Marla Esan, Tax & Business Services Director, Quoted in Long Island Business News Article "Tax Deductions for Firms Donating to Employees"
Long Island Business News
By Claude Solnik
Excerpt:
Tax laws allow companies and business owners to claim deductions by helping their own employees in federally declared disaster zones.
In fact, the deductions are similar to those donors qualify for when they send money or other contributions to charities such as the American Red Cross.
Companies can get tax deductions for money given directly to employees in federal disaster zones through what’s known as ”Qualified Disaster Relief Payments.” In addition, the contributions are not considered taxable income for the employees.
”There has been a tremendous outpouring of generosity. People are going into their pocket and paying cash,” said Marla Esan, a senior tax manager at Marcum. ”We’re trying to direct them to do it through a qualified charity” in order to obtain a tax deduction.
She said donors may want to look for organizations whose mission is aligned with a particular neighborhood or region ”and see if they’re raising funds to help in that community.”
Esan said she provided a list of organizations focused on Lindenhurst to a client seeking to donate $100,000 to help that region following the storm.
”This could be in any area,” Esan said. ”You want an organization whose mission is aligned to those areas.”
