state tax Archives - Blau Company Accounting & Tax Preparation

Arizona Update – §179 Depreciation Add-Back Eliminated

After the stock bubble burst in the late '90s, the government used the tax code to promote small business investment into equipment through increasing the immediate expensing limits provided for by Internal Revenue Code Section 179. For many years, the State of Arizona conformed the the Internal Revenue Code in arriving at taxable income. Especially hard hit by the economic downturn, the State of Arizona decided it could not comply with the increased expensing election. For tax year 2013, the State of Arizona will conform to the increased §179 deductions of up to $500,000 on qualifying property. Aaron's Take: The [...]

September 2nd, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off

Arizona Update – Working Poor Credit for Foster Care Organizations

HB2009, the 2013-2014 Revenue Budget Reconciliation modified the Arizona Working Poor Tax Credit to increase the dollar-for-dollar tax credit for eligible institutions. Contributions to organizations that qualify as "Foster Care Charitable Organizations" are now eligible for a $400/$800 Single/MFJ. This change is retroactive to January 1, 2013. For more information on this tax credit, visit the Arizona Department of Revenue website or contact our office.

September 2nd, 2013|Personal Tax|Comments Off

Arizona Update – §529/QTP Plan Contribution Increases

Arizona SB 1179, a law originally meant to change law pertaining to Ignition Interlock Devices, was modified to include several tax provisions. One such provision was a retroactive change in law pertaining to contributions to Qualified Tuition Plans, also known as §529 Plans. For single and head-of-household filers, the deductible amount increased from $750 to $2,000. For married couples filing jointly, the amount increased from $1,500 to $4,000. Aaron's Take: Most contributions to §529 plans exceed the former limits. However, the increase - while appearing to be significant - is not. Due to our already low state income tax rate, the [...]

September 2nd, 2013|Personal Tax|Comments Off

Tax collections – Where do they come from?

James Busby, a tax attorney with Gallagher & Kennedy and an expert in State and Local Taxation (SALT) recently published some great statistics about where Arizona's sales tax (technically transaction privilege tax) and use tax comes from. Here are the sources and percentages: Tax Type % of Tax Revenues Retail 51.10% Restaurant 10.60% Construction 10.12% Utility Services 10.05% Personal Property Rental 3.46% Telecommunications 3.38% Hotel Lodging 2.29% Amusement/Entertainment 1.10% Printing .27% Mining .11% Publishing (Print) .10% Other (Transportation, Pipeline, Rail Car, Real Property Leasing, Speculative Builder, & Other) 7.42%