From paying the utility bills for large buildings to maintaining multiple systems in sound condition, commercial property owners face staggering expenses.  However, when considering cost-cutting measures, they must ensure that the comfort and satisfaction of tenants, customers, and visitors are not compromised. Fortunately, commercial property owners can tap into their buildings to unleash opportunities that [...]

While large companies enjoy substantially reduced tax burdens each year through the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit, many smaller and newly launched businesses routinely miss the opportunity to save. Start-ups in particular have traditionally faced formidable barriers to claiming the credit.  Fortunately, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 made the [...]

Business taxpayers had many reasons to celebrate the enactment of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act in December 2015.  In addition to making the Research and Development (R&D) Credit permanent, extending the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) through 2019, and renewing the §179D deduction through 2016, the Act made permanent a maximum §179 [...]

On March 7, the IRS issued Notice 2016-22 providing further guidance on some of the changes made to WOTC under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015.  The Notice also extended the deadline for requesting certification of qualifying new hires as a form of transition relief for businesses. The Work Opportunity Tax [...]

When faced with rising operating costs, what can hotels do to maintain a stable profit margin without impairing the guest experience?  In various cities across the country, hotels are seeking to solve this dilemma as they are subjected to escalating minimum wage rates. The nationwide push for low-wage workers to secure better pay is intensifying, [...]

With laws and regulations constantly changing, businesses must always be vigilant about the impact that these requirements may have on their operations.  Laws dictating minimum wage rates are particularly important to businesses, as the cost of paying employees is a major factor in formulating budgets and estimating profits.   This year, numerous businesses in the US can [...]

Thanks to the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, the Research and Development (R&D) Credit is now a permanent part of the tax code and is available to a broader group of business taxpayers than it had been in the past.  Signed into law on December 18, 2015, the PATH Act ended the previous [...]

The recently enacted Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act extended the §179D deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings through the end of 2016 and retroactively renewed it for projects completed during 2015.  Section 179D provides a deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot when energy efficiency measures are implemented in new or existing commercial [...]

Following the renewal of the §179D deduction as part of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, which was signed into law on December 18, 2015, tax professionals were anticipating guidance from the IRS regarding the specific stipulations of the deduction under the new law.  However, citing budget constraints, the IRS has stated that [...]

Update: President Obama has signed into law the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act, renewing tax extenders like the §179D deduction and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and making the Research and Development Credit a permanent part of the tax code. Following weeks of Congressional debate, President Obama has signed into law a bill that [...]