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AICPA Applauds
Movement on Tax Patent Legislation
The AICPA congratulated leaders in the U. S.
House of Representatives on passing legislation that would
prohibit patents on tax planning methods
last Friday, September 7. AICPA President and CEO Barry C. Melancon noted
that 60 tax strategy patents have already been granted and that 99 more are
pending. “The patents are not limited to esoteric sections of the tax code,”
he said. “They cover a broad array of areas, including estate and gift taxes
and pension plans that affect millions of taxpayers.” The tax strategy
patent prohibition language was included in H.R. 1908, the Patent Reform Act
of 2007, which was passed by the House today by a vote of 220 to 175.
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Report Shows Workers
More Confident and Inclined to Negotiate Pay
Job candidates are more apt to ask for higher starting salaries this year,
and companies may have to up the ante to attract them. That’s according to
an annual study on
employment
and compensation trends by Robert Half International (RHI) and
CareerBuilder.com titled The Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations
(EDGE) Report. As the competition for skilled labor has become more
pronounced, 58 percent of workers polled said they are more likely to
negotiate a better compensation package today than 12 months ago – double
the number from last year’s poll. The survey also shows that 43% percent of
employers are struggling to find candidates to fill professional and
technical positions, an increase from 37 percent last year.
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Increase in Federal
Minimum Wage Will Not Reduce 45B Credit
Employers should be aware of two changes to the credit for the portion of
employer Social Security paid with respect to employee cash tips known as
the
45B Credit. These changes are the result of recently enacted
legislation. The law now requires employers to determine their credit using
the minimum wage in effect on January 1, 2007 even if the minimum wage
increases. Therefore, in 2007, when the federal minimum wage did increase to
$5.85 from $5.15 per hour, employers will still use the $5.15 rate to
determine their credit to compute their allowable credit for tips reported
for services performed after Dec. 31, 2006.
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Fed Web Site Offers
Foreclosure Resources for Consumers
A new Federal Reserve
web page provides links to information from the Federal Reserve and
other government agencies to help consumers facing foreclosure.
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Five Reasons to Start a
Small Business Blog
For small businesses, one of the benefits of launching an online blog is
enhanced search engine optimization. Internet search engines view each blog
entry as a separate Web page, so the more entries a blog has, the more
likely a blog will rank high, explains Debbie Weil, author of "The Corporate
Blogging Book." A higher ranking on search engines will allow more potential
customers to find a particular business.
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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