July 5, 1994

Kudos for Clymer

          The New Jersey Division of Taxation has made its tax forms instantly available to anyone who has access to a fax machine. The new service NJ Tax Fax, makes State tax forms available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While the service is aimed at professional tax preparers, anyone can use it. The NJ Tax Fax number is 609-588-4500. Once connected, simply enter the form number of the desired form. It will be faxed to you within seconds.

          The new feature is part of an ongoing effort to improve services to tax practitioners and taxpayers of New Jersey and speed receipt of tax returns.

          We applaud State Treasurer, Brian Clymer for his innovation and hope there are more service oriented government officials like him.

A New World

          Recently I determined that when I am on the road and because I have a habit of not calling the offices, the offices still need to reach me for emergencies. To remedy the situation I purchased a cellular telephone from a client, E5 Communications, Inc. (212-226-3110, ask for Robert Lee and tell him I sent you). There are some moments in your life that you know you are entering the future, this was one of them. It was hard for me to grasp the fact that I can walk down the street and talk to my office. But before buying a telephone I had to make so many decisions such as weight, style, back up battery or car adapter and delve through the assortment of plans and companies offering service and to consider in what geographic locations I will be. I am glad I did not go to just any discount store; I am glad I went to a store that provided me with the advice to tell me which phones break, which donÕt, which provide a good sound and which donÕt and which plan was probably the best and of course, to get a good telephone number. I can heartily recommend the people at E5 Communications. They are at 200 Centre Street in Manhattan just off Canal. (If you go, be prepared to browse the storefronts on Canal for knock off handbags, watches, etc.) Oh yes, I got a micro cellular phone with one eight hour battery, a recharger and a car adapter, This was one small step for mankind, but a giant leap for me !!

Back by Special Request!
From the June 1992 Newsletter!

More on Kuwait and Saudi Arabia

          For those of you who are less than enamored with Kuwait and its wealthy Arab brethren, it may be of interest to note that the son of the Saudi Arabian King, the former finance minister of Kuwait and the oil minister of the United Arab Emirates, as well as other wealthy Arabs have formed a corporation called Investcorp that now owns Carvel, Tiffany`s, Saks Fifth Avenue and 50% of Gucci. I for one, shall miss Tom Carvel`s gravelly voice and Carvel ice cream.

New Jersey Audits Become More Sophisticated

          The Field Audit Branch of the New Jersey Department of Taxation is about to conclude a project where most of the pizza restaurants in New Jersey were subjected to an audit and where third party information was a major tool. In addition to normal verification and audit procedures, businesses that supplied raw materials such as flour, cheese and tomato sauce were contacted. They were asked to submit the total amount of their purchases for the audit period. In most cases, the suppliers cooperated. When they did not, the Division subpoenaed the information. Once the purchase information was available, the mark up percentage for each restaurant was determined and applied to the cost of the raw materials.

          The resulting estimated gross receipts were adjusted for various factors unique to each operation and then compared to the figures reported. Significant differences resulted in assessments for unreported taxes. When it appeared that there were gross understatements of receipts, the case was turned over to the Division`s Office of Criminal Investigations for possible criminal action.

          It is only a matter of time until all states will act this intelligently.

          If you feel you are about to be audited and need help in representation or need advice in the strategy for an audit that you will handle yourself, call us.

IRS Stalls `93 Refunds

          Where people who have not filed before and the IRS has 1099s, W-2s, etc. for them for past years but no returns, the Service will use the refund to offset potential taxes that may be due for earlier years. You can get your refunds by filing the prior years returns.

          If you have any questions about these tax notes or any other matters, please call us.