Marcum 2021 Year-End Tax Guide

Greetings, valued clients and friends.

We at Marcum hope that you and your families are well at the end of what has turned out to be yet another tumultuous year of change and unprecedented circumstance. Last year at this time we were focused on the exigencies of the coronavirus pandemic, the impacts of the CARES Act for businesses and individual taxpayers, and the implications of the Presidential and Congressional elections, the results of which were as-yet undetermined as we went to press with our annual tax guide. With the benefit of 12 months now behind us and a new Administration seated in Washington, we can say with certainty that there is still a great deal of un certainty. If that sounds trite, it is unintentional. Our economic, regulatory

JOSEPH J. PERRY National Leader, Tax & Business Services Marcum LLP

and political environments remain in great flux. A flurry of both newly enacted and proposed legislation intended to alleviate financial stress on businesses and individual taxpayers and to provide economic stimulus have opened a Pandora’s box of competing interests and philosophical divides about fairness in our taxation system, and how to apportion responsibility for righting our country’s economic ship. Inflation is at its highest level in over a decade, and the Federal Reserve has begun to scale back bond-buying in an effort to combat rapidly rising prices. Persistent supply-chain disruptions, shortages of critical materials and components, and debilitating shipping delays continue to dog global economic recovery. Unemployment rates, which have fallen nearly two percentage points since December 2020, point to tough times for hiring. This trend is exacerbated by the “Great Resignation” among workers shaken by COVID, who are now prioritizing work-life balance. As a result, the advent of a remote workforce looks like it will become a permanent if partial solution for many industries, forcing companies to rethink their employment and production models. It has become harder than ever for companies to recruit and retain talent, accelerating the imperative to leverage smart technology solutions to keep businesses moving forward. Marcum is proud to play a leading role in addressing these concerns—for our clients, our profession, and our firm. Our Tax Flashes, newsletters, c-suite surveys, Insights articles and robust calendar of panels and webinars provide a body of thought leadership that can help inform your decision-making. We encourage you to take advantage of these important updates throughout the year. In our capacity as your trusted advisor, we are dedicated to innovating actionable solutions that help address your most entrenched business challenges. For example, Marcum Labs incubates and tests real-world technology solutions utilizing artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, and data analytics that can also be leveraged by our clients and our peers to enable true digital transformation. This is one way we are helping shape the firm of the future – yours as well as ours. These are very exciting times!

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