Any appeal from the 2011 assessment must be filed by April 1, 2011. All initial appeals may be filed to the County Board of Taxation. However, if an assessed value exceeds $1,000,000 (legislation increased this amount on January 21 from the original amount of $750,000), then an appeal may be made directly to the New Jersey Tax Court. 
  
Hunter’s Risk-Free Offer
 
Hunter Group CPA LLC is experienced in handling appeals for commercial, industrial, multi-residential, hotels and special-use property.

You may wonder if it is worth filing an appeal for your property. The answer is, not always. Some analysis is required to determine if an appeal is warranted. To help ease the uncertainty, Hunter Group will waive our $500 determination analysis fee if we find no merit in filing an appeal on your property.

In addition, if an appeal is pursued, we will apply a credit for our analysis fee against the final cost for our services. As an added incentive, if you prefer, we will handle the appeal process for you (excluding court) on a contingent fee basis. In many instances, appeals can be negotiated by Hunter Group tax experts working directly with the local county or appeal boards. However, you may be required to hire legal counsel if the matter ultimately goes to court.
 
 
Deadline Approaching
 
The April deadline is fast approaching. To discuss your property tax issue with Hunter Group, or to learn more details about our property tax appeals process, please contact:
Scott D. Davis at 201-693-9802.

We look forward to working with you on this significant potential tax savings opportunity.
　

Read Scott’s comments by clicking here.

Mr. Hofsommer has extensive experience working with closely-held businesses in the manufacturing and distribution industries as well as in the real estate, and professional services marketplace.  In addition to tax planning, Ken is skilled at assisting clients with high level projects including IRC section 1031 like-kind exchanges, representation during IRS and State tax examinations, cost segregation, income and sales tax nexus and R&D studies.

“Ken is a perfect addition to our growing tax services team,” notes Thomas P. McNabola, CPA, managing director of Hunter Group CPA LLC, adding “Ken’s reputation and a well-rounded professional with hands-on experience will be tested quickly in our busy national tax practice.”
 
Before joining Hunter Group, Kenneth Hofsommer, CPA MST was a Manager at Mintz Rosenfeld & Co. LLC for three years before the firm merged with JH Cohn in 2006.   

Kenneth Hofsommer CPA MST holds a Masters of Science-Taxation from Seton Hall University.  He will continue to be active in the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey and the Morris County Chamber of Commerce.

 For information, contact the Marketing Department of Hunter Group at 201-261-4030, or write to 17-17 Route 208, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410, or visit the website at www.thehuntergroup.com, or via email at info@thehuntergroup.com.

compromised Democrats turned donkey to mouse.

A tax bill extension that the Senate had passed;

was sent to Congress for its passage at last.

The Bill added two years to the Bush-era cuts;

leaving Democrats sick in their collective guts.

The President lobbied with feverous might;

with hopes that the tax cuts would make the economy right.

Despite the inclusion of benefits for the rich;

the bill was sent to Congress with hopes of no hitch.

The roll call was held and the vote is now history;

with lawyers and accountants now cutting through the mystery.

With the bill now signed and the law in place;

its time for planning to begin, its off to the race.

On business owners, lawyers, tax planners and the wealthy,

its time to act and make your estate plan healthy.

For in two years these cuts will be debated a ton;

as the gift and estate tax could again be heading back to 2001.  

           — (C) Copyright 2010 Hunter Group CPA LLC

All kidding aside, with control in the House of Representatives crossing the isle as a result of the mid-term elections, an otherwise simple extension of the tax cuts included in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and other legislation has been augmented with estate and gift tax provisions that are clearly more generous than many had anticipated. Uncertainty burdening tax payers and planners has been resolved, at least for the next two years. The changes contained in the “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010” dealing with estate, gift and generation skipping taxes are many, with the following among the important features:

• Exclusion or exemption amount of $5 million
• Tax rate of 35% for estate, gift and generation skipping transfer taxes in 2011 and 2012
• Exemption amount indexed beginning in 2012
• Portability of Unused Exemption
• Option for estates in 2010 to use either 2010 or 2011 law
• Re-coupling of gift tax exemption with estate tax exemption

These changes make it important to review estate plans, legal documents in place, and consideration of whether the timing is again right to make significant wealth transfers while eliminating, or at least deferring, tax.

The re-coupling of the gift tax exemption which effectively increased the gift exemption amount from $1 million in 2009 to $5 million in 2011 opens the door for efficient wealth transfer. The early transfer of assets will likely eliminate any future capital appreciation from an estate thereby reducing eventual estate taxes.

Since first instituted in 1916, the estate tax has seen several major modifications, with top rates as high as 77% from the late-1940’s until 1975. With lower rates and higher exemption levels, it is prudent to review your estate plan now.

As we dissect the new bill further, we will provide additional insight.  Best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Scott A. Richards

Hunter Group  CPA LLC

The government wants small businesses to make investments in equipment to help jumpstart the economy and create new jobs.  To make this happen, the President recently signed into law the Small Business Job Act of 2010. An important component of the legislation is a temporary increase in the dollar limits for accelerated depreciation under the Code Section 179 rules.  Business taxpayers will now be able to deduct up to $500,000 in 2010 and up to $2,000,000 in 2011off of their federal tax when they purchase qualifying business property.  Under the new law, qualifying property has also been expanded to include certain business real property.  In addition, the law also extends the 50-percent bonus depreciation allowance for property placed in service through 2010.

This is particularly good news for small to middle market businesses who have been holding off purchases of business machines, specialty equipment for manufacturing or packaging, or even energy-saving equipment to make products and buildings more green.

For more information, please contact us: lxf@thehuntergroup.com.

Written by: Scott D. Davis, JD

 Even so, property managers and homeowners still have an ample opportunity to file appeals for the upcoming tax year.  While the story would tend to steer the reader that tax appeals are hurting local town budgets, the fact is these reductions reflect the reality that values have changed and taxpaying property owners would have been overcharged. These adjustments simply reflect the reality that many properties—in particular office buildings, shopping centers and warehouses—may be paying considerably more real estate tax than their current values should command.

Even more startling, quite often we find, when we compare the actual square footage of the property to the tax roles, assessors may be working with outdated or incorrect building dimensions or usage data. In many instances, our real property tax CPAs are able to analyze the property, meet with the town tax assessor and file the appeal without the need for a court appearance.  During this difficult business cycle, this is one housekeeping task that is very often uncomplicated and well worth doing.  For more information, click here.

 Written by: Scott D. Davis, JD

Well, as you will see from our response, nothing is simple or without pain when it comes to bankruptcies…even for seemingly unrelated parties!  Click here to read more…