Tax Reform Update -- Brown and Fruci

 

           

          Surveys due: President Chad Haverkamp said on-line club survey questions about membership, meals, board positions and other topics are requested Feb. 12.

 

          Time out: The federal Presidents Day, Feb. 19, means our club does not meet that day.

 

 

           It’s “20 questions” – or more – for anyone with an income trying to adjust to the 2018 tax reform.

 

           Hint: this bulletin isn’t going to try to give many, if any, answers.

 

          But club member Daria Brown and her boss, Paul M. Fruci, president of Fruci & Associates, shared some of the answers at the Feb. 5 club luncheon.  They also provided handouts.

 

           Among the questions for individual and business tax-payers:

 

           How will itemized deductions affect the larger standard deduction?

 

           What impacts will change for the alternate minimum tax?

 

           Should small business owners change from “C” corporations to an “S” corp.?

 

           What are the impacts of estate and gift taxes – and how do state and federal issues mesh?

 

           Daria titled her handout: “welcome to 2018 and the biggest tax reform individual taxpayers since 1986.”

 

           How could a “simplified” tax reform be any easier?

 

           And if the questions are tough enough, Daria and Paul said some of the answers are still being written.  Paul said “it will take a broom to sweep things up.”

 

           Tax consultants obviously are going to have a busy year.

 

           As Daria said, “every individual situation is different.”  She cited hypotheticals of individual tax-payers Jane Doe and John Smith.  Jane and family did the math and found out her “windfall” was a measly $55, while John netted about $4,000.

 

           The only slide cheering wildly on the screen was the group of corporate folks, because the reform was tilted heavily to businesses.  Many rates dropped from 39 to 21 per cent.  As Daria put it, “Our tax rates were the highest in the world.  Now at least we are back in the game.”