Blog entries

A Bit About The Marketplace Fairness Act

Dopkins — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:17:54 +0100

With strong bipartisan support, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (the Act) by a vote of 69-27. The Act is the culmination of more than 10 years of legislative efforts by state and local government officials and traditional retailers to enforce sales tax on remote sellers. The bill...

Thinking of Summer at Dopkins

Dopkins — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:31:06 +0100

As I write this, it is wonderfully sunny and warm. The flowering trees are in their full glory, spring bulbs are ablaze in color, and baby Canada geese are tying up traffic on International Drive trying to catch up mom who is crossing the street on her way for a swim. Although summer doesn’t kick off in Buffalo until Memorial Day, it certainly feels like a sum...

Your Tax Records: To Keep or Not to Keep?

Dopkins — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:58:31 +0100

I sincerely hope that today finds you awash in the relief that April 15th has passed and that you have successfully checked off "doing taxes" from your to-do list. Whether you did the deed earlier in the year, or just this past...

For the love of the descendants: advance directives to estate planning

Dopkins — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:54:00 +0100

Not long ago, my husband and I watched the 2011 movie The Descendants. We are not film critics, but the reference to Advance Directives hit us with the impact suffered by George Clooney’s character’s wife. While re-telling my story to Tom Emmerling, our Managing Partner, he related similar situations-- cl...

Securing your company’s information: How to start

Dopkins — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:38:13 +0100

A recent article in The Buffalo News reports that Rep. Chris Collins is shining a spotlight cyber risks. It reported that the average cost of a cyber attack on small and medium sized

No one wants to think their employees or coworkers are doing something criminal or dishonest, but a recent survey found nearly 83% had experienced employee theft.

You can take precautions to discourage employee fraud and white collar crime.

ReadMore Various cyber actors have engaged in malicious a...

Is your information safe from Flashdrives and Friends?

Dopkins — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:45:17 +0100

As if last week’s two breach incidents reported by The Buffalo News on the same day weren't enough to get your attention about cyber security, perhaps President Obama’s remarks in last night’s State of the Union turned your thoughts to your own business. The News r...

RIA vs. Broker/Dealer: Why it Matters

Dopkins — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:44:44 +0100

The term “Registered Investment Advisor” or RIA, has been popularized due to its use within the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and its association to the term "Investment Advisor". But what exactly is a Registered Investment Advisor?

The term Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is used to describe an Inves...

IRS Announces Optional Standard Mileage Rate

Dopkins — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:07:05 +0100

Effective January 1, 2013, the IRS has issued the 2013 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or job-related moving purposes.

Why we believe market forecasts are a waste of time

Dopkins — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:39:50 +0100

We believe there's no evidence that there are any good forecasters. And no one should base their investment decisions on such forecasts. Instead, we recommend that investors diversify their holdings and take a passive approach to managing their portfolio. The winning strategy is to focus on what you can control.

While the tax package that Congress passed New Year's Day will protect 99 percent of Americans from an income tax increase, most of them will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013.That's because the legislation did nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from expiring. <...

Updated Cliff Notes

Dopkins — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 00:24:34 +0100

After weeks, indeed months of proposals and counter-proposals, seemingly endless negotiations and down-to-the-wire drama, the President has signed legislation to avert the tax side of the so-called "fiscal cliff." The American Taxpayer Relief Act permanently extends the Bush-era tax cuts for lower and moderate income taxpayers, permanently "patches" the alternative minimum tax (AMT), provides for a permanent 40 percent federal estate tax rate, renews many individual, business and energy tax e...

House Sends Fiscal Cliff Tax Relief Bill to White House

Dopkins — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:54:55 +0100

A day of intense negotiating among House Republican lawmakers on January 1 led to the late-evening passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (HR 8 ) by a vote of 257 to 167. Disgruntled Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., had sought to amend the $3.9-trillion tax-cut measure to include a package of spending cuts. However, GOP lawmakers abandoned that plan when it became evident they lacked enough support from members of their own party. The GOP amendment...

Hopes for 2013

Dopkins — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 21:36:40 +0100

Every year, the sun sets on the old year, heralding the dawn of a new morning, new year, new era, and new life. With time, we make great strides in personal and professional growth.

Each failure becomes a stepping stone, and each success becomes a milestone. With the promise of a new year, Dopkins Wealth Management shares some thoughts from our fr...

Season's Greetings

Dopkins — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 01:32:45 +0100

You may recall that last year at this time it was raining buckets with nary a hope of a white Christmas. This year, in Buffalo, we are still damp but with a looming winter storm forecasted to bring enough snow to delay both arrivals and departures.

May we welcome whatever Mother Nature delivers with arms wide open. And...

Year end tax planning: Your personal considerations

Dopkins — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 00:49:57 +0100

2012 began with great uncertainty over federal tax policy and now, with the end of the year approaching, that uncertainty appears to be far from any long-term resolution. A host of reduced tax rates, credits, deductions, and other incentives (collectively called the "Bush-era" tax cuts) are sch...