Over the years, I have completed several private studies for corporations who were benchmarking salaries for their tax departments. The purpose of this post is to educate you on how to obtain the most accurate and up-to-date information for your tax department. Allow me to set guidelines and boundaries right up front and that means how the information is gathered. First of all, the mass produced surveys of tax professionals by well-known staffing houses are so far off the mark that they often do a great disservice to those who read them. You must have a person who understands tax and the role each tax professional plays in an organization.

There are hundreds of unique tax positions around the world within specialized areas of taxation; unless you understand the complexity of technical skills involved you are Read More

After thirty years consulting to tax executives of multinationals, I have been fortunate to witness trends emerging behind the scenes long before corporate tax professionals ever see them. Stunning new trends will take corporate tax organizations by surprise in 2015 and beyond. Having built many trusted relationships consulting with tax executives over three decades, my goal is to protect tax professionals now and in the future from these trends with an awareness of what is happening behind the scenes and how to position yourselves in an ever changing market. These days, I find myself in an interesting position having founded two organizations focused on helping tax professionals make better connections with the people searching to find them. Corporate tax professionals I know well, having placed thousands of tax experts over a span of thirty years into corporate tax Read More

TaxConnections Picture - Hand Holding Golden DollarEvery business can benefit from hiring based tax credits. Here is something that you may not know …

Did you know that you have an opportunity to get an additional refund? Studies show that up to 60% of businesses did not take advantage of the Federal 2010 payroll tax credit called the HIRE Act. Employees that were hired between February 1, 2010, and January 1, 2011 and were unemployed for 60 days prior to hire can qualify for a refund of 6.2% of the employee wage for 2010. The deadline for this refund is January 10th, 2014 in order to receive the refund check. (HIRE Act Example: General contractor hired 32 qualified employees in 2010. They receive a refund for over $94,000.00.)

You are probably aware of Enterprise Zone HR Tax Credits for clients within California. However, recent legislation changed the existing statutes making it more difficult for businesses to take advantage of this program. The changes include changing the “look back” ability to limit businesses to review only 12 months from the employee’s date of hire. Some of the categories for eligibility are being amended as well to create additional hurdles for you. California Enterprise Zone ends December 31, 2013.

Businesses should also keep in mind the WOTC (Work Opportunity Tax Credit) program. Recent legislation expanded the qualifiers for this program to make it much more accessible. This program is very time sensitive. EDD requires new employee paperwork be submitted to them in less than 28 days from each employee’s respective date of hire. Businesses can receive up to $9,600 per qualified employee.

These are just a few instances of hiring based tax credits.

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Do you know blogging more than five times a week creates seven times more search traffic for your tax brand? Blogging is a proven business model, it works! The best tax bloggers write every day and that is how they build very successful tax brands nationally and internationally. You can easily attract a lot of attention by blogging about your area of tax expertise. The key to blogging about your tax expertise is consistency and quality content. Tax Blogs are a valuable asset to develop as breakthrough ideas emerge that innovate the tax world.

Now is the time to start a Tax Blog and attract followers who build trust with you through your writing.  Tax Professionals have very interesting professional life experiences they can share that will help so many save money and reduce their tax burden. People want to hear what you have to say, they also want you to break it down into a language they can understand. Sharing your professional experiences enables you to develop new relationships and that is why creating a Tax Blog is so important for you. Now is the time to start your tax blog and present your views on your area of tax expertise. TaxConnections offers its members free blog space and then they promote you and your tax blog globally. The best place to start is by being listed in TaxConnections Worldwide Directory of Tax Professionals which costs  $19.95 a month. This site makes tax professionals visible to the world by promoting tax professionals and their tax expertise.  It is the perfect service for anyone who needs help building a client base or brand visibility for corporate tax professionals.  One of the many benefits of membership on the site is a special area for you to post your blog on the Worldwide Tax Blogs at TaxConnections.  You can join at http://www.taxconnections.com and then request your free blog space at taxblog@taxconnections.com.