January/February 2011 Newsletter
Michael R. Breza Joins Olsen Thielen as Tax Principal
Written by Michael Breza, CPA, MBT on February 2, 2011
We are pleased to announce that Michael R. Breza has joined Olsen Thielen as a Tax Principal.
Mike is a graduate of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona, and received his Master of Business Taxation degree from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. He has more than 21 years of public accounting experience advising individuals, families and closely-held businesses on tax and financial matters.
He has extensive experience working in the manufacturing, distribution and retail industries. Olsen Thielen now has 20 Principals and 90 staff.
Mike lives in Little Canada, Minnesota, and is a member of Canadian Days, Inc., a volunteer committee which organizes the annual 3-day festival for the City of Little Canada. He is an active member at St. John’s of Little Canada Church as eucharistic minister and is a member of the Church Finance Council and Men’s Club.
He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants (MNCPA).
IRS2Go For Smartphone Users
Written by Tia Elliott, CPA on February 2, 2011
On January 24, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service announced the availability of IRS2Go, its first smartphone application for iPhone and Android users.
The application lets taxpayers check on the status of their tax refunds as well as keep up with the latest tax tips and information from the IRS. The app is free and can be downloaded by visiting the Apple App Store or the Android Marketplace, depending on the type of smartphone you have. “This new smart phone app reflects our commitment to modernizing the agency and engaging taxpayers where they want when they want it,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. Features of the application include:
- Get Your Refund Status – To check the status of your federal refund.
- Get Tax Updates – Allows taxpayers to get daily tax tips via their email.
- Follow the IRS – To get the latest federal tax news and information via @IRSnews on Twitter.
Information exchanged with the IRS using the application is masked and encrypted for security. To get more information on this and other new media products, visit www.irs.gov.
Some Federal Return Filings to be Delayed
Written by Becky Oberlander, CPA on February 2, 2011
The IRS has stated that if a taxpayer is within any of the following three categories, the taxpayer will have to wait until approximately February 14, 2011 to file their tax returns. This delay affects both paper filers and electronic filers. Taxpayers who are claiming any of the following will be delayed in filing their tax returns:
- itemized deductions on Schedule A
- higher education tuition and fees deduction
- educator expense deduction
This filing schedule will not delay an individual from getting his/her information into the tax preparer, however it will delay the taxpayer in receiving their final return and submitting it. Note that Minnesota has currently not adopted the Federal law changes.
Olsen Thielen Adviser Blog
Written by Newsletter Editor on February 2, 2011
Don’t miss the opportunity to keep pace with breaking news and communications–visit our Adviser Blog for news and views about hot topics. Go to our webpage, www.otcpas.com and click on the Adviser Blog in the upper right hand corner.
We appreciate our readers’ comments and ideas. Send your input to our newsletter editor, Mike Bromelkamp at mbromelkamp@otcpas.com or call him at (651) 621-8546.
World’s Highest Mountains by Continent
Written by Newsletter Editor on February 2, 2011
North America – Mount McKinley, Alaska – 20,320 feet
South America – Mount Aconcagua, Argentina – 22,834 feet
Europe – Mount Elbrus, Russia – 18,510 feet
Asia – Mount Everest, Nepal/Tibet – 29,028 feet
Australia – Mount Kosciksko, New South Wales – 7,310 feet
Antarctica – Vinson Massif – 16,864 feet
Copier Data Security: A Guide for Businesses
Written by Lisa Dunnigan, MCTS, CNE on February 2, 2011
A few months ago, CBS did a story called “Digital Copiers Loaded With Secrets”, which exposed the hidden dangers of sensitive data stored on the hard drives of digital copiers.
According to the story, “Nearly every digital copier built since 2002 contains a hard drive – like the one on your personal computer – storing an image of every document copied, scanned, emailed by the machine.” In their research, they purchased four previously used digital copiers and removed the hard drives. Using software that was easily found and downloaded off the Internet they read the drives, discovering tens of thousands of scanned document images containing highly sensitive data. Read the rest of this entry »
Payroll Rates and Earnings for 2010 & 2011
Written by Newsletter Editor on February 2, 2011
Click here to access the chart.
2011 Mileage Rates
Written by Newsletter Editor on February 2, 2011
The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2011 standard mileage rates for calculating the deductible costs of operating an automobile for various purposes. The standard mileage rates for the use of a car (including vans, pickups or panel trucks) for 2010 and 2011 are as follows:
2010 2011
Business miles 50 cents 51 cents
Medical & moving miles 16.5 cents 19 cents
Charitable miles 14 cents 14 cents
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January/February 2011 Newsletter
