With a presidential election looming in fall 2012, it’s anyone’s guess where taxes will be heading in the coming year. But that doesn’t mean business owners are not without options or opportunities at the end of 2011. Tax experts have identified the following top 10 tax benefits for businesses to consider before 2011 ends. 1. 100% Bonus Depreciation: Qualified investments in new equipment and tangible property before Jan. 1, 2012, may be eligible for temporary 100% bonus depreciation. For qualified property placed in service in 2012, 50% bonus depreciation is scheduled to return for 2012. Unlike Section 179 expensing (see
The value of new construction starts advanced 12% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $469.8 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. Much of the upward push came from nonresidential building, lifted by the start of a massive manufacturing project as well as by broader strengthening across several structure types. Also contributing to the total construction gain in October was a slight increase for the housing sector. Meanwhile, nonbuilding stayed even with its elevated September amount, helped by the start of several large electric power plants. Through the first 10 months of 2011,
Nestled in the foothills above Salt Lake City, the $102-million Natural History Museum of Utah in the Rio Tinto Center began welcoming visitors in mid-November. The new museum rests on a section of what was once the shoreline of ancient Lake Bonneville. It has already garnered praise from the design and building community as well as those wishing to explore the state’s unique people, geology and history. The NHMU, administered by the University of Utah, sits on a 17-acre site on the upper southeastern edge of campus with sweeping views of the Salt Lake Valley. The 163,000-sq-ft museum is now
Colorado will continue on the road to recovery and add jobs in 2012 following a positive year in 2011, according to economist Richard Wobbekind of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. Wobbekind’s announcement was part of the 47th annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook Forum presented Dec. 5 by CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.Compiled by the Leeds School’s Business Research Division, the comprehensive outlook for 2012 features forecasts and trends for 13 business sectors prepared by approximately 100 key business, government and industry professionals.“In 2012 we’re predicting slow but steady growth for Colorado, much like the U.S. economy,”
No one wants to be audited by the IRS. The time and expense can affect your business’ bottom line, not to mention the trauma of having IRS agents rummaging through your books with a crowbar. Knowing ahead of time which issues can trigger an audit and what IRS tax examiners look for can protect your company and help you audit-proof your tax returns. When performing an audit, IRS examiners come well armed. Over the past decade, the IRS has developed a library of “Audit Techniques Guides” to bring examiners up to speed on specific issues in various industries, including construction. These
Williams Village North, the University of Colorado Boulder’s newest residence hall, has received a LEED-Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The 500-bed residence hall is the first of its size in the nation to rank Platinum, the highest possible green designation. Photo courtesy of John Robledo Foto and CU Boulder CU-Boulder's LEED-Platinum-certified Williams Village North residence hall is the first building on campus to earn that distinction. The $46.5-million Williams Village North, at 131,246 gross sq ft, is projected to be nearly 40% more energy and water efficient than modern code-compliant buildings of the same size“Our Platinum rating—a
When companies large and small want to reach customers and prospects, they rely on e-mail marketing primarily because it’s fast and affordable. Today, construction businesses and contractors are using e-mail marketing campaigns tied in to landing pages that are custom designed and programmed for easy distribution and powerful reporting. What’s more, savvy construction companies are now integrating social-media marketing vehicles into their e-mail campaigns and leveraging powerful and geo-targeted applications like Twitter and Facebook. What do all of these marketing tactics have in common? The cloud is now the preferred platform for distribution, measurement and marketing campaign scalability.Clearly, it’s still
Like the national debt, dollar amounts attributed to fraud and corruption are staggering. According to the 2010 “Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse” by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), based on a survey of its members, global fraud loss is estimated at more than $2.9 trillion annually. While responses to such excess may include incredulity and outrage, the best response is one of action—namely, fraud prevention at the local level. What should a construction business executive look for when it comes to such an enormous problem? Plenty, it turns out.Facts about fraud cited in the
Construction defect litigation is inherently complicated. This is because construction involves a multitude of parties with separate contracts that create potentially divergent, and, at times, conflicting interests and motives. One source of complication is the accumulation of large quantities of documentation to be reviewed and analyzed, including e-mails, drawings, specifications, correspondence, meeting minutes, purchase orders, etc.Another source is the continuing evolution of design styles and construction methodologies, which has resulted in new and complex ways for projects to go wrong. New products may not perform as promised; new systems may not have all the kinks worked out, and radical
Construction employment shrank for the second straight month in November as residential, nonresidential building and heavy construction segments remained in low gear, according to an analysis of new federal employment data released recently by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said the employment drop reflects continued declines in public-sector investments. They added that construction employment could benefit from increased transportation investments and other pro-growth measures designed to boost private-sector demand.“Industry employment has remained virtually unchanged since early 2010 despite a pick-up in some private construction,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Although the construction unemployment rate fell
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