New Tax Law Presents 'Hummer' of an Opportunity For Some Hard-Driving Business Owners BOCA RATON, Fla., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- There may be no time like the present to buy that Hummer, if you're a small business that can use one. According to Robert Zeigen, a CPA and Principal of Goldstein Lewin & Co., the new tax cut makes mid- and long-term financial planning more tax-driven than ever before. And maybe Hummer driven too. Take purchasing a new SUV that is used 100% for business. The new law allows businesses to write off the entire purchase price in the first year of ownership up to $100,000. And then some. But the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 does more than that. It will drive small business owners to their CPAs to discuss financial planning opportunities as the window for enjoying them will not remain open permanently. Business owners planning qualified asset purchases have only until December 31, 2005 to use the $100,000 deduction before it is reduced to $25,000. Plus the increased bonus depreciation rises to 50% from 30%. That could result in deductions of up to 60% the first year, including the normal depreciation. Other benefits include a decrease in the long term capital gains rate from 20% to 15%, which might make it the right time to sell a business, appreciated securities, and to a lesser extent, real estate. Business owners also can take additional cash flow out of a small business using the reduced rate on dividends. A taxpayer in the top bracket with large dividends would now be taxed at 15% instead of 35%. Other goodies include reducing each tax bracket above 15% by approximately 2% in 2003 rather than 2006; marriage penalty relief making the standard deduction for joint filers double that of a single filer; and increasing the per-child tax credit from $600 to up to $1,000 for 2003 and 2004. Also, employees should receive higher paychecks starting in July when new withholding tables become effective. For many middle-income individuals now subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) the exemption for single taxpayers increases from $35,750 to $40,250 and for married couples, $49,000 to $58,000. "So the bottom line is there's something in the new tax law for just about everyone-though maybe not a Hummer in every garage," said Zeigen. CONTACT: Michelle Soudry, +1-561-750-9800, ext. 28, or MSoudry@transmediagroup.com