4Thought Blog

Just in time to avoid a government shutdown, the federal government last week approved new spending bills that extend and change some important tax benefits for both businesses and individuals.

Here’s a look at some of the key changes from the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. These will go into effect right around the two year anniversary of the passage of the sweeping Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017.

Tax season 2018 has come and gone. Being the first following the enactment of the sweeping Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, it was one for the accounting history books.

Here’s a few things we learned:

• This act may be the exact opposite of tax simplification.
• Sure, the new 1040 is postcard sized … if you don’t count the six new schedules.
• And you can never drink enough coffee.

While complicated, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provided a lot of new tax benefits to businesses, especially those that conducted tax projections and planning.

Cash flow is the lifeblood of every manufacturing company. While many business practices factor into your company’s cash flow, two are especially important: cash management and obtaining outside financing.

Effective and efficient cash management practices can help best administer the money coming in and out of your business. And bank loans can sometimes be necessary to provide your company with a cash flow influx, especially during times of expansion or other capital projects.

Read on for tips for cash controls, negotiating bank loans and your company’s cash conversion cycle.

Whether you’re looking to buy a brewery, sell a brewery, gift some ownership to a partner or successor, or are just plain curious, the question of value is of primary concern. Ask any valuator worth their salt and he or she will tell you, valuation is an art, not a science.

There is no black and white formula for determining what a brewery is worth. However, there are time tested and generally accepted methods within which one can work to derive a fair value.

Pennsylvania is now accepting applications for its renewed Malt Beverage Tax Credit for brewers.

Applications must be filed by April 1. The credit allows brewers to count qualifying capital expenditures against their state malt beverage excise tax liability.

The capital expenditures include equipment or machinery used in brewing. The maximum benefit is $200,000 a year, though any unused credit can be carried forward.

Brewers, vintners and distillers should all say “cheers” to the new federal tax laws.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law last month, lowers taxes on just about every alcohol producer, including craft brewers, hard cideries and mead makers.

The new tax rates went into effect Jan. 1, 2018 and expire Dec. 31, 2019. Below are the changes:

There’s great news for Pennsylvania’s craft brewers – the new state budget includes a very helpful tax credit especially for them.

The malt beverage tax credit provides an annual $200,000 maximum tax credit for qualifying capital expenditures.

The credit was previously available for 35 years in Pennsylvania, from 1974 through 2008. Pennsylvania’s craft brewers have fought hard since to renew it, which finally happened with last week’s budget approval.

A great tax benefit manufacturers can seek is something you already have in operation – your factory, facility or office building.

Business property, as a whole, can be depreciated over 39 years. But many building components can qualify to be depreciated over far fewer years, which allows for greater tax savings.

This method is called cost segregation depreciation and requires an engineering-based study to use this tax strategy.