A number of Whalen’s clients are actively involved in industry groups associated with their business. Leadership in these organizations is an indicator of the quality of the management of these companies and their commitment to excellence and continuous improvement.

We’re delighted to recognize Bret Bordner, vice president of Laser Reproductions, who has been elected president of the 2014 Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) board of directors. This will be Bret’s third year serving on the AMUG board. In 2011 he held the position of secretary and 2012 he held the position of co-vice-president.

Laser Reproductions is a leading provider of rapid prototyping, manufacturing, product development and stereolithography services to industrial design firms, original equipment manufacturers, inventors and architects. By combining today’s leading processes, a vast production capacity and the company’s expertise in design engineering, Laser Reproductions delivers innovative solutions that rapidly bring ideas to life. Full-service capabilities include today’s leading rapid prototyping processes and tooling and manufacturing services.

AMUG educates and supports users of all additive manufacturing technologies. Members from all over the world are focused in advancing additive manufacturing technology for rapid manufacturing and prototyping.

Many provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 have recently gone into effect, and some significant provisions will do so in 2014 and 2015. To help individuals and families, employers (both large and small), and other organizations learn more about how they’ll be affected, the IRS has launched a new website: www.irs.gov/uac. The site offers information on the tax benefits and responsibilities for various groups, such as:

• Individuals and families — new additional Medicare taxes, changes to the itemized medical expense deduction and open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace
• Employers — determining whether you’re a large or small employer, shared responsibility payments for large employers, and the small business health care tax credit
• Other organizations — tax provisions for insurers, certain other business types and tax-exempt and government organizations

While the new website provides substantial information on tax-related provisions of the health care act, it’s no substitute for professional advice. So please contact us for more information on how you can take advantage of any benefits available to you and minimize any negative tax consequences.

Recently, our marketing department received an email notifying us that we were chosen to receive a “2013 Worthington Award” from the Worthington Award Program.  It was very exciting news.  It even came with a press release, so that we could share this accomplishment with the world.   But in the background of that excitement, something didn’t seem quite right.  How did we get nominated? Why haven’t we heard of this award before? And who is the “Worthington Award Program” anyway?

The website for the award program is very vague.  You can visit it here, or do a search for “award program” and the name of almost any city, and you will find an identical website. There is no address available, no contact person, and no real information about this prestigious award that we have just won.  Upon entering the award code from the email, we are taken to an order page, where we have the honor of purchasing our award.  The prices range from $80 to $200 dollars.

After doing a bit of research, it is apparent that this is a very common scam which has been targeting small businesses for years.  The point of the scam is to get businesses to buy an award, which is ultimately worthless. The original culprit was a business calling itself the US Commerce Association, which became well known for its efforts to snare businesses into purchasing their “awards.”

It seems highly likely that the people behind the US Commerce Association are the same as the ones behind the (Your City Name) Awards Program.  The content of the websites, emails, the press release, and the awards are virtually identical.  The only difference is that they are no longer associated with the infamous US Commerce Association.

Here are a few valuable tips from the BBB so that you don’t fall victim to one of these schemes:

• Learn everything you can about who is giving the award. If it is coming from a mystery company, chances are it simply wants your money.
• If you didn’t apply for an award, or the group cannot tell you how you were nominated, chances are the award is not legitimate.
• Most legitimate awards do not come with costs for the recipient. If there is a cost, scrutinize even more closely.
• Ask specific questions about how your company or organization was chosen for an award, and find out how many similar awards are given each year.
• Check BBB reliability reports at www.bbb.org or by calling your local BBB office.

S corporation owners often take modest salaries as a tax-saving strategy. By distributing most of the corporation’s profits in the form of dividends rather than wages, the company and its owners can avoid payroll taxes on these amounts. The tax savings may be even greater now that the additional 0.9% Medicare tax on wages in excess of $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers and $125,000 for married filing separately) has gone into effect. (S corporation dividends paid to shareholder-employees generally won’t be subject to the new 3.8% Medicare tax on net investment income.)

Although S corporations may be tempted to pay little or no salary to their shareholder-employees, this is a dangerous tactic. The IRS has targeted S corporations, assessing unpaid payroll taxes, penalties and interest against companies whose owners’ salaries are unreasonably low.

To avoid an unexpected tax bill, S corporations should conduct an analysis — using compensation surveys, company financial data and other evidence — to establish and document reasonable salaries for each position. Please contact us if you have questions about the right mix of salary vs. distributions for your S corporation’s shareholder-employees.