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New MBT Tax Information on
State Treasury Web Site
The Michigan Department of Treasury added more
Frequently Asked Questions to the Michigan Business Tax web site. View the
questions added
October 24, or access the
FAQ index page to view questions sorted by topic or chronologically, or
submit your own question. The MACPA member web site provides further MBT
resources, including a
Q&A
Forum, with questions sorted by category and the 10 most recently posed
questions.
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State Treasury:
Recalculate Fourth Quarter Estimated Filings
With the new state income tax effective
October 1, 2007, income tax estimate filers should use one of the following
two methods to calculate fourth quarter payments due January 15, 2008: (1)
Calculate the income tax liability for the year 2007 using the annualized
tax rate of 4.01 percent and subtract estimates already paid; or (2) If
income was not earned equally throughout the year, multiply income earned
during the fourth quarter of 2007 by 4.35 percent. Download this brief
article for more information, or visit the department’s
income tax web page for updated instructions and revised worksheets for
estimate filers as well as new supplemental withholding guides and tables.
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Comerica Index Shows
Michigan Economy Trending Sideways
The
Michigan Business Activity Index compiled by Comerica Bank fell five
points in September to 102 after rising three points in the previous month.
Over the first nine months of 2007, the index has averaged 104, essentially
the same as the average for all of 2006. "Our index is continuing to trend
sideways, suggesting that the state economy is not in a steep decline.
However, with national growth sluggish and the local auto companies still
cutting capacity, an improving trend in the state economy is unlikely this
winter,” said Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank. The Michigan
Business Activity Index represents ten different measures of Michigan
economic activity compiled monthly by the Economics Department of Comerica
Bank. The MBAI is seasonally adjusted, corrected for inflation, and
expressed as an index, with 1996 as base year equal to 100.
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GOA Says 401(k) Plan
Participants, Sponsors Need Better Fee Information
An October 24
report from the Government Accountability Office provides
recommendations about the way fee information could be disclosed to benefit
401(k) participants and sponsors, focusing on 1) the information on fees
that could be most useful for plan participants and plan sponsors and 2) how
such information could be presented effectively.
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Randy Fletchall Elected
Chairman of AICPA
On October 23,
Randy Fletchall, a partner with Ernst & Young LLP, became the 95th
chairman of the board of the AICPA. He assumed the leadership position at
the fall meeting of the AICPA Council, in Tampa, FL. In his
inaugural speech – “A United Profession: A Force for Prosperity and the
Public Good” – Fletchall spoke of the great responsibilities of the CPA
profession and its contributions to all sectors of society.
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AICPA: Allow Public
Companies to Use International Accounting Standards
The AICPA told a U.S. Senate panel last week
that American public companies should be allowed to report their financial
results using
international accounting standards. “The AICPA supports the goal of a
single set of high-quality, comprehensive accounting standards to be used by
public companies in the preparation of transparent and comparable financial
reports throughout the world,” Charles E. Landes, vice president for
professional standards and services at the AICPA, told a hearing of the
Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment. The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is weighing whether to allow U.S.
firms to report financial results using international standards (IFRS)
rather than U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This
concept release by the SEC comes on the heels of a proposed rule that would
allow foreign companies filing with the SEC to use IFRS without reconciling
to U.S. GAAP.
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Robert Half Releases
2008 Accounting and Finance Salary Guide
Starting salaries for accounting and finance
professionals are expected to increase an average of 4.3 percent in the
coming year, according to the just-released
2008 Salary Guide from Robert Half International. Public accountants,
financial analysts and internal auditors are projected to see the largest
gains. Click
here to request a free copy.
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Help for California
Wildfire Victims
The IRS is closely watching the situation in
Southern California and will soon issue specific guidance for victims of the
wildfires. In the meantime, if you own property damaged by fire in the
presidential disaster area, you have a choice: You may
claim uninsured or unreimbursed disaster losses by filing an amended
2006 tax return or you may wait and claim any losses on your 2007 return.
Individuals and businesses are both eligible for these options. Claiming the
loss on your 2006 return will get you an earlier refund, when you may need
it the most. On the other hand, waiting to claim the loss on your 2007
return could result in greater tax saving, depending on other income
factors.
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FTC Survey: 13.5% of U.S.
Adults Duped by Fraud
The Federal Trade Commission released a
statistical
survey
of fraud in the United States that shows that 30.2 million adults – 13.5
percent of the adult population – were victims of fraud during the year
studied. More people – an estimated 4.8 million U.S. consumers – were
victims of fraudulent weight-loss products than any of the other frauds
covered by the survey. Fraudulent foreign lottery offers and buyers club
memberships tied for second place in the survey. Rounding out the top ten
frauds are prize promotions, work-at-home programs, credit card insurance,
unauthorized billing, advance-fee loans, credit repair scams and business
opportunities. CPAs can encourage clients to report fraud at
ftc.gov or by phone at
1-877-FTC HELP.
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Pre-Order Your CCH 2008
U.S. Master Tax Guide Today!
Tax season is fast approaching, so you’ll want
to take advantage of a very useful member benefit! The MACPA is offering the
CCH 2008 U.S. Master Tax Guide at a special discounted rate for all members.
The deadline to pre-order is December 14, 2007, so don’t delay! Your order
should arrive to you in late December or early January. To pre-order now,
please click
here
to order by credit card using VISA, MasterCard or American Express.
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Quad-Core Processors: Do Small Businesses
Need Them?
Both Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and Intel Corp. have released
quad-core server processors, which aim to boost performance above dual-core
and single-core processors. AMD's Opteron and Intel's Xeon quad-core
processors are available in low-power versions designed for small
businesses, but some analysts wonder whether it is sensible for small firms
to move to quad-core. To read this
article in its entirety and 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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