By Sally P. Schreiber, J.D. October 13, 2017 The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on Friday that the maximum amount of wages in 2018 subject to the 6.2% Social Security tax (old age, survivor, and disability insurance) will rise from $127,200 to $128,700, an increase of a little more than 1%. By comparison, the 2017… Read More

Time to loosen the reins, say America’s banks. Not so fast, say regulators “LEFT TO OUR own devices,” said Lloyd Blankfein, boss of Goldman Sachs, in February, “we wouldn’t hold as much capital as we are holding.” He is not alone. “It is clear that the banks have too much capital,” wrote Jamie Dimon of… Read More

Like most worthwhile career ventures, the answer lies in due diligence and conversations with people already in the business. Rick Bisio As a franchise coach, I get a lot of questions from people who want to become business owners. Understandably, the biggest question on the minds of prospective franchisees is, “Will I make money?”  It’s worth developing… Read More

The e-commerce titan creates a new program specifically for teen shoppers, ages 13 to 17. BY  BEN FOX RUBIN OCTOBER 11, 2017 6:00 AM PDT Fidget spinners, sarcasm, Sunny D. These are the hip, cool things teens know and love. Now they can add another item to that list: Buying from Amazon. The world’s biggest online store… Read More

  The U.S. economy lost 33,000 jobs in September even as the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. It was the first time since September 2010 that the closely watched number was negative. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected payroll growth of 90,000 in September, compared to the initially… Read More

The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will pull several tax regulations identified as burdensome under President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13789, including the proposed Sec. 2704 regulations that would limit valuation discounts for estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax purposes (Second Report to the President on Identifying and Reducing Tax Regulatory Burdens (Oct. 4, 2017)).… Read More

Fair Game By GRETCHEN MORGENSON  When Warren Buffett acts, investors notice. And after he took a roughly $300 million position last month in Home Capital Group, a troubled Canadian mortgage underwriter, some investors saw it as a vote of confidence not only in that company, but also in Canadian stocks over all. Al Rosen takes a different view. A veteran… Read More

Seven Reminders for Taxpayers Filing Their 2016 Tax Returns by Oct. 16 Every year, millions of taxpayers ask for an extra six months to file their taxes. These taxpayers should have paid the tax they owed by the April deadline, but those who requested an extension should mark Monday, Oct. 16 as the extension deadline… Read More

GlobeNewswire Oct. 2, 2017, 09:00 AM SAN DIEGO, Calif., Oct. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AbacusNext®, the largest Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) provider for the legal and accounting professions, hosted an exclusive, behind the scenes VIP event in La Jolla, California for thought leaders and influencers specializing in accounting technology. Attendees were personally introduced to AbacusNext executives and… Read More

(Reuters) – A tree trimming company has been handed the largest penalty imposed in a United States immigration case, totaling $95 million, after pleading guilty to employing illegal immigrants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Immigration reform is a major political issue in the U.S., with President Donald Trump saying he will crack down on illegal… Read More