A recent court ruling against the State Comptroller's office has opened the door to a multibillion dollar sales tax refund for oil and gas companies. But companies will need to act fast to have any chance of collecting.

Dallas (April 19, 2012) – Tara Silver-Malyska has joined as a principal in the Tax Department at UHY Advisors, a tax and business consulting firm.

With the addition of the United Kingdom to the lengthening roster of countries offering tax-advantaged ways to exploit intellectual property (“IP”) – the so-called patent box – it is an opportune time to explore some of these arrangements and how they might be treated from a U.S. tax perspective.

April 2012 saw a dramatic decline in any meaningful discussion of fundamental tax reform. Congress was nevertheless active in attempting to enact incremental tax law changes. First up were efforts to curtail various tax breaks now enjoyed by the oil industry. Next on the Congressional agenda was consideration of Representative Eric Cantor's (R-VA) "Small Business Tax Cut Act", discussed in last month's Newsletter.

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has announced a new amnesty period for any tax that is administered by her office. Dubbed Project Fresh Start, the amnesty applies to such taxes as franchise tax, sales and use tax, motor fuels tax, alcohol beverage tax, and severance tax. The Public Utility Gross Receipts Tax is not included in the amnesty. The program applies to all tax periods for which the original tax return was due before April 1, 2012.

Over $40 Million in Potential Recoveries Could Be Lost Each Month

Houston (April 18, 2012) – Houston’s largest sales and local tax advisory firm is recommending that its clients and others in the oil and gas industry consider filing sales tax refund claims covering the past four years as soon as possible, based on a Travis County District Court ruling last week in Southwest Royalties Inc. vs. Combs that machinery used to extract oil and gas is exempt from the Texas sales tax.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., (April 13, 2012) – Crain’s Detroit Business in partnership with the Association for Corporate Growth has named UHY Advisors as a finalist for Dealmaker Adviser of 2011. UHY Advisors, along with the other winners, will be recognized at an award ceremony on Thursday, April 19 at the Somerset Inn in Troy, Mich.

Houston (April 9, 2012) – UHY Advisors eDiscovery and Digital Forensics Practice Group announced it has partnered with Zapproved® to resell its Legal Hold Pro™ software to help corporate and law firm clients identify, notify, and track documents, electronically stored information (ESI) and other media in response to a legal hold notice or trigger event.

Sterling Heights, MI (March 29, 2012) – The increase in new business startups is now on average 40 times faster in BRIC nations than other countries, according to UHY, the international accounting and consultancy network. The research shows that BRIC nations are, on average, creating 18% more new businesses per annum compared to non-BRIC nations, which are, on average, creating just 0.4% more new businesses per annum.

Economic obsolescence can be caused by a variety of factors. Just a few of these factors to be considered may include national economic conditions, restrictions in income, operating under capacity (inutility), neighborhood or area decline, changes in the highest and best use of a property due to market shifts or governmental actions, zoning, lack of property demand, and other influence to the financial status of a property.

The last part of February 2012 and March 2012 was a busy time for both Congress and the Obama Administration. On the tax reform front, President Obama led off with his plan for business tax reform. The House Republicans, on March 20, 2012, countered with their own Fiscal Year 2013 budget blueprint ("The Path to Prosperity") which, among other things, proposed a dramatically simpler income tax code including the repeal of the often-patched alternative minimum tax.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Kawashima v Holder, upholding the convictions of long-term residents of the U.S. for filing a false tax return, leading to deportation for commission of an aggravated felony under U.S. immigration law.  While the case apparently did not involve failure to file Form TD F 90-22.1 Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”) or address the provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) enacted as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Emplayment (“Hire”) Act of 2010, it is a strong signal that the government has upped the ante for U.S. residents who have filed a U.S. tax return but failed to report all their income, including income related to foreign financial assets.

UHY Advisors eDiscovery and Digital Forensics Practice Group today announced it has joined the Guidance Software Global Partner Program and will resell the company’s full line of EnCase® digital investigation software.

Listen to Tony Frabotta by clicking here.

