by 50 percent or more by making it
difficult to locate information when it is needed. To read this article in
its entirety and learn much more about developments in technology, access
Technology and
Productivity Weekly, the MACPA's electronic technology newsletter for
industry professionals, sponsored by Information, Inc.
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