Sam Handwerger, CPA, is a full-time Lecturer in the department, and is a University of Maryland undergraduate accounting alumnus. He also holds a Master of Science in Taxation degree from the University of Baltimore. Handwerger was a Senior Tax Researcher with EY in New York City and later led the Tax Planning and Preparation Departments of the CPA firm Handwerger, Cardegna, Funkhouser & Lurman. In 1996, he was awarded the Governor's Volunteer of the year award in the State of Maryland for financial and management advisement to non-profit organizations. Before joining the Smith School on a full-time basis, Handwerger held adjunct positions at the Johns Hopkins University School of Business and the University of Baltimore Law School.
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Ready to get cozy and catch up on some of the movies and TV shows you've missed? Maryland Smith faculty have some suggestions for the must-see TV series, movies and documentaries – some you’ve no doubt been hearing buzz about, others you may have missed, and some you’ll want to watch again.
Billions (drama, four seasons, Showtime)
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – The recent Congressional committee passage of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act to decriminalize marijuana may have been influenced by more than just the revenue the proposed excise tax will generate, says Maryland Smith's Samuel Handwerger, pointing to a recent tax court case that highlighted the need for Congressional action regarding Section 280E of the federal tax code.
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Sometimes, maybe the best way to explain a complex issue is to make it come alive as a comic book, set in outer space. At least that's the approach taken by the New York Fed, which recently published "The Story of Monetary Policy" in comic book format.
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – A few weeks ago, Maryland Smith’s Samuel Handwerger wrote a letter to former President Bill Clinton. But it wasn’t a letter concerning the former President’s views, his presidency, or his politics.
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Of all of the potential repercussions of the college admissions scandals – expulsions, arrests, tougher scrutiny on admissions practices – this one you probably didn’t see coming.
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – In the market for a new car in 2019? Caught between the choice of a traditional combustion engine or a plug-in hybrid or full electric vehicle? Did you know that the latter two choices might be eligible for a tax credit on your 2019 tax return?
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – It’s probably never too soon to start thinking about tax season. Particularly this year, says Maryland Smith’s Samuel Handwerger.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which passed last year, made a lot of changes to the individual returns and the subsequent tax computation. It’s worth thinking about how those changes will affect your returns, before the year is over, Handwerger says.
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – A dollar doesn’t go quite as far as it used to, right? So shouldn’t that fundamentally alter the way the IRS calculates capital gains? That’s a question being bandied about lately.
Critics of the tax have suggested that the calculation factor in inflation, adjusting the gain by indexing the original cost basis. The Smith School’s Samuel Handwerger has been watching the debate closely.
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – In a rare move this week, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its own ruling, with a 5-4 decision that allows states to collect sales tax from out-of-state retailers who sell to their in-state residents. It’s an issue that goes back decades, but one that has evolved with the rise of e-commerce.
SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Sometimes the solution to a problem falls into a tax preparer’s lap, the Smith School’s Samuel Handwerger says. And sometimes that solution is a traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The seemingly staid, old stalwart of the investment world has a last-ditch tax savings advantage that its peers just don’t have, he explains.