Houston (March 6, 2012) - Justin Lamanna recently joined UHY Advisors, a tax and business consulting firm, as a business development manager in the eDiscovery and Digital Forensics Practice Group.

Reporting on a decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague that it has jurisdiction in a case Involving environmental damage suits filed against Chevron by plaintiffs lawyers representing residents of Ecuador's Amazon region, WSJ reporter Isabel Ordonez wrote . . .

Please join us for this quick hitting lunch hour geared towards PEO business owners, chief executives and chief financial officers. Topics will include PEO benchmarking, hot tax topics and a financial accounting update. The webinar will conclude with an open discussion.

Although we have written about Form 1042 before, we continue to encounter companies that either have overlooked this filing requirement or may not have sufficient documentation to withstand an IRS audit. Form 1042 is used by a U.S. withholding agent to report payments of certain U.S. source income, under IRC §§1441 and 1142, to foreign persons on a calendar year basis. Its sister form, 1042-S, is used to report to those foreign persons the amount of U.S. source income paid to them and the amount of any U.S. tax withheld.

Houston (Feb. 16, 2012) - UHY Advisors eDiscovery and Digital Forensics Practice Group has selected Venio First Pass Review (FPR) software that gives clients a lowcost solution that allows for quick, comprehensive review of data as early as 24 hours from the start of a project.

UHY Advisors’ David Barton will address professional service organizations and their customers and lead a discussion on data center audit standards and assessments during a webinar Tuesday, February 14th from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET. The session, “Making Sense of Service Organization Audits,” will discuss the differences between AICPA’s (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) SOC (Service Organization Controls) audits and reports, other types of audits, and the difference between point-in-time, period of time, self-assessments and independent assessments.

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (“HIRE”) Act, signed into law in 2010, included modified provisions of the previously proposed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 (“FATCA”). These provisions involve two broad categories of tax compliance: reporting by foreign financial institutions on accounts held by U.S. persons, and reporting by U.S. individuals on specified foreign financial assets. It is the latter category that led to the new Form 8938 Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, to be filed in 2012 as part of an individual’s 2011 federal income tax return.

Listen to WDUN's interview with LeighAnn Costley about how to make your tax burden lighter for the New Year.

In an update story on an Ecuadorian appeals court decision in Chevron’s ongoing litigation and arbitration cases over the assignment of responsibility for alleged environmental damages, WSJ Houston bureau chief Angel Gonzalez wrote . . .

A little over a year ago, Google made headlines with news that its offshore tax rate was a mere 2.4% thanks to a complex structure involving jurisdictions such as Bermuda, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Can today’s technology start-ups hope for similar benefits from a global strategy by transferring non-U.S. rights for their valuable intellectual property to a foreign corporation? The answer, as with most things involving U.S. income tax, is an unequivocal “yes, but,” plus the admonition that planning for various alternatives will still be key.

Business & Individual • State & Local • International
Estate & Gifting • Mergers & Acquisitions

Keynote: Mr. David G. Sowerby, CFA, Loomis, Sayles Company

CPE credit will be offered. Formal invitation to follow.

Join us to learn more about the latest accounting, regulatory, legal and SEC updates. Topics to be announced shortly. Keynote Mr. David G. Sowerby, CFA, Loomis, Sayles Company.

CPE credit will be offered. Formal invitation to follow.

UHY Advisors TX, LLC is not the only one with a milestone birthday in 2011. Although not yet celebrating 40 years, such as UHY in Texas, UHY International as a network of Member Firms marks its 25th anniversary this year.

 UHY Advisors, a financial and business advisory firm with offices located throughout the U.S., recently announced that Mark Bealin has joined the firm as a managing director in its Sterling Heights office.
 

Join us on-site at UHY’s Farmington Hills office or on-line via webcast

TOPICS INCLUDING…
• Is now a good time to buy or sell a business?
• What are some of the key items you need to do to be prepared to sell?
• Which countries present the greatest business opportunities for US companies?
• Opportunities and threats for doing business abroad
• What are the key factors that auto suppliers need to do to be successful?
• Are you at risk due to industry consolidation?
• How will government cuts impact defense suppliers in 2012?

