Category Archives: Business Reports

Business Report: It's A Good Time For Finding A Home

April 7, 2016November 8, 2017

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Kim Salerno is the principal in Salerno Law PC in Ballston Spa.
Courtesy Salerno Law PC

By Kimberly A. Salerno, Esq

This is such an exciting time to be involved in our real estate market. The market is extremely healthy and, compared to last year, sales are higher than expected.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), “Total existing home-sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops… [are] 2.2 percent higher than a year ago.”

In the Northeast, we were spared the effects of the large East Coast blizzard and were able to maintain our real estate “bubble.” Our main challenge, however, continues to be a lack of inventory for potential buyers and being able to find the right property at an affordable price.

For example, I have a young couple I am representing who are purchasing their first home in Saratoga County. They are looking at homes in the $200,000-$300,000 price range. They found themselves in a multiple-offer situation (several potential buyers all putting in offers on the same listing and the seller can accept the “best” offer) on the first home they found and their offer was not accepted by the seller.

They found another home but again found themselves in a multiple-offer situation. This time they contacted me immediately so that we could “approve” the contract as quickly as possible. To further protect my client, I also added an “escalation clause” (if another offer came in their offer automatically increased $1,000.00 more than the highest offer). With these proactive measures in place, my clients were the successful bidders.

Let’s take a step back from that contract and documentation.

Can you imagine being a first time home-buyer and looking for a home in this market? As their attorney, I must understand the nuances of real estate law, but it is even more important to understand your client fully. It is essential to be patient and listen to all of your client’s concerns, acknowledging their stressors and providing reassurance by answering all of their questions and guiding them throughout the transaction.

Business Report: Things Change, But Remain The Same

February 5, 2016November 8, 2017

James T. Towne, Esq., principal at Towne
Ryan & Partners PC, Saratoga.

BY JAMES T. TOWNE, ESQ.

Growing up most of us heard the French
proverb “the more things change the more they
remain the same” at least once from our parents.
So, too, it applies to the state of the legal profession
in upstate New York, which continues following
a pattern ongoing since the start of the
Great Recession in 2008-09.

Part of the barometer for the profession’s
condition can be measured by the condition of
New York’s law schools. They prime the pump
of the profession.

In the first decade of the century, they flooded
the profession’s engine, leading to a lack of jobs
and entry level opportunities. In recent years,
New York’s law schools showed a continuing
decline in enrollment as those schools continued
to shrink faculty and admissions in an effort to
catch up with the realities of employment in
the profession.

In 2015, 11,565 students enrolled in New York
law schools, down from 12,033 (3 percent) the
year before. New York lagged the national trend
which showed the total number of students
fell by almost 6,000 or a 5 percent decrease in
national enrollment. The National Association
for Law Placement found that overall employment
for recent law graduates fell for the sixth
straight year in 2013 (to 84.5 percent) and that
unemployment among 2013 grads was 12.9
percent, nearly double the national unemployment
average for the same period of 6.6 percent.

Business Report: Make The Payroll Process Work

February 4, 2016November 8, 2017

Jeannine Dubiac is the owner of Priority One
Payroll LLC based in Malta.

BY JEANNINE DUBIAC, FPC

Payroll should be that process that just flows.
As a business owner you know first-hand that
your employees need to be paid on time, correctly,
every time.

Unfortunately, for many companies, it’s anything
but smooth. Staying on top of payroll can
be a time-consuming and stressful process, especially
when relying on outdated payroll methods
to get the job done. With the multiple of IRS and
state penalties looming over every business, and
great employees anxiously waiting for payday, it’s
best to adopt the most efficient payroll tools and
resources at an organization.

To avoid unnecessary payroll-induced headaches,
for employers and employees alike, here
are a few suggestions to help improve efficiencies
in your payroll process.

1. Managing payroll.

Issue: Undertaking various job duties and
titles is often a necessity skill for business owners.
Unfortunately, the more tasks there are to juggle,
from marketing to human resources to accounting,
the greater likelihood of dropping the ball
on one of the many fine details related to payroll
and payroll taxes.

Business Report: Obligations Under Fair Labor Standard Act

February 4, 2016November 8, 2017

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Jim Marco, president, Consultant of Saratoga
Human Resources Solutions Inc.

BY JIM MARCO

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the
piece of federal legislation that established
minimum wage and overtime requirements, and
defined which employees are exempt from the
minimum wage and overtime provisions of the act,
and which employees need to receive overtime pay.

The FLSA provides definitions under which employee
can be exempt. These exemptions fall under
certain categories such as executive exemption,
administrative exemption, professional exemption,
outside sales exemption, and the computer
employee exemption. Exempt employees are often
referred to as salaried employees.

In order to qualify for exempt status, employees
must meet three critical criteria related to job duties,
a minimum level of weekly pay, and they must
be paid on a salaried basis, which is also defined
by the FLSA. Companies who pay all employees a
weekly salary, thinking they are avoiding overtime
payments, are taking a substantial risk. Both the
federal and state departments of labor enforce
these laws, although it is usually the state that you
will be dealing with during an audit.

This can result in back pay, for several years,
fines and other penalties. Your best defense is an
accurate and compliant job description, good job
analysis, and a thorough documented review of
the requirements.

Business Report: Don't Put Off Business Succession Plan

February 4, 2016November 8, 2017

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Razzano is an associate with the Herzog Law Firm in Saratoga Springs.

BY BRITTINY B. RAZZANO

Excuse Number 1: Too Busy.

As a successful business owner, you may
have your hand in the day-to-day operations
and management of your business. It seems
like there is never enough time to sit down
and formulate a plan for your business when
you retire or after you pass away.

