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Sarah Russell

Sarah Russell

Shareholder, Tax

As the leader of the firm's tax group, Sarah supports growth-driven domestic and international businesses with tax planning, consulting and compliance.

What is your area of focus?

As a point person for tax strategies at Clayton & McKervey, I help owners and executive teams with R&D tax credits and international tax consulting and compliance. I look for big-picture solutions to advise clients on global operational structuring, foreign tax credit utilization, tax treaty analysis and more. I work with both domestic companies expanding internationally, and foreign-owned companies. I value the opportunity to collaborate with both accountants and tax specialists globally on behalf of our clients.

How long have you been at Clayton & McKervey?

Since 2000

What is the favorite part about your job?

I enjoy working with business owners to reduce their worldwide tax liabilities.

Specializations

  • Tax planning and preparation
  • Tax legislation changes and impacts
  • R&D tax credits
  • International tax consulting and compliance
  • Foreign tax credit utilization
  • Mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations
  • Tax treaty analysis

Education

  • Master of Business Administration, Wayne State University
  • Bachelor of Science in Accounting, University of Michigan – Dearborn

Connections

  • Control Systems Integrators Association, Partner Committee
  • Michigan Manufacturers Association, Tax Committee
  • Association for Advancing Automation
  • Automation Alley
  • PrimeGlobal
  • Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Board of Directors

Sarah 360°

If you could learn anything, what would it be?
Play the piano

Who do you admire most in life?
My grandparents

What’s your perfect day?
Hiking and camping, cooking over the fire and enjoying an ice cold beer to end the evening

Articles by Sarah Russell

Is Immediate R&D Expensing on The Horizon?

For the first time since 1953, taxpayers are not allowed an immediate deduction for R&E expenses and instead must capitalize and amortize such expenses. On March 17, 2023 a stand-alone bipartisan bill was reintroduced which would allow immediate expensing of R&D. Learn what this means for taxpayers.

by Sarah Russell

Section 174 Capitalization is Here

To the surprise (and dismay) of taxpayers and practitioners, Congress has been unable to repeal or defer the requirement to capitalize and amortize research and experimental (R&E) expenses under Internal Revenue Code Section 174.

by Sarah Russell

Insights from Washington: Inflation Reduction Act Signed

On August 7, 2022, the U.S. Senate approved the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a bill to finance climate and energy provisions and an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies totaling $369 billion in additional spending.

by Sarah Russell

Insights from Washington: Reconciliation Package on the Horizon?

It’s been a while since we’ve reported news from Washington as things have been a little slow on the tax front. All that changed this week when it was announced Senator Joe Manchin had reached an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on tax, climate change, energy and healthcare provisions to be included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. 

by Sarah Russell

Russian Sanctions Complicate Banking Around the Globe

NATO countries have banded together to impose historic sanctions on Russia for their invasion of Ukraine in a display of strength and unity. These sanctions mean that companies currently cannot send payments to Russian banks and trying to get around this can result in significant penalties. While it may seem straightforward, these sanctions have complicated the geopolitical landscape of making international deals that extends beyond the borders of just Ukraine and Russia.  

by Sarah Russell

Insights from Washington: Build Back Better Act Stalled

Tax practitioners across the U.S. can enjoy the holiday season and maybe have that extra glass of eggnog this year knowing we will not have a massive legislation to digest before the new year begins! Last weekend Congress conceded that there are not enough votes to pass the massive Build Back Better Act (BBBA).

by Sarah Russell

IRS Guidance: Retroactive ERC Termination

The IRS provided much-awaited guidance regarding penalty waivers for taxpayers who qualified for employee retention credits (ERC) and did not remit payroll taxes before the credit was retroactively terminated after September 30.

by Sarah Russell

12 Build Back Better Changes to Watch

As the Build Back Better (BBB) legislation makes its way through congressional talks, there are changes in the works that could impact your upcoming tax obligations. The first thing to know is that the Build Back Better act is evolving daily. Despite the uncertainties, it’s likely that some tax increases will be included in the final bill.

by Sarah Russell

Insights from Washington: Infrastructure Bill

As expected, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Monday, November 15. Now that the work on this bill is complete, Congress can get back to President Biden’s second signature piece of legislation, the Build Back Better Act (BBBA).

by Sarah Russell

Insights from Washington: Finally! Draft Legislation

The House finally passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In this week's installment of Insights from Washington, we look at a few key tax items in the infrastructure bill regarding the ERC and cryptocurrency.

by Sarah Russell

Insights from Washington: Draft Legislation Released

On Thursday, October 28, the House Rules Committee released draft text of the modified Build Back Better Act. In today's edition of 'Insights from Washington', we look at some of the changes to the tax-related provisions included in the bill released in September 2021.

by Sarah Russell

Insights from Washington: Economic Plan Coming into Focus

On Thursday, October 21 President Biden acknowledged that he didn’t have sufficient Democratic backing for his proposed increases in the individual, corporate and capital gains tax rates. As we’ve mentioned, the Democratic Caucus needs unanimous support in the Senate to pass legislation but there are two key obstacles in negotiations.

by Sarah Russell

The Sound of Automation Podcast

Industrial automation businesses are the driving force behind Industry 4.0, and Clayton & McKervey is here to help.

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