Keynote speaker soon to be announced. Formal invitation to follow.

Staff may take time off, but that doesn't mean your firm has to

For many workers, the holidays are a much-anticipated time of year, when they look forward to taking some much-needed r&r away from work. But for others it means stress, headaches and a managerial nightmare. Managing workloads and company productivity between Thanksgiving and new Year's is an annual challenge for management and employees.

UHY Advisors, a financial and business advisory firm with offices located throughout the U.S., is hosting its Tax Forum on Thursday, Dec. 1 from 12-6 p.m. EST. This annual conference takes place at the MSU Management Center located at 811 W. Square Lake Rd. in Troy, Mich.

UHY LLP, a leading certified public accounting firm providing professional services to domestic and international companies, is hosting its Accounting & Regulatory Update on Thursday, Dec. 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST. This annual conference takes place at the MSU Management Center located at 811 W. Square Lake Rd. in Troy, Mich.

Join us at UHY LLP Farmington Hills office

Seminar presented by UHY LLP with
special guest Tim Lueliette of FINNEA Group

This month we look at the importance of checking for special terms covering energy-related activities in double taxation treaties (“DTT”) between the U.S. and other countries so U.S. companies can gauge potential PE exposure before they submit a bid or sign a contract.

UHY LLP, a leading certified public accounting firm providing professional services to domestic and international companies, is hosting its annual Manufacturing Outlook 2012 on Thursday, November 10 from 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST at its Farmington Hills office, located at 27725 Stansbury Blvd., Suite 100 in Farmington Hills, Mich. Manufacturing Outlook 2012 will also be available via live webcast beginning at 8:35 a.m. EST. Attendees will learn how the current economic landscape impacts the outlook for manufacturing companies in a variety of key sectors.

UHY Advisors recently hosted its quarterly Financial Leaders Seminar, a half-day seminar delivering professional training and networking for high-level financial executives. Senior industry executives, including top-level executives from United Airlines, Shaw Industries Group, Inc. and Barclays Bank, provided C-Level insight on accounting efficiency and the impact of economic forces on business to the more than 300 attendees.

Join us at our Farmington Hills Office

Huge disparities now exist between countries on the amount of tax they take from businesses, according to UHY, the international accounting and consultancy network.

Global accountancy network UHY announces the release of the UHY “Global Transfer Pricing Guide 2011” to assist tax and finance professionals responsible for cross-border tax planning and compliance at multinational companies.

This month and next we focus on the risks of having a Permanent Establishment (“PE”) in a foreign country and accidentally becoming subject to the full panoply of taxes imposed there. Part I, this month, focuses on the general concept of a taxable Permanent Establishment (“PE”) as it is used in double taxation treaties between the U.S. and foreign countries, but does not rely upon any specific treaty.

UHY LLP, a leading certified public accounting firm providing professional services to domestic and international companies, is hosting China Investment—another installment of its complimentary international roundtable discussions from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 19. This interactive breakfast seminar highlights ways U.S. companies can take advantage of the increasing inbound investments by China-based businesses. Additionally, the roundtable will provide useful information for American businesses that seek to set up operations in China, which is the world’s No. 2 economy behind the U.S.

With a brief three months remaining in 2011 and a high degree of uncertainty surrounding any major tax changes, practitioners have begun stepping up the annual rite of year-end planning strategies for both their individual and business clients. Though strategies and client situations may differ, tax experts strive to reduce client tax liabilities both for the current and following year, and therefore avoid unpleasant - and often expensive - surprises via tax underpayments.

UHY LLP, a leading certified public accounting firm providing professional services to domestic and international companies, is hosting a complimentary international roundtable on October 5th. This interactive breakfast discussion will be hosted by Dennis J. Petri, International Liaison and Partner, UHY LLP, with special guest presenter, Jonathan Levy, Partner of UHY Victor in Montreal Canada. Please join us at UHY’s spacious, new Farmington Hills office for breakfast and networking at 7:30AM.

 UHY Advisors, a financial and business advisory firm with offices located throughout the U.S., has been named one of Metro Detroit’s 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For.

