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Alpha-Mail 
The Tax Professional's Guide to Georgia Tax Credits, Courtesy of Alpharesults
Vol. I No. 1 November 2007
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Hello!
Welcome to Alpha-Mail, the monthly newsletter about Georgia tax credits for Georgia tax
professionals.
Why should you read Alpha-Mail? You will learn to recognize Georgia tax credit opportunities for your clients. You will have another reason to be proactive in your clients' tax planning. You will be able to answer more of your clients' questions about Georgia tax credits. And you will learn another way to add real value $$ to your client relationships.
In this month's issue, we want to remind you that the Georgia tax credits are still available! Also we have information you need to know about proposed new job tax credit regulations. So thank you for reading Alpha-Mail -- please tell us what you think here.
All the best, 
Dale Stapler & Jim Tinsley
P.S. You've received this email because you have a prior relationship with Jim, Dale, or Alpharesults (or all three!). Please accept our apologies if we've sent this to you in error. Click the "Safe Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of this email to be permanently removed from the list.
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Georgia Tax Credits Still Available!
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Although rumors of their death have been greatly exaggerated,
the Georgia income tax credits are still available. However, if your clients don't utilize these credits this year, there is a possibility they could be eliminated amidst all of the tax hoopla going on at the capitol. Several
CPAs, business owners, and other tax professionals have asked me about this, and I told them that it is extremely important to stay on top of developments due to changes, new interpretations, or proposed changes to the regulations.
For example, in the 2007 session, the Department of Revenue submitted a bill that would have eliminated or greatly diminished the opportunities to obtain Retraining Tax Credits (RTCs). But there was such an uproar from taxpayers that the bill was kept bottled up in committee and died quietly. We expect continued challenges to the RTC and possibly other credits in the next session.
Over the years, it has been hard to keep up with the tax credits, but
according to the Department of Revenue ("2006 Corporate Income Tax
Forms and General Instructions") there are 24 income tax credits available to
companies in Georgia. Some of the tax credits are no longer available, such as the
Small Business Growth tax credit (repealed 1/1/2006). There are new tax
credits that became effective in 2007, such as the Telework tax credit.
There is also a new $500 bonus to the Job Tax Credit.
The key things to keep in mind when reviewing a company's potential for Georgia income tax credits are:
- Georgia income tax
liability - for C corporations or pass-throughs
(S corp., LLC, LLP or other)
- Activities - training
employees on new technology, adding jobs, installing capital equipment
and other investments in the company.
As you begin your year-end tax planning with your clients, take the opportunity to review their potential for utilizing the tax credits. Remember to review the past 3 years, the current year, and future plans.
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New Job Tax Credit Rule
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After a summer-long odyssey of proposed rules, public hearings, secret meetings, public meetings, board meetings, comment period extensions, and who-knows-what-else, we still do not officially have a new job tax credit rule, according to Brian Williamson, Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
The proposed rule would basically clarify the types of business operations eligible for job credits (i.e., Business Enterprise), provide a "grandfather clause" for businesses already taking the JTC to continue doing so, and standardize the definition of Business Enterprise for DOR and DCA, which has been an issue in the past. You can view the proposed rule here.
The Job Tax Credit is administered jointly by the Department of Revenue (DOR) and DCA. Therein lies the problem, because DOR has already decided that it wants the new rule to take effect on 1/1/08. But DCA has a board of directors, and lots of people are upset that the new rule would reduce the number of companies that could utilize the credit.
Brian told me that the matter was on the table for the 11/7/07 board meeting. At that meeting, the board decided to extend the comment period again (for the third time) until 12/4/07, at which time another public hearing will be held. Click here to download the notice on that hearing.
What happens after that? Who knows? Stay tuned . . . 
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Upcoming Alpharesults Events
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December 13, 2007 - GSCPA Augusta Chapter presentation
January 15,2008 - GSCPA Southside Chapter presentation
January 22, 2008 - GSCPA Valdosta Chapter presentation
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About Us
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Alpharesults has assembled a team with the specialized knowledge and approach required to obtain Georgia income tax credits. We are not a public accounting firm. Rather, our services compliment those of public accounting firms and do not create conflicted loyalties, because our professionals do not perform attestation work or other external audit functions.
We focus on small to medium-sized businesses and work exclusively in Georgia with a wide variety of in-state and out-of-state accounting firms. For more information on our services, follow this link.
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