Due to the ease of mass mailing thousands of people at the same time, email fraud is higher than it’s ever been. Lately, small businesses are being targeted with scammers becoming more sophisticated in their tactics. It is common practice as a scam to use the name of a legitimate business to send out fake invoices via email.  Please note Stevens, Sloan & Shah, CPAs will never demand money over an email invoice. ​ If you happen to receive such an invoice from our office, please call us to verify its legitimacy.
 
Be sure to also avoid opening any email attachments or clicking on any links from suspicious persons or emails. These are attempts at phishing.  Phishing is the activity of defrauding an online account holder of financial information by posing as a legitimate company.  Never ever send private tax information such as your social security number or date of birth over email.  We will never request this information over email and will always call to ask you this information.  Further, we will also call to verify your identity before releasing any information - just in case you are the victim of phishing yourself.
 
If something looks suspicious, trust your instincts. If a scammer is sending you bogus bills, please speak up and report it to the appropriate authorities. 

You may also wish to:

• File a complaint with the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint and with the BBB (link is external). Complaints help shape the FTC’s law enforcement agenda, so it’s important to sound off when you spot a scam. Concerned about business directory fraudsters’ threats to tarnish your credit if you don’t pay? Many will simply drop the matter — and may even provide a refund — if they know you’ve complained.
• If you think you’ve been victimized in a fraud scheme that involves the U.S. Mail, submit a Mail Fraud Complaint Form to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
• Alert your state Attorney General. You can find contact information at naag.org (link is external), or check the blue pages of the phone book under State Government.

The internet has made life much more convenient, efficient and easy but we must be cognizant of the potential risks of using the internet. Implementing appropriate safeguarding measures such as strong passwords and fostering an attitude of healthy skepticism will help protect you from those with malicious intent. Be safe and be aware!

Yesterday, per Notice 2015-82, 2015-50 IRB; IR 2015-133, the IRS increased the de minimis safe harbor limit (Reg. § 1.263(a)-1(f)(1)(ii)(D)) from $500 to $2,500 for those taxpayers who don’t maintain applicable financial statements. This change is effective January 1, 2016, but the IRS will not contest the use of the new $2,500 expensing limit for previous years including the 2015 tax year.

Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 1522, which includes mandatory sick leave law that will affect most employers in California. Accrual for sick leave does not need to start until July 1, 2015. However, after that date, employers must comply with the record keeping and accrual requirements of the law. ​

The Internal Revenue Code provides a special provision for farmers and fisherman who have income that varies greatly from year to year called "income averaging." In addition to fluctuating income, if there is a major tax rate change as is the case for 2013, income averaging may be especially beneficial for you if you are a farmer or fisherman and are lucky enough to be subject to the top tax rate of 39.6% in 2013, 2014 and 2015.