Getting the Equivalent of a Passport from the IRS for
Use Around the Globe

A U.S. citizen, traveling the world, proves his or her nationality with a passport. But what about a company? The State Department issues no similar document for a company to prove it is a U.S. corporation. Fortunately, the IRS can supply a corporation with a U.S. Residency Certification.

 UHY Advisors has expanded its presence in Asia by welcoming its newest member-- Shanghai ZhongHua Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), to the global accountancy network of UHY, of which UHY MI has been a member since 2001. This new Shanghai-based member gives UHY Advisors a second location in China, where it also has a member firm in Hong Kong.

 UHY Advisors, a financial and business advisory firm with offices located throughout the U.S. is introducing a no-cost, executive-level webinar series beginning on September 12th. The CORE Business Management webinar series will introduce a new topic every other week and is structured to provide busy executives with the understanding, business direction and recommended strategies to help address, achieve and maintain business profitability and viability. These 55-minute webinars begin at 8:05 a.m. and conclude by 9:00 a.m. (EST).

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) was enacted in 2010 as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (“HIRE Act”). FATCA includes reporting requirements for foreign financial institutions about U.S. account holders, to begin in 2013. Of more immediate application are the provisions in IRC §6038D requiring individuals to include with their federal income tax returns a report about their foreign financial assets. The HIRE Act also created a new, six-year statute of limitations (IRC §6501) which is generally applicable to understatements of income attributable to the foreign financial assets whose reporting is specified in IRC §6038D. These provisions took effect for tax years beginning after March 18, 2010.

The United States has one of the lowest tax burdens for both high and low earners among the G8 countries, reveals new research by UHY, the international accounting and consultancy network.

Only Japan and Russia tax upper income earners less than the U.S., according to the UHY study. For lower income earners, only Japan levies lower taxes than the U.S. The study focused on comparable domestic and social security taxes for high earners defined as workers earning $200,000 per annum while low earners were defined as workers earning $25,000 per annum. Equivalent state and local taxes were not included in the study.

June 30, 2011 is the deadline for reporting to the IRS about Foreign Financial Accounts for the 2010 calendar year on TDF 90-22.1 (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts or “FBAR”).

Earlier this month, Houston played host to the Offshore Technology Conference (“OTC”), the world’s foremost energy-related event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production, and environmental protection. Over 2000 companies, including a number of UHY Advisors’ clients, descended on Houston’s Reliant Stadium to show their wares and preview new technologies while looking for business opportunities and making new contacts.

For April 2011, we note several recent delopments in the area of federal income taxation that warrant close attention by taxpayers.

This article is the second in a series of articles intended to highlight some of the more significant changes in the Internal Revenue Code. The topic concerns the incentives provided to businesses to invest in business equipment by allowing for an accelerated deduction of the cost of these types of investments.

The IRS has published its 2011 “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams” (IRS News Release IR-2011-39, April 7, 2011) with “Hiding Income Offshore” #1 in the spotlight and with IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman stating that these schemes represent the “worst of the worst tax scams.”

When surveyed in March, more than 1,000 managers said that they spent, on average, 18 percent of their time handling staff conflicts, according to Accountemps, a financial and accounting staffing firm. That’s almost one day a week, and it accounts for a lot of lost productivity.

Company efficiency is obtainable and sustainable.

Chief Financial Officer Susan needs to finalize and release the client’s quarterly earnings report. Normally it would take her a couple of hours to complete this task, but Susan is waiting on the draft from her Chief Accounting Officer Michael. She is expecting it Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m., so she sets some time aside in her a.m. schedule that day.
 

This article highlights some of the continuing efforts of the IRS on enforcement in the international arena.

Bill Olson and Don Hughes discuss recent developments in the area of federal income taxation that warrant close attention by taxpayers for the month of March.

In international arbitration panel this week ordered Ecuador to temporarily suspend the enforcement of any potential judgments against Chevron Corp. (CVX) in a pending multibillion-dollar environmental lawsuit the oil giant faces in the Andean country.

Bill Olson and Don Hughes discuss recent developments in the area of federal income taxation that warrant close attention by taxpayers for the month of February.

