In recent high-profile stories, Dean Zerbe shares his expertise and insights on the tax code and how proposed changes will affect small and mid-size businesses.
In a cover story on July 23, 2012 in The Wall Street Journal, “Firms Pass Up Tax Breaks, Citing Hassles, Complexity,” Dean Zerbe was sought as a subject matter expert to speak on how unnecessary convolutions in the tax code may discourage some U.S. companies from attempting to acquire the numerous federal and state tax incentives available to them. According to the article, some experts “estimate that eligible businesses obtain as little as 5% of the main domestic tax breaks that they are entitled to” foregoing tens of billions of dollars annually. The IRS estimates that only 20,000 corporate tax returns of the 1.78 million filed in the U.S. took advantage of the many credits they were eligible for, highlighting the significant tax savings left on the table.
alliantgroup has helped thousands of businesses in numerous industries cut through the complex tax code and benefit from lucrative incentives. Dean and his alliantgroup colleagues actively advocate on the Hill for simplification of the tax code so these incentives will be used by even more companies as the stimulants Congress intended them to be.
On July 20, 2012, Dean also was quoted in “Congress Fights Over Tax Cut Extension” in Accounting Today, speaking on numerous proposed tax initiatives from members of both parties. “You’re seeing more posturing than things moving at the moment,” Dean said, commenting that major changes probably won’t be proposed until after the November elections. Dean speculated that certain tax incentives and economic priorities would shift depending on how the elections turn out. However, he is confident that the Research and Development credit will remain intact regardless of who wins. “I do think obviously members on both sides of the aisle love the R&D credit. No question about that,” he said.
Dean Zerbe is alliantgroup’s National Managing Director based in Washington D.C. Prior to joining alliantgroup, Dean was Senior Tax Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. During his tenure, Dean was intimately involved with nearly every major piece of tax legislation signed into law. Dean’s “Dean of Tax” column appears regularly on Forbes.com. Visit our main site at www.alliantgroup.com.
