Up close: 'It's asking, what do they need?'

Betty McIntosh is the managing director of the business incentives practice for Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate services firm. In plain English: McIntosh helps clients that want to relocate get economic incentives to do so.

Her most recent deal helped get Porsche Cars North America about $14 million in incentives for a new $100 million headquarters, including a test track, in Hapeville. The company will be moving from a cushy office building in Sandy Springs to the former Ford industrial site on Atlanta’s Southside near the airport.

Other clients are as familiar: Johnson & Johnson, Hyundai, DaimlerChrysler, Stride Rite and gunmaker Remington.

When she first started, she earned the nickname “Million Dollar Betty” because she hoped for an incentive package that was at least a million dollars. That’s a lot of dough for a tax adviser who once would get kudos for saving clients $10,000. And it hooked her on economic incentive work.

Ken Ashley, a senior director in Cushman & Wakefield’s tenant services group, said McIntosh is an expert at understanding incentives and negotiating the best deals for her clients.

“Probably less than 200 people in the United States have the level of expertise and experience that Betty McIntosh does. It’s a highly customized and specialized service,” Ashley said.

Here, she reveals how she parlayed a tax job into one of the most secretive and exciting jobs in commercial real estate. (The interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

Q: Describe what you do.

A: I consider myself a knowledge broker. My job is to help companies when they are considering a move, consolidating or going into a new marketplace. It’s trying to help a company sort through the maze and get up and running faster and better. Some of that includes financial incentives, picking the right place with the right work force and the right business climate. It’s asking, what do they need?

Q: How did you get into this line of work?

A: At Coopers & Lybrand [now PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Memphis], the tax firm’s second largest client wanted to build a $100 million plant in Tennessee, with 75 very well-paying jobs. The tax director had talked to Saturn, which was also building a plant and had gotten all these incentives. It was 1990, right after the recession of the 1980s. My boss called me in ... and the next thing I know, the Tennessee governor’s office was calling me, saying, “We’ll send a plane down to pick you up.” Then you get off the plane and you get hats and T-shirts and they’re just falling all over you. I’m thinking, wow, I like this. I had been dealing with the IRS and Department of Revenue people, who you can’t even buy their lunch.

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Up close: 'It's asking, what do they need?'

I had been dealing with the IRS and Department of Revenue people, who you can't even buy their lunch. Q: Do you have to keep up with incentives in all 50 states? A: There are only so many ways incentives work and states copy each other.



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Home Business | Home Business or Hobby? Avoid IRS Audit

We know that this is not the most exciting subject – but it could save you money and real disappointment later.

Suppose you worked hard for your "work at home internet marketing online business" works and you're finally starting to get some money back.

Please send your 1040 tax return for one year for each selected by one part of your house as an office, supplies and equipment, including a new computer, a variety of information and software of your learning cycle.

They are diligent lead this deduction against the income of each year to all the time, accurate records, if you are told to do.

But now the bright blue, you receive a message from the IRS examination of five years of work at home internet marketing online business. They are shocked to inform you that the IRS has made all the deductions you took your home business on one day and suddenly you did not allow a lot of money to the government.

This is is based on IRS regulations section 1183-2 a little known region code can be a nasty surprise.

Internal Revenue Code Section 183 (activities not engaged in for profit) limits deductions claimed when an activity can not be engaged in for profit. IRC 183 is also known as the "rule of hobby losses."

It would be wise to set up and manage your business at the beginning, to protect you against unfortunate scenario described above. Be warned, the IRS is very active in pursuing the study of small business requirements under IRS § 1183-2. If the IRS determines that you are not involved in activities to make a profit, then no deduction is allowed for losses.

We recommend that you use the IRS Web site (IRS.gov) and Code § 183, or more simply "hobby loss rule" in the search box.

As if you have enough to do in managing your online business internet marketing at home.

I hope this information helps you out of trouble with the IRS!

For complete information, see IRS – Business or Hobby?


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