The National Public Accountant

Capitol Corridors An invitational conference on Professionalism on Tax Practice was held in the fall of 1993. Participants included members of the various tax practitioner organizations and representatives from the Internal Revenue Service. During the event, discussions were held on methods of minimizing the adversarial nature of the existing tax system so that collection efficiency can be increased. Three panels were also created to spearhead discussions on professional behavior in an advocacy-based tax syste...

Estate planning for S corporations.

Subchapter S corporations - Cover Story Estate planning can be difficult for subchapter S corporations due to the limitations imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. Unlike other corporations, S corporations own only a single class of stock and are precluded from a step-up in basis after death. Nevertheless, several estate planning options are available which could result in large tax savings provided care is taken. Among the planning possibilities which can be used are making parents bequeath stock to children, using trusts or buyin...

Evolution of the estate freeze.

The estate freeze is a technique used by estate planners to reduce estate and gift tax liability. This estate-planning method, which may assume any of several forms, involves converting the assets of senior family members into property having a fixed value to limit the holder's estate tax liability. The use of the estate freeze was halted in 1987 with the passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA), which created section 2036 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code. However, the OBRA rep...

Joint ownership of property: two's company, but is three a crowd?

Accounting for three-way joint tenancy with right of survivorship The treatment of a three-way joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS) ownership of property is considered a very problematic area in estate planning due to its complexities. Generally, accountants working on such an arrangement need to address two key issues, namely, the degree of includability of the JTWROS in the decedent spouse's gross estate and the amount of the property which can avail of the Federal estate tax marital deduction. It is important for practitioners to have an ade...

Recording & reporting short-term investments.

Accounting Scene Short-term investments require careful accounting so that important information regarding existing assets can be properly preserved in financial statements. Instruments classified as temporary investments, such as certificates of deposit, money market certificates, commercial paper, treasury bills, stocks and bonds, are generally recorded at cost. Short-term equity securities, meanwhile, are reported on balance sheets at either aggregate cost or market, whichever is lower, in accordance with ...

Revising and updating NSPA's Model Accountancy Law.

National Society of Public Accountants - Washington Comment Revisions to the National Society of Public Accountants' Model Accountancy Law (MAL) were approved by the organization's Board of Governors during its Aug 1993 meeting. The resulting MAL basically retains the 1987 model's organization and format. Statutory language which will allow the creation of a legislative model was drafted by the State Regulation and Oversight Committee for the segments on the Scope of Practice, Entry Requirements and Qualifications, Regulatory and Disciplinary Provisio...

Testimony: Ralph C. McBride before the Puerto Rico legislative committee.

Public accountant; speech National Society of Public Accountants member Ralph C. McBride called for the licensing of all practicing accountants in his testimony before the Puerto Rico Legislative Committee. He argued that the Puerto Rico Board of Accountancy is neglecting its duty to protect the public by merely regulating Certified Public Accountants and not the accounting profession itself. He expressed support for House Bill 479, which mandates the licensing of a separate class of accountants. These practitioners w...