“For Small Businesses, the big World Beckons.” So ran the headline on the front page of the Marketplace section of the January 27 edition of the Wall Street Journal. “While big companies have been the trailblazers of globalization, a growing number of relatively small businesses are following in their footsteps.” 

Two significant events in the ongoing debate on the health reform act (PPACA) passed in March 2010 have occurred in the last six weeks.  While Congress and the Senate continue to debate along party lines, lawsuits from the states have gone forward in federal courts. In December, Federal District Judge Henry Hudson sided with the state of Virginia in its challenge to the health care law saying Congress exceeded its "constitutional boundaries" when it required most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a fine.  The individual mandate doesn't take effect until 2014.

Global investment has increasingly become a daily routine for companies spanning the range from large multinational corporations to smaller businesses due to the significant opportunities presented in developing countries.

Is this the end for the U.S. manufacturing industry? Alan discusses five important facts from the National Association of Manufacturers which provide an answer to that question.
 

Principal Daniell Patterson quoted regarding the current environment for Ford and Lincoln dealers in metro Detroit.

UHY Advisors' tax expert Leighann Costley on WSTR Radio in ATL talking about proposed changes to the Georgia tax code.

Managing Director Steve McCarty quoted regarding potential benefits for small businesses stemming from recent tax changes.

Steven P. McCarty, a Managing Director at UHY Advisors, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC).

One of the most significant changes I have seen involves the enormous number of tax changes enacted by Congress over the past few years.

UHY Advisors is excited to introduce iNformer - a quick, predictable, cost-effective digital forensics analysis used to detect fraudulent activities that could occur within a company, offered by the eDiscovery and Digital Forensics Practice Group at the firm.

Over the past few months I have heard several people refer to their “Bucket List.”  Recently, a colleague stated he was headed to Africa.  When I asked “Why?” he stated, ”It’s on my bucket list.”  It appears that I am out of sync. I don’t have a bucket list; I have a Worry List. You know, things that I worry about with my clients. Things like cash flow, sales projections, financial and operational improvement strategies, etc.

This Q&A discusses estate planning opportunities for High Net Worth individuals in 2010.

Throughout the course of this year, the IRS has shown in both its audits of taxpayers and its communications with the public, a heightened emphasis on the documentation of foreign tax credits. Congress too has focused on foreign tax credits as we saw in the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act of 2010.

While we await further Congressional action on international tax provisions in pending legislation, International Tax Tidbits will focus on some areas where attention may be needed before the end of the year, regardless of whether laws are enacted.

Over the course of the last few years, a number of changes to the rules covering foreign tax credits, anti-deferral provisions (known as Subpart F), and other international provisions of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") have been proposed in various House and Senate bills. 
 

Because cultural and language barriers often provide challenges to doing business abroad, we developed the China Group to assist any company – American or Chinese – in doing business in the other jurisdiction.

Many organizations ask high level questions on where to get started in terms of disaster preparedness as well as what are some critical things to consider for Information Technology.

June 30 is just around the corner, so it's a good time to consider the FBAR (Treasury Department form TD F 90-22.1 Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) and review some of the changes made for the 2009 Report.
 

On May 20-22, UHY held its Europe/Middle East/Africa Regional meeting hosted by UHY HB Ekonom (Split) and UHY Rudan (Zagreb) at a conference center near Split, Croatia.  The meeting was the opportunity for close to 60% of the member firms in UHY's network of 76 countries to convene and share ideas, including tax planning opportunities.
 

One of the Tier One issues for IRS examinations of U.S. companies is whether those companies are reporting properly their transactions with foreign companies and individuals.

In the 14th century on the outskirts of the southern French city of Toulouse, investors joined together and created the first companies offering limited liability to shareholders interested in pooling their capital and sharing the risks of undertaking large infrastructure projects. 

What is the FBAR and why is it getting so much attention? U.S. persons (including individuals and legal entities) have long been required to file Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as "FBAR," by June 30 each year to report a financial interest in foreign bank and financial accounts whose aggregate value exceeded $10,000 in the prior calendar year, even if the person had no income from the accounts.