SYRACUSE — Linda Gabor, partner at Syracuse–based Grossman St. Amour CPAs PLLC, was recently appointed to the board of trustees of the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York. 

The Health Foundation is an independent private foundation that advocates for continuous improvement in health and health care for the people and communities of Western and Central New York. The board of trustees provides leadership, oversight, and strategic guidance in pursuit of the Health Foundation’s vision of a healthy Central and Western New York where racial and socioeconomic equity are prioritized and all people can reach their full potential and obtain equitable health outcomes, according to a Grossman St. Amour news release. 

Gabor has been with Grossman St. Amour since June 2007. She is a CPA in New York state and a certified fraud examiner, or CFE. She leads the firm’s audit practice, employee benefits plan practice, and peer review practice. 

Gabor’s other community service commitments include servings as advisory board member of Maureen’s Hope Foundation, and a member of 100 Women Who Care CNY. She is a graduate of Le Moyne College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics. 

“We’ve had so many questions about it recently, says Jessica LeDonne, director of policy and legislative affairs at The Bonadio Group, which offers accounting, tax, and consulting services from offices in Albany, Batavia, Buffalo, East Aurora, Rochester (HQ), Syracuse, and Utica. The questions range from “Am I eligible?” to “What do I need to do?”

IRA makes tax credits available to businesses, tax-exempt organizations, state/local/tribal governments, other entities, and individuals across an array of clean-energy projects.

They include credits for the production of clean energy and investments in clean energy, including sources such as wind, biomass, geothermal, solar, hydropower, and more. Tax credits are also available for domestic manufacturing of clean-energy components like solar panels, commercial clean vehicles, alternative-fuel vehicles, and more.

Many businesses will be able to take advantage of the investment tax credit, which includes a broad array of projects a business might undertake, such as installing solar panels or even adding electric vehicles to its fleet, as it works to reduce its carbon footprint, LeDonne says.

“If a project has already begun, it may likely qualify,” she says. Some projects may qualify for up to 30 percent of the project cost if certain conditions are met. While the base credit is 6 percent, projects that meet prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements may qualify for the 30 percent.

One big change that comes along with the IRA is that groups typically left out on tax credits can now take advantage of these clean-energy credits, LeDonne notes. The inclusion of a new elective or direct-pay option opens these tax credits to government entities and tax-exemption organizations that would have otherwise been left out since they do not owe federal income tax. 

“This is something new in the Inflation Reduction Act,” she says. The details of how this new system will work are still being ironed out, but the Internal Revenue Service laid out proposed steps in June and recently wrapped up a public comment period on them. LeDonne expects the IRS to release final details after reviewing the comments.

As proposed now, entities wishing to use the direct-pay option need to submit a pre-filing registration and the IRS will assign them a registration number. That number is used in subsequent filings, and entities will file a specific form to claim the tax credit.

The direction payment option treats the credit amount like a payment toward federal taxes, LeDonne says. Since those entities don’t pay federal taxes, the credit is then refunded to them just like an overpayment would be.

“All of this is proposed regulation, so it’s subject to change,” she adds. 

While it can sound complicated to apply for these tax credits, LeDonne doesn’t think it will be overly burdensome. Businesses with what they believe is a qualifying project can start getting ready now by documenting the project and keeping all project receipts.

To learn more about the Inflation Reduction Act and clean-energy tax credits, businesses should consult with their legal and accounting professionals to start, LeDonne says. They can visit the IRS website for information and updates.  

“Local sales tax growth in July continued at a moderate pace, similar to growth rates from before the pandemic,” DiNapoli said in the release. “This may be slower than some local officials anticipated after two years of more robust growth, making careful cash flow monitoring especially important.”

For July 2023 compared with July 2022, nearly all (54 out of 57) counties saw some year-over-year increase. Lewis County generated the strongest sales-tax collection growth at 28.1 percent. Orleans County saw the largest decline at 12.1 percent.

New York City’s tax collections totaled $777 million, a rise of 0.2 percent, or $1.4 million. County and city collections in the rest of the state totaled $935 million, an increase of 5 percent, per DiNapoli’s office.

These monthly sales-tax collections are from the cash distributions made to counties and tax-imposing cities by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The amounts are based on estimates of what each municipality is due. 

In the third month of each calendar year quarter, these distributions are adjusted upward or downward, so that the quarter as a whole reflects reported sales by vendors. 

The next quarterly numbers (for July to September) will be available in October.    

Devin R. Negrete-Harvey has joined Dannible & McKee as its digital-marketing coordinator. She will support and enhance the firm’s online-marketing programs, including website, social media, and search-marketing initiatives, according to a Dannible news release. Before joining the firm, Negrete-Harvey served as marketing & social media manager at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown. She is also the owner of DEV Communications, a marketing-consulting company. Negrete-Harvey has prior experience working in communications and public relations at UDig NY and as a news anchor and reporter for FOX 40 in Binghamton, and WSAV News 3 in Savannah, Georgia. 

Negrete-Harvey formerly served as the board president of Central New York Sales and Marketing Executives (CNYSME) and co-chair of CNYSME’s Crystal Ball award program. She is currently serving as VP of the Safe Space Organization. Negrete-Harvey graduated from the University of Central Missouri in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in digital-media production. She works in the firm’s Syracuse office. 

Dannible & McKee also welcomed Tyler Delao as an administrative assistant. In this role, he will provide administrative support to assigned audit partners, including the managing partner, and assist the marketing department, per the release. Before joining the accounting firm, Delao was a social-media specialist at Mark Antony Homes and held past positions at Columbia University and Keller Williams Realty. He graduated from Syracuse University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in communications and rhetorical studies. He is also based in Dannible’s Syracuse office.

SYRACUSE — Olinsky Law Group announced it has promoted attorneys Matthew R. McGarry and Melissa A. Palmer to equity partners. 

McGarry and Palmer joined the law firm in 2017 and they both focus their practice on federal court Social Security disability appeals.

During his tenure at Olinsky Law Group, McGarry has “helped win cases for hundreds of Social Security disability claimants nationwide and is well-known for his dedication to clients,” according to a firm news release. 

McGarry started his legal career with the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and has been working in the disability-law field ever since, the Olinsky Law Group said. He earned his law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law in 2017. McGarry also holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from SUNY Potsdam in 2015. He was born in Syracuse and currently resides in Cicero.

During her time at Olinsky Law Group, Palmer has built an “impressive portfolio of case victories and is consistently praised for her work ethic,” per the law firm’s release. She has been admitted in a half-dozen circuit courts.

Palmer earned her law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University at Buffalo. She is a member of the Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association. Palmer was born in Buffalo and now resides in Syracuse.

“We are delighted to have Matthew and Melissa become Equity Partners with the firm. Since joining Olinsky Law Group, they have shown themselves to be exceptional attorneys with tremendous leadership abilities. Their skills as leaders will help continue the growth and success of Olinsky Law Group for many years to come,” Howard Olinsky, the firm’s managing partner, said in the release.

Olinsky Law Group — with offices in Syracuse and Orlando, Florida — has helped thousands of individuals secure their disability benefits. It represents claimants at the Social Security Administration and in federal court.