Archive for the ‘Louisiana’ Category

Tax Relief for Hurricane Ida in New York and New Jersey

Wednesday, September 8th, 2021

Hurricane Ida created disaster conditions in Louisiana; the IRS previously granted relief for impacted taxpayers in various parishes in the state.  President Biden just declared a federal disaster area for many counties in New Jersey and New York (including New York City).  The IRS extended the same relief for those taxpayers.  Any tax deadline from September 1, 2021 onward through year-end is extended until January 3, 2022.

There are some caveats with this.  First, because 2020 tax payments were due on May 17th, that payment deadline has not been extended.  However, if you filed a valid extension and owe the late payment penalty, that penalty is suspended between September 1st and January 3, 2022.  Second, be aware that the IRS has a “down-time” for electronic filing of tax returns; this typically begins in mid to late November and lasts until late January.  During that time, all returns must be paper-filed.  It’s currently taking the IRS eight to twelve months to process paper-filed returns.  You may want to consider not waiting until January (especially if you are expecting a refund).

This relief does extend to third quarter estimated payments (due September 15th), partnership and S-Corporation returns on extension (also due on September 15th), trust/estate returns on extension (due September 30th), C-Corporation returns on extension (due October 15th), and nonprofit returns on extension (due November 15th).  Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns due on November 1st are also extended for impacted taxpayers.

New Jersey is conforming to this relief for impacted New Jersey taxpayers.  Note that if you paper-file in New Jersey, you need to write, “Presidential Disaster Relief Area, Hurricane Ida” on the top of the return or payment.  While I expect New York to conform, there has been not yet been an announcement from the New York Department of Taxation and Finance.

IRS Extends Tax Deadlines for Victims of Iowa Derecho & California Wildfires

Tuesday, August 25th, 2020

The IRS announced yesterday that they have extended tax deadlines for victims of both the derecho that hit Iowa and the ongoing California wildfires. The specific counties impacted can be found on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website.

For both disasters, tax deadlines are extended that began on August 10th for the derecho and August 14th for the wildfires until December 15th. This impacts 2019 personal tax returns on extension, business returns on extension, payroll tax filings, and estimated tax payments. California’s Franchise Tax Board automatically extends deadlines for federal disasters, so those impacted have identical extensions for California taxes. I assume the Iowa Department of Revenue will similarly extend Iowa deadlines.

Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll also be looking at victims of Hurricane Laura in Texas and/or Louisiana later this week. The IRS recently posted information on safeguarding records for natural disasters; your insurance company likely has additional information available. The cliche is that an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure–but it is good advice.

Louisiana Representative Girod Jackson Has Tax Troubles; Now an ex-Representative

Sunday, August 25th, 2013

If you’re in politics, portions of your personal life come under greater scrutiny. You also can become a poster child for the IRS if you make serious errors with your taxes. Louisiana State Representative Girod Jackson is finding that out.

Representative Jackson is alleged to have understated his gross receipts on his 2006 tax return by leaving out $492,000 of gross receipts from a business he owned and not filing his 2007 or 2008 returns. Representative Jackson resigned from the Louisiana legislature on Friday.

In a statement that is quoted in nola.com, Representative Jackson stated that he had made errors on his returns:

During my time in office, I have worked to be a symbol of honor and pride for myself and the constituents of the 87th District…And while I aim to live my life with dignity and respect, I am not without fault. Several years ago, there were filing errors on my business tax returns and delayed initial filings arising from accounting errors and oversight. Today, I have accepted the consequences of those mistakes.

While the Justice Department press release notes that the prosecution stems from an investigation by the IRS, the nola.com story notes that Mr. Jackson’s business was under scrutiny from an audit related to work following Hurricane Gustav.

A helpful hint to politicians: File and pay your taxes timely. If you don’t, you’re a superb target for the IRS. The IRS doesn’t instigate many criminal prosecutions (you do have to try hard for this). The targets chosen are done so because there crimes are especially egregious or by prosecuting them there will be publicity that could lead to a deterrent on others. Politicians are held to a higher standard, so they meet both these goals of an IRS prosecution. It appears Mr. Jackson found this out too late.

Texas #1, California #50 in Business Location Survey

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Another week, another survey of which state is best for business. For the eighth straight year, Chief Executive magazine ranked Texas as the best state in the union as to where to conduct business. Unsurprisingly, California is at the bottom. My state, Nevada, is at #12; Aaron’s home of Maryland is #40. Here are the top ten and bottom ten states:

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. North Carolina
4. Tennessee
5. Indiana
6. Virginia
7. South Carolina
8. Georgia
9. Utah
10. Arizona

41. Hawaii
42. Oregon
43. Pennsylvania
44. Connecticut
45. New Jersey
46. Michigan
47. Massachusetts
48. Illinois
49. New York
50. California

The two states that made the biggest moves were Oregon and Louisiana. Oregon fell nine spots in the ranking, likely due to their income tax increase that passed last year. On the other end of the spectrum is Louisiana, which was ranked 47th in 2006 but is now ranked 13th (up 27 spots from 2011).

Meanwhile, Chief Executive describes California as having slipped deeper into the ninth circle of business hell. Perhaps this section of the report will enlighten Sacramento:

The following is a representative sample of comments from participating CEOs:

  • California is the worst! They are doing everything possible to drive a business out of their state. If it were not for the climate, they would have lost half their population.
  • California regulations, taxes and costs will leave only tech, life sciences and entertainment as viable. If you aren’t an elitist, no room here for the middle or working classes.
  • California treats business owners like criminals. California has different overtime policies for its own employees vs. private sector.
  • California’s labor regulation is a job killer. We will be moving our business out of the state, which will lose hundreds of jobs simply due to the poor regulatory environment.
  • California should secede from the union—it is like doing business in a foreign country, it has its own exchange rate, and its regulation is crazy.

Meanwhile, the budget deficit in California grows (the Legislative Analyst says it’s at $3 billion and will grow from that number). Perhaps the idea of cutting regulations and spending just what the state takes in might garner some support in Sacramento. Well, one can always dream….

That DUI Wasn’t a Good Omen

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

A week ago I wrote about former Louisiana State Senator Charles Jones. Just before his retrial on tax evasion, he was cited for driving while under the influence. That apparently wasn’t a good omen for Mr. Jones.

His trial was last week, and the jury began deliberating on Monday. After three hours, they found him guilty of all three counts of tax evasion. The IRS and Department of Justice showed, to the satisfaction of the jury, that Mr. Jones evaded taxes on about $750,000 of legal fees (around $190,000 of taxes). Mr. Jones will be sentenced in December.

A DUI Is a Good Prelude to a Tax Evasion Retrial…

Monday, August 16th, 2010

When I last wrote about Charles Jones, he had pleaded not guilty to three counts of tax evasion. The first trial ended in a mistrial. His retrial is set to begin on Monday.

Well, there’s nothing like a good drink (or two, three, or four) to relax before a federal trial. It appears that’s exactly what Mr. Jones did. He then took the wheel of his car, and was pulled over for failing to use his turn signals when turning. The report in the Monroe (Louisiana) News-Star notes, “…the former Democratic senator was unsteady on his feet and was using his car for balance.” Add alcohol on the breath and a failed blood alcohol test, and Mr. Jones has something else to worry about after his tax trial.