February Meeting: Tax Changes, Fiscal Cliffs and the Economy

The February Chapter Meeting will be held on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 6:00 pm at Pal's Cabin in West Orange, NJ. The Executive Meeting is scheduled for 6:00 pm followed by Dinner at 7:00. The guest speaker is Daniel Gibson, CPA, a partner in the national accounting firm of EisnerAmper LLP, who will talk about "Tax Changes, Fiscal Cliffs and the Current Economy."

Daniel Gibson has over 30 years experience providing accounting, tax and consulting services, including compliance and planning for individuals, corporations and partnerships. A graduate of the University of Scranton with an M.S.T. from Golden Gate University, he has lectured, published and been interviewed on a variety of topics including Federal and New Jersey tax changes, individual and business tax planning and business strategies.

Mr. Gibson’s exploration of recent tax code changes, the real-world consequences of the fiscal cliff and the state of the economy will be valuable to appraisers in all disciplines. Space is limited so reserve early for this program, which qualifies for one hour of ASA Continuing Education Credit.

Dinner (soup, salad, entree, dessert, coffee/tea) is $30 person. Please RSVP to Chapter Secretary Donna Ray Thompson via Evite, phone (908-317-5547), or email, and mail your check payable to "ASA Northern New Jersey Chapter 73" to her at PO Box 246, Westfield, NJ 07091 by Monday, February 18.

March Meeting: Property Tax Grievances

The March chapter meeting will be held on Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 6:00 pm  at Pal's Cabin in West Orange, NJ. The Executive Meeting is scheduled for 6:00 pm followed by Dinner at 7:00. The guest speaker is William H. Merdinger, ASA, President of the Long Valley, NJ firm of Dickinson & McCormick, Inc., who will talk about "Residential and Commercial Property Tax Grievances."

Mr. Merdinger, who took his B.S. at Rutgers, has been active in real estate appraising since 1970.  A Certified Tax Assessor, he has served as Assessor for several New Jersey Townships, including Belleville, Glen Ridge and Mansfield, and has consulted for or been an expert witness for others.  His published and delivered papers include "Equalization in the Federal Courts," "Tax Abatements," "Business Enterprise Zones," and the "Newark Revaluation Impact."  Mr. Merdinger has also taught real estate fundamentals and specific valuation subjects for Rutgers, the NJ State Association of Assessors and elsewhere.

The program qualifies for one hour of ASA Continuing Education Credit. Dinner is $30 person. Please RSVP Chapter Secretary Lynn Magnusson, ASA  by phone (973-425-1550), fax (973-425-1553) or email, and mail her your check payable to "ASA Northern New Jersey Chapter 73" by Sunday, March 20, 2011.

November Meeting: Reasonable Compensation and “Soaking the Rich”

The November chapter meeting will be held on Monday, November 8, 2010 at 6:00 pm  at Pal's Cabin in West Orange, NJ. The Executive Meeting is scheduled for 6:00 pm followed by Dinner at 7:00. The guest speaker is Business Valuation appraiser Ray J. Dragon, ASA, Senior Manager of Business Valuation and Litigation Support at the Saddle Brook, NJ offices of Rotenberg Meril Solomon Bertiger & Guttilla.  Ray will talk about “Reasonable Compensation and ‘Soaking the Rich’ – A Valuation-Based Look at Taxes and Business Value.”

Mr. Dragon took his B.A. at Lehigh University and earned two masters’s, an M.S. in Financial Economics from the University of London, and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He has over 20 years experience in financial analysis, business valuation, merger and acquisition and litigation support. Ray is accountingWEB.com’s official blogger on Business Valuation. His talk will explain why a reasonable compensation analysis shows that “soak the rich” really means “heavily tax the returns on the investment capital of small business owners”.

The program qualifies for one hour of ASA Continuing Education Credit. Dinner is $30 person. Please RSVP Chapter Secretary Lynn Magnusson, ASA  by phone (973-425-1550), fax (973-425-1553) or email, and mail her your check payable to "ASA Northern New Jersey Chapter 73" by Monday, November 1.