You have worked hard to make your business
thrive. It’s worth taking the time to ensure
its continued success. If you wait too long, it
will become more difficult to retire when you
want to, you may get a lower price, or ultimately
generate a greater tax liability. In the worst case
scenario, you may pass away unexpectedly
without ever formulating a plan, putting the
fate of your business in jeopardy.

If you plan ahead, you will be able to clearly
state your intentions and put your important
business operations in writing, to act as a road
map and guide for the future generation of
your business.

Business Report: Darwinism And Business Taxes

January 8, 2016November 8, 2017

James W. Cole is a tax partner with SaxBST, an accounting, tax and financial services firm.

BY JAMES W. COLE, CPA

According to Wikipedia, Darwinism is the
theory of biological evolution stating that all
species arise and develop through the natural
selection of small inherited variations that
increase the organism’s ability to compete,
survive and reproduce. In nature this plays
out over long periods, often with small incremental
changes.

In today’s business and tax world, these
changes happen rapidly and “natural selection”
is driven by innovation, global competition,
the political process and, ideally, by
well-informed conscious choice rather than
transmutation.

Most businesses today are no longer bound
by small geographical constraints. You can
invent the better mousetrap in your garage
today and be selling it across the country and
possibly the world next month thanks to the
internet and global shipping. And it is even
easier for many IT based businesses that can
avoid shipping altogether. This provides both
opportunity for success, as well as competitive
risk to be beaten by someone, somewhere who
can build it faster and/or cheaper.

So how does all of this “evolution” play out
in the business tax world?

Business Report: Is 2016 Open For Business?

January 8, 2016November 8, 2017

Michael Billok is a member of Bond,
Schoeneck & King’s Albany office.

BY MICHAEL BILLOK

Like time, the regulatory landscape never stops
moving. To that end, a key question on employers’
minds is this: What new laws and regulations are
going into effect in 2016, and how will they affect
my business?

New Overtime Exemption Rules

In July of 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor
(USDOL) proposed sweeping changes to
the overtime rules, such that millions of fewer
employees would be exempt from overtime. Currently
under federal law, in order to be exempt
from overtime under the executive, professional
or administrative employee exemptions, an employee
must earn at least $455 per week. (State
law requires minimum amounts of $675 per week
for executive and administrative employees).

Under the proposed new rule, those employees
would need to earn at least $970 per week in
order to still be exempt from the requirement
to pay them overtime for any time worked over
40 hours in a week. According to the USDOL’s
rulemaking schedule, the final rule should be
issued by July 2016. Once this rule goes into
effect, millions of employees that were earning
between $23,660 and $50,440 annually and were
previously exempt, will suddenly be subject to
overtime requirements.

New Injury and Illness Reporting Rules

In November of 2013, the U.S. Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed
rules that would drastically change how
employers track and report their injuries and
illnesses. This new rule is set to go into effect soon
as well, as OSHA has stated it intends to publish
the final rule in March of 2016. Currently employers
post annually, but do not submit, the OSHA
Form 300A that contains reportable injuries and
illnesses incurred over the past year.

Business Report: Put Your Financial 'Puzzle' Together

January 8, 2016November 8, 2017

BY ROB SNELL

Jan. 29 is National Puzzle Day, with puzzle celebrations
and events taking place at museums, libraries
and other venues across the country.
Why this date was chosen–or why National
Puzzle Day even exists–is something of a mystery.
But as an investor, you can find value in the concept
of a puzzle, specifically, in putting together the pieces
of your financial puzzle.

What are these pieces? Here are the essential ones:

Growth

At different times in your life, you will have
various goals – purchasing a first or second home,
sending your children to college, enjoying a comfortable
retirement, and so on. While these goals
are diverse, they all have one thing in common: To
achieve them, you’ll need some growth potential in
your investment portfolio. The nature and the extent
of the growth-oriented vehicles, such as stocks and
stock-based instruments, in your holdings will depend
on your specific goals, risk tolerance and time
horizon – but growth opportunities you must have.

Business Report: Coordinate Retirement Planning Efforts

December 2, 2015November 8, 2017

BY DAVID L. CUMMING

The typical American family reflected in
iconic television shows of the 1950s and 1960s,
in which the husband went off to work each
morning and the wife happily played out the
role of homemaker, is firmly in the minority.

By 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
that six in 10 families with children have
two working parents. What’s more, the majority
of Americans feel they need dual incomes in
order to reach their financial goals.

For a major goal like retirement, working
couples need to be especially vigilant to coordinate
their planning efforts in a way that
supports their combined accumulation objectives.
As you and your spouse execute your joint
retirement strategy, keep some of the following
tips in mind.

Business Report: Advance Retirement, Asset Protection

December 2, 2015November 8, 2017

BY KEVIN M. HEDLEY, MS, CPA, PFS

Business owners are generally more concerned
with day to day business matters and
may not realize some of the opportunities that
may arise from solving problems.

You may be concerned about the loss of key
employees, vendors or major clients, legal expenses,
or a myriad other concerns. All of these
can result in a catastrophic loss if they occur
and are the types of items that can keep you up
at night. When dealing with all of this it isn’t
often that a single solution can be found to solve
multiple problems facing business owners, but
there is such a solution available in the tax law.

One potential solution is known as a Captive
Insurance Company (CIC). The key difference
with the insurance to be discussed here and
insurance you obtain from your local insurance
carrier is you own the insurance company. The
Internal Revenue Code Section 831(b) effectively
allows a business to claim a deduction of up to
$1.2 million in a calendar year and have that premium
go to an insurance company that is owned
by the business owner. The added benefit of the
self owned insurance company is you do not pay
any tax on the receipt of the insurance premium.
Yes, you read that correctly, you deduct the premium
from one company you own and exclude
the income in another company you own.

So how can a CIC help your business?