Summer 2013 Newsletter

2013 Summer Newsletter

It’s been a busy start to summer!

At the State level, Governor Kasich signed the State of Ohio biennium budget. While we won’t get into some of the controversial parts of the bill, we have summarized the tax code changes below.

In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court just ended a busy (& controversial) session. As you likely followed in the news last week, the Defense of Marriage Act was ruled unconstitutional; rendering same-sex marriages to be treated equally under federal law. Regardless of your social views on this matter, you should be aware of the financial impact to individuals and businesses. (see more below)

Be safe and have a happy Fourth of July with family and friends!

Best Wishes,
The Beacon Hill Team

Affordable Care Act Update: One-year reprieve granted to employers for health-care mandate.

Difficult quarter for “gold bugs”:

Ironically, good news for the economy translated into bad news for investors after the Fed provided its blueprint for winding down the quantitative easing efforts… (Read More)

Quarterly Economic Perspective

• GDP in Q1 tops out at 1.8%
• China Central Bank forced to inject cash
• U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Defense of Marriage Act
• Unemployment rate nudges down to 7.6%
• Housing market recovery accelerates
• Inflation remains tame and well-contained
• EU can’t seem to buck the recession (Read More)

Defense of Marriage Act

We review the financial and administrative impact to individuals and businesses… (Read More)

Mid-Year Planning: New Tax Rules

As you take stock of your tax situation, here are a few new wrinkles to keep in mind. (Read More)

Estate Portability – what?

Each taxpayer has an amount of property that can be sheltered from estate taxes… (Read More)

Ohio’s New Budget

There were a few controversial social measures in the new State biennium budget which was signed into law on June 30 by Gov. John Kasich. The State fiscal year begins on July 1, 2013 and the budget totaled $62 billion.
Putting social agendas aside, you should also be aware of the tax implications for you and your business with the new State of Ohio budget. Expect to see the following changes with varying effective dates:

• Income tax changes
• Business pass-thru tax
• CAT tax
• Property tax homestead exemption (Read More)