| A.
R. Kakhsaz Company
an accountancy corporation
Member
American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants
International associates:
Tavana & Co.
Chartered Accountants
Toronto, Canada
Tel.416-229-2221
|
Income-tax law overhaul:
There's much talk recently about
tax reform. Although the
consensus is that the income-tax
code is complex and provides
large subsidies for activities that
lawmakers want to favor, much
more groundwork needs to be
done. The U.S. Senate and the
House have begun the process.
Republicans and Democrats
agree on the broad outline of the
tax overhaul: Lower tax rates and
a broader tax base. But the devil is
in the details. The 35% top U.S.
corporate tax rate is one of the
highest in the developed world
and encourages multinational
businesses to engage in
shenanigans to shift their profits
overseas to lower tax jurisdictions.
To significantly lower the rate,
many tax breaks would have to be
curbed. And that process will pit
industry against industry in a
mammoth struggle to save its
own special tax breaks from
elimination. The outlook for
overhaul is similar on the
individual income-tax side.
Lawmakers are hopeful that the
current six tax brackets would be
collapsed into three: 12%, 22%
and 28% and that the minimum tax
and phaseouts of itemized
deductions and personal
exemptions for high incomers
would be repealed. But for now,
please be patient.
Spend some time alone.
One difference:
Home prices in Canada were up
44% while in the U.S. they were
down by 18%. That's for prices as
of October 2010 over January 2005
prices. One difference: Canada
never embraced subprime
mortgages.
The fence around a cemetery
is foolish, for those inside can't get
out and those outside don't want to
get in.
For more of the Generalist,
please visit ARKCPACOM.
|
theGeneralist, a
one-page monthly
publication of the accounting firm of
A.R. Kakhsaz Company, is in its 17th
year of providing information, presented
fairly and accurately, from sources we
can depend upon and trust.
How did CPAs
do in 2010?
CPA firms were generally holding
their own despite setbacks and
uncertainties in the economy
during the past two years. But
30% of the firms reported a
decrease in gross fees while 15%
saw no change. The average net
income remaining per owner of
the firm was $273,000. That's up
from $245,000 in 2009.
Bankruptcy filings in 2010:
U.S. personal bankruptcies in
2010 rose to 1.53 million, up 9%
from 2009. That's the highest level
since a revamp of the law took
effect in 2005. Americans are still
coping with high long-term jobless
rates and depressed home prices
which drove more households to
seek court protection last year. In
California bankruptcies were up
25% from 2009.
How did ' $ ' become the
symbol of the U. S. dollar?
Although there are a number of
theories about the origin of the
dollar sign, the most popular belief
is that it came from the symbol for
the Spanish-Mexico peso or the
"Spanish dollar," an "s"
superinscribed over "p." The
Spanish peso was the fist world
currency and the basis for many
other national currencies,
including the U.S. dollar, the
Canadian dollar and the Chinese
yuan. Many nations just use the
initials of the name of the currency
for their symbol. For example, DM
for the German deutsche mark, NIS
for the new Israeli shekel and R for
South Africa's rand.
We see more in numbers
than just numbers...
Ali R. Kakhsaz
www.arkcpa.com
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