The State and Local Tax Buzz

On September 27, 2010, President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 (“Jobs and Credit Act”) into law. (See my AllBusiness.com October 4, 2010 post, “ Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 Includes Beneficial Tax Provisions to Fuel Business Growth ”, in which I explained several of the tax provisions that were part of the Jobs and Credit Act.) One of the most significant tax provisions included in the Jobs and Credit Act was the extension of the fifty percent (50%) first-year special depreciation allowance provision, commonly referred to as “bonus depreciation”. The Jobs and Credit Act extended the first-year bonus depreciation provision, which had expired at the end of 2009, through December 31, 2010 and made the provision retroactive to January 1, 2010. The Jobs and Credit Act also extended the bonus depreciation provision through 2011 for property with a 10 year or longer recovery period, such as certain long-lived assets and transportation property

Nexus, nexus, nexus, aahhhh, NEXUS! The mere word can send a chill down the spine of a taxpayer who suspects its activities in a state may have created that sufficient “connection” or “tie” to subject him to a state’s income or other business tax, or to be subject to a state’s sales tax collection requirement. Yes indeed, "nexus can be a hidden danger for a company with a multistate presence" . I invite you to read " Navigating Nexus ", an article co-authored by me and my colleague, Diana DiBello. Navigating Nexus was published in the November 2010 issue of the Journal of Accountancy . In Navigating Nexus , Diana and I discuss the various types of nexus, recent developments in the nexus landscape, and offer suggestions on how to chart a course through the treacherous nexus water. About my co-author: Diana DiBello, is the Director of Product Development for SpeedTax , a provider of sales and use tax compliance software solutions.