New Payroll Reporting Requirement for New Jersey Employers
by Kristine Matinog, CPA
 

Effective the first quarter of 2001, all employers with 50 or more employees are required to submit their WR-30 in an electronic format. Previously, only employers with over 100 employees were required to do so. The WR-30 is filed on a quarterly basis. If this new reporting requirement affects your business, be aware of the following:

You will not receive a preprinted WR-30 in the mail.
You can file the form via the Internet using a PIN number which you will receive from the state.
You can file the form via diskette.
If you use a payroll service you should check to see if it offers electronic filing.
To find out more information you can visit the NJ Division of Revenue’s web site at www.state.nj.us/treasury/revenue, or give us a call.

IRS Extends Qualified Retirement Plan Amendment Period
by George E. Barrett, CPA
 

The IRS has extended the amendment and submission period for nongovernmental qualified retirement plans until the end of the plan year beginning in the year 2001. Under previous regulations, all plans would have had to be amended prior to the end of the plan year beginning in 2000. Only the amendment period has been extended; all plans need to be in operational compliance with all applicable regulations.

Employee of the Quarter
by Dave Maedel
 

Beverly “Bev” Hanson is distinguished as being our Employee of the Quarter. An avid non-golfer, Bev is the firm’s office manager, overseeing the day to day operations. In addition to supervising the support staff, she has the additional challenge of being the personal assistant to Ren Cicalese, an executive partner.

Bev, born and raised with four brothers and three sisters in Philadelphia, PA, currently resides in Bellmawr, NJ with husband-to-be, John, and her sons Marty, a senior at Rowan University, and Johnny, a freshman at Triton High School.

Bev enjoys spending time with her family, shopping, watching old movies, reading and gardening.

Speeches and Presentations
 

Partners and staff are available as speakers on a variety of tax, accounting and financial topics for community, civic, nonprofit or business organizations. For more details or to reserve a speaker, please contact Ren Cicalese.

If You Want to Go into Business, Consider Buying a Franchise
 

Starting a business is never easy, whether you build it from scratch, purchase an existing company, or buy a franchise.

A franchise agreement is basically a contract between you and an owner (franchisor) which allows you to use the owner’s trademark, trade name, or advertising symbol. In exchange for this right, you pay fees (often a portion of your business revenues) to the franchisor. As with any business relationship, specific obligations and benefits vary. Some franchisors offer a full range of services to get you started, including training, site selection, marketing plans, and products. Others give you little more than the legal right to use their name or symbol, after which you are on your own.

Initial and ongoing expenses vary widely among franchises, so determine all your costs before you invest. For example, some franchisors require franchisees to pay for licensing fees, building renovations, equipment purchases, operations manuals, real estate leases, and other start-up costs. Other franchisors may require you to pick up such costs as training, insurance and advertising.

Before signing a contract, talk to other franchisees of the franchisor that you are considering. If you hear extensive complaints, you should probably keep looking.

Seek professional advice before you invest. A lawyer familiar with franchising should review your contract, and we can help determine whether your income, expense, and cash flow projections make sense.

Selling Investment Property - Like-Kind Exchanges
 

A well known, but sometimes overlooked, way to alter investment holdings without paying tax at the time of the transaction is through the use of “like-kind” exchanges. In a like-kind exchange, investment property is traded for other investment property. The person transferring one piece of property receives different property but keeps the same basis as that for the old property. That way, the gain is deferred while other tax attributes are preserved.

Of particular interest are the flexible features that make a like-kind exchange an especially useful technique. First, properties do not have to be of identical type to qualify as like-kind. To take a few examples, commercial buildings have been exchanged for unimproved lots, farm land for city lots, and even cooperative housing stock carrying occupancy rights for a condominium interest in the same property. One caution: like-kind exchanges do not work with all types of investment property. For instance, neither stocks and bonds nor partnership interests qualify.

Second, properties do not have to be exchanged at the same time. Therefore, it is not necessary to have already located the exchange property to make a like-kind exchange (an important consideration if the end of a tax year is looming). It is sufficient that the exchange property be identified within 45 days after the relinquished property is given up, and that the identified property be received within 180 days. (However, if the tax return due date for the original transfer year occurs before the end of the 180-day period, the identified property must be received on or before the tax return due date).

To illustrate how these exchanges can work, consider the following example:

Fred owns an interest in an office building. He bought it years ago for $10,000, but today it’s worth at least $100,000. Fred has decided to move to Florida and convert his office building interest into an ownership share in a Florida apartment building. Allison wants to buy Fred’s office building interest and for tax reasons she wants to own the building interest by December 31. Fred wants to avoid the high tax he would have to pay after a cash sale.

A solution is a deferred like-kind exchange. Fred transfers his building interest to Allison on December 31. Allison agrees to locate and buy a Florida apartment building of equal value suitable to Fred. (Fred can even insist that Allison put the purchase price in escrow, so long as Fred has no independent right to the cash). After Allison finds and buys the Florida property, she transfers it to Fred, and the like-kind exchange is completed. Provided the 45/180 days rules along with other requirements are satisfied, Fred receives the Florida property tax free, with the same basis and holding period he had in the office building.

As you can see, a like-kind exchange can be an excellent tool that can be used to achieve investment goals. Even in situations where it is impractical to arrange a completely tax-free transaction, like-kind exchanges may still reduce the immediate tax consequences of altering your investment holdings. Any transaction must be carefully structured. We would be happy to discuss the detailed requirements with you. Please do not hesitate to call.

Alloy Happenings
by Len Lewis, CPA
 

R. Dennis Vogt, CPA

Appeared as a guest panelist on the weekly cable television show “Legal Line” hosted by Harry Hurley. The topic discussed on the show was “Tips For Starting Your Own Business.”

George E. Barrett, CPA

Appointed to the Executive Committee of Southwest Jersey Chapter of the New Jersey Society of CPAs.

Appeared as the alumni commencement speaker at the Rutgers University-Camden School of Business graduation ceremony on May 24, 2000.

Appointed to the Board of Trustees and the Investment/Finance Committee of The Children’s Home.

Steve Shapiro, CPA/PFS

Attended the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, PA and the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, CA in his capacity as the Director Representative for the Sallie Mae Political Action Committee.

We are pleased to announce the addition of the following employees to our firm:

Sheryl Tompakov, CPA, transferred from a Towson, MD firm.
Congratulations to:

Lisa Kleiner and her husband, Darren, on the birth of their son, Dylan James Kleiner.
Mari McCue on her marriage to Joe Gallo.
Dave Maedel on his successful completion of the CPA exam.
Thomas Adams, CPA, for receiving the Distinguished Service Medal from the State of New Jersey.
Steve and Renee Shapiro on the engagement of their daughter, Marci, to Michael Rosenstein.