Fraud is a persistent threat every organization must face. Although most are honest and do not commit illegal activities, all it takes is one bad actor to have a significant and negative impact. The risk is especially high for nonprofit organizations that have limited resources to implement the training and controls necessary for optimal risk management. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) Occupational Fraud Report 2022: Report to the Nations, there were 188 cases of nonprofit fraud reported with a median loss of $60,000 during the period examined. It was also reported that religious, charitable, and social service organizations experienced a median loss of $78,000.

Over the last few months, the State of New Jersey has been considering making significant changes to state tax rules. The focus has been on overhauling the business tax code to make it more competitive with other states. As expected, earlier this month Governor Murphy signed Assembly Bill (AB) 5323 into law. It calls for several changes to the state tax code, including an update to nexus rules, decoupling from federal R&D amortization requirements, NOL adjustments, and updates to business interest deduction rules

From August 26 to September 4, 2023, the State of New Jersey will be holding a Sales Tax Holiday on certain items sold to individual purchasers for non-business use. The tax holiday will waive the 6.625% sales tax on a long list of eligible items, many of which are needed by parents and children for the upcoming school year.

The need for more robust retirement savings for workers is an issue which has been top of mind for legislators over the last several years. Broader access to employer sponsored retirement savings plan along with reduced hurdles to participation are just two of the many issues that have to be considered. Last December, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2023, which included the SECURE Act 2.0. This legislation, named after the original SECURE Act passed in 2019, delivers several reforms and updates to benefit workers and make it less burdensome for small employers to offer retirement plans. While these reforms offer some measure of relief, many states have elected to make further changes.

The push towards renewable energy has been a priority of President Biden’s since taking office. Not only is it seen as a way to proactively manage climate change, but it ensures the United States remains a global leader in clean energy technology, manufacturing, innovation, and production. In fact, there have been several parcels of legislation, including the Inflation Reduction Act, which offer lucrative incentives for clean energy investments.

It’s never too early to start your tax planning, and the IRS recently announced several new and existing tax benefits that businesses can take advantage of in 2023, as well as some reporting changes that are coming this year.

The IRS recently announced that the nearly 1.5 million taxpayers who have unclaimed tax refunds for tax year 2019 have until July 17, 2023 to submit their returns. It is estimated that almost $1.5 billion in refunds are as yet unclaimed, with an average median refund of $893.

The federal Research & Development (R&D) tax credit has long been an important incentive available to businesses engaged in eligible innovation activities. The opportunity to receive a dollar for dollar incentive has helped many companies fund new projects while offsetting expenses on current programs. The ability to claim and deduct eligible expenses in the year incurred has provided significant benefit.

Each year, the IRS releases its “Dirty Dozen,” a list of tax scams that taxpayers should be wary of.  The list highlights common scams that put people at risk of losing money, personal information, data, and more. 

The IRS utilizes many different methods of communication in order to educate the general public, but it also sometimes needs to directly contact an individual taxpayer about a specific issue.  Here are some things to keep in mind if you are contacted by the IRS.