FATCA: Move Over FFIs, Here Come the NFFEs

Most people would agree that the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and foreign financial institutions are like peanut butter and jelly.  Whether or not you like the combination, they simply go together. 

Their pairing has been reinforced by the frequent publicity garnered by FFIs and the expanded withholding obligations FATCA has imposed on them.  But CPAs beware!  Lurking backstage is another set of entities affected by the rules of FATCA that you need to keep in mind.

How Do You Tackle Health Care Reform?

One provision at a time, of course!

Everyone is talking about the new Affordable Care Act.  Everyone is reading about it. Everyone is writing about it. Everyone is learning about it. But what is anyone doing about it?   

Not enough is what I am hearing from my fellow CPAs. And that is quite understandable when simply thinking about the magnitude of health care reform can leave you scratching your head. But there is a way to devour the totality of the legislation without feeling completely overwhelmed:  tweak your approach.  Just as the saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, of course!” The same holds true for tackling health care reform, you tackle it “one provision at a time.”

Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision on June 28 to uphold the mandate requiring  most U.S. citizens and legal residents to maintain minimum health coverage, many individuals and businesses put off action in case the law was overturned. Now that the results are in, many people are taken aback wondering how to go about implementing the vast array of elements that make up health care reform.