914

Showing all 12 results

  • What does the future hold? Checking up on backlog: the industry’s and yours

    Winter 2023
    Newsletter: On-Site

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: Few construction companies can get by bidding on, performing and completing one job at a time. The typical practice is to build up a backlog of projects that ensures the business will be busy for the immediate and maybe even long-term future. This article explains how contractors can engage in backlog management using industry data as well as company-focused best practices. A sidebar notes that key performance indicators can greatly aid in this effort.

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  • What does the future hold? Checking up on backlog: the industry’s and yours

    January / February 2023
    Newsletter: Contractor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: Few construction companies can get by bidding on, performing and completing one job at a time. The typical practice is to build up a backlog of projects that ensures the business will be busy for the immediate and maybe even long-term future. This article explains how contractors can engage in backlog management using industry data as well as company-focused best practices. A sidebar notes that key performance indicators can greatly aid in this effort.

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  • Expanded energy tax incentives benefit businesses

    Winter 2023
    Newsletter: Management & Tax Concepts

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law in August 2022, contains provisions designed to reduce carbon emissions and spur development of clean energy. The act also significantly expands energy-related tax incentives for businesses in general as well as for individuals. This article looks at the expansion of two valuable tax breaks for eligible real estate developers, builders and owners: the tax credit for new energy-efficient homes and the deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings. A sidebar discusses the updated electric vehicles tax credit.

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  • Put it in writing – When employment terms factor into overtime pay eligibility

    July / August 2018
    Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: When are employees exempt from overtime compensation? In a Sixth Circuit case, two workers asserted they were entitled to overtime pay according to the FLSA. This article describes how the salary-basis test, and whether the employee’s salaries were guaranteed by the employer, helped the court make its decision. A sidebar looks at a similar overtime compensation dispute. Hughes v. Gulf Interstate Field Services, Inc., No. 17-3112, Dec. 19, 2017 (6th Cir.) Anani v. CVS Rx Services, Inc., No. 11–2359–CV, Sept. 20, 2013 (2nd Cir.)

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  • The fight goes on – Considering costs and revenue when battling profit fade

    January / February 2018
    Newsletter: Contractor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: When construction costs start to creep over revenue coming in, a contractor is suffering from “profit fade.” This problem can arise out of costs or revenues (or both), so it’s important to look at each of these elements independently. This article examines two common cost factors and discusses contributing revenue factors. A sidebar delves into how indirect costs, namely insurance expenses, can trigger profit fade.

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  • Click here for eligibility – Recent ruling offers encouragement to patent holders

    June / July 2015
    Newsletter: Ideas on Intellectual Property Law

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, the road for would-be patent holders of software and business methods has been a rough one. Some have even suggested that Alice, and its progeny issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, represent the death knell for software patents. This article discusses the first post-Alice decision, which, as it turns out, actually offers some encouragement to software and business method patent holders. DDR Holdings LLC v. Hotels.com, No. 2013-1505, Dec. 5, 2014 (Fed. Cir.) Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, No. 13-298, June 19, 2014 (Supreme Court)

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  • Transferring ownership while retaining control – A GRAT or IDIT can help

    March / April 2015
    Newsletter: Tax Impact

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: If a large portion of one’s wealth is tied up in a family business, estate planning goals may conflict with succession-planning goals. Fortunately, there are several trust-based tools that allow the transfer of business interests to successors now — minimizing gift and estate taxes — while maintaining control of the business. Two to consider are the grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) and a sale to an intentionally defective irrevocable trust (IDIT). This article explains how they work. However, both involve some mortality risk, so a sidebar discusses how a “business intentionally defective irrevocable trust,” or BIDIT, aims to eliminate this risk.

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  • Year end tax planning – Getting all you can from equipment purchases

    Fall 2013
    Newsletter: On-Site

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: The American Taxpayer Relief Act temporarily extended the two primary depreciation breaks: 50% bonus depreciation and Section 179 expensing. But time is running out to claim both in their existing, high-value formats. This article explains the breaks and which assets qualify for them — and how it’s possible to claim both. However, it notes that both breaks will be drastically reduced next year unless Congress acts. A sidebar reviews some key distinctions between the cost of owning an asset and the expense of operating it.

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  • What not to do when donating property

    November / December 2012
    Newsletter: Real Estate Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: Charitable donations can provide real estate owners with valuable tax deductions — if the donors meet IRS requirements for taking such deductions. This article discusses a case in which the U.S. Tax Court disallowed a couple’s charitable deductions for their donations due to their failure to comply with IRS appraisal requirements — despite the fact that they likely undervalued the donations on their income tax returns. The article shows where the couple went wrong, and thus underscores the importance of obtaining appraisals from qualified appraisers before donating real estate. A sidebar lists the requirements for an appraiser to be “qualified.” Citation: T.C. Memo. 2012-152, 5/29/12

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  • Leadership vs. management: Recognizing the difference

    Spring 2012
    Newsletter: Law Firm Management

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: Although the roles of leaders and managers overlap to a degree, they aren’t the same. True leaders are relatively rare. And as law firms try to adapt to a rapidly changing business model and fierce market competition, they need leaders. This article compares the different tasks leaders and managers must perform, and in particular describes what leaders in small firms must do to implement effective strategic plans. A sidebar explains why some firms might prefer to hire a firm administrator to assume managerial duties.

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  • Out on the border – Avoiding multistate taxation missteps

    November / December 2011
    Newsletter: Contractor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: For construction companies, crossing state lines for a project can boost the bottom line, but it can also mean dealing with new and complex tax issues. When determining a contractor’s tax eligibility, governments consider whether the company has “nexus” in their respective states, meaning that its presence there is significant enough to subject it to taxes. This article explains what activities trigger nexus, how states determine the amount of income tax owed, and what other taxes might be incurred. A sidebar discusses the usefulness of a nexus study to help answer such questions in advance.

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  • How to succeed under CMS’s hospital VBP program

    Fall 2011
    Newsletter: Healthcare Management Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 914

    Abstract: It used to be called “pay-for-performance.” Now CMS describes it as “value-based purchasing” (VBP). Beginning in fiscal year 2013, per-discharge payments from base operating diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) to participating hospitals will be reduced. Hospitals then will have an opportunity to earn back those payment reductions — and more — through CMS’s VBP program. This article explains how the program represents the new paradigm for payment to hospitals initially, and for nearly all health care providers eventually. A sidebar shows how to prepare for current and future VBP criteria.

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