UHY Advisors, Inc. (“UHY Advisors”), one of the nation’s leading professional services firms, announced the appointment of ten new managing directors from four regions: Patrick Farrelly, Don Felmlee, Eric Hennessey, Nancy Johnson, Daniel Jones, Jody Lurk, Denise Pisciotta, Eric Ribachonek, Stephanie Rosenbaum and Kate Vasiliev. Felmlee and Rosenbaum are both based in Michigan, where the firm is headquartered.

Additionally, UHY Great Lakes promoted 63 other employees, including four principals: Amanda Bertelsen, Greg McEvoy, Larry Stoklosa and Amber Sutter.

The firm’s Michigan practice is the fifth largest accounting firm in southeast Michigan with over 400 employees and is rapidly growing. Most recently the firm has expanded in Ann Arbor with the addition of Pietrasiuk Kelley & Kelley P.C. One year ago, it was the merger with Stewart, Beauvais & Whipple P.C. in Port Huron.

Don Felmlee is a managing director of UHY Advisors in the Great Lakes. Felmlee specializes in assisting companies in developing and implementing strategic plans to improve operations, protect assets and maximize profitability. He has built his practice across a broad spectrum of industries, but has extensive subject matter knowledge in the manufacturing and distribution, and petroleum spaces. He is a leading member of the national petroleum practice and is called upon to speak at seminars and other thought leadership events. Felmlee received his B.A. in Accounting from Northwood University and is a licensed CPA in the state of Michigan.

Stephanie Rosenbaum is a managing director of UHY Consulting and is a leader of the Resource Solutions Group in the Great Lakes. Rosenbaum specializes in both providing upper-level and executive accounting and finance support to companies with interim and permanent placement needs, as well as generating new assurance, tax, and consulting clients within the region. She has more than 15 years of development and recruiting experience in the finance and accounting industry. Rosenbaum received her B.S. in Finance and Marketing from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
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About UHY Advisors
UHY Advisors provides tax and advisory services to entrepreneurial and other organizations, principally those enterprises in the dynamic middle market. UHY LLP, a licensed CPA firm, provides audit and other attest services to publicly traded, privately owned and nonprofit organizations in a number of industry sectors. UHY Advisors, operating in an alternative practice structure with UHY LLP, forms one of the largest professional services firms in the US. While that scale might provide confidence for some clients, others tell us our greatest value is the way we bring these resources to bear to help address today’s evolving business challenges. It’s a philosophy we call “The Next Level of Service”. To learn more visit www.uhy-us.com.

All of the above entities are members of Urbach Hacker Young International Limited (“UHYI”), a worldwide network of independent professional services firms that provide audit, tax and advisory services around the globe. UHYI is ranked among the top international accountancy networks and a proud member in good standing of the Forum of Firms. Collectively, the US operating entities (UHY Advisors and UHY LLP) are the largest independent members of UHYI with significant participation, bringing the power of the international network to serve the individualized needs of US clients.

UHY Advisors, Inc. provides tax and business consulting services through wholly owned subsidiary entities that operate under the name of “UHY Advisors.” UHY LLP is a licensed independent CPA firm that performs attest services in an alternative practice structure with UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities. UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities are not licensed CPA firms. UHY Advisors, Inc. and UHY LLP are US members of UHYI, a UK company, and form part of the international UHYI network of legally independent accounting and consulting firms. “UHY” is the brand name for the UHYI international network. Any services described herein are provided by UHY Advisors, Inc. and/or UHY LLP (as the case may be) and not by UHYI or any other member firm of UHYI. Neither UHYI nor any member of UHYI has any liability for services provided by other members.

UHY LLP, certified public accountants, with over 400 employees in Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties, has acquired Pietrasiuk, Kelley & Kelley P.C. (PKK), of Ann Arbor. After doubling in size from its opening in 2017, the Ann Arbor office grows again with the addition of PKK. Todd Kelley, Managing Director of PKK has been well known in the community for more than 30 years.

“Expanding in Ann Arbor is a strategic move for our firm, it improves campus recruiting in the area and our ability to serve clients,” said Tom Callan managing director of UHY’s Great Lakes region. “Adding staff to the Ann Arbor office will help serve our growing client base in Washtenaw County and beyond.”

Jerry Grady, office managing partner of the Ann Arbor practice has seen exponential growth (even through the pandemic) and with a heavy interest from employees to be a part of their success story. Jerry and his team are heavily involved in the local community, and with campus recruiting at the area’s major universities.

We are thrilled to be part of the UHY team, said Todd Kelley, managing director. “UHY’s dynamic organization will allow us to provide expanded services to our clients and professional growth opportunities for our staff.”

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About UHY Advisors
UHY Advisors provides tax and advisory services to entrepreneurial and other organizations, principally those enterprises in the dynamic middle market. UHY LLP, a licensed CPA firm, provides audit and other attest services to publicly traded, privately owned and nonprofit organizations in a number of industry sectors. UHY Advisors, operating in an alternative practice structure with UHY LLP, forms one of the largest professional services firms in the US. While that scale might provide confidence for some clients, others tell us our greatest value is the way we bring these resources to bear to help address today’s evolving business challenges. It’s a philosophy we call “The Next Level of Service”. To learn more visit www.uhy-us.com.

All of the above entities are members of Urbach Hacker Young International Limited (“UHYI”), a worldwide network of independent professional services firms that provide audit, tax and advisory services around the globe. UHYI is ranked among the top international accountancy networks and a proud member in good standing of the Forum of Firms. Collectively, the US operating entities (UHY Advisors and UHY LLP) are the largest independent members of UHYI with significant participation, bringing the power of the international network to serve the individualized needs of US clients.

UHY Advisors, Inc. provides tax and business consulting services through wholly owned subsidiary entities that operate under the name of “UHY Advisors.” UHY LLP is a licensed independent CPA firm that performs attest services in an alternative practice structure with UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities. UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities are not licensed CPA firms. UHY Advisors, Inc. and UHY LLP are US members of UHYI, a UK company, and form part of the international UHYI network of legally independent accounting and consulting firms. “UHY” is the brand name for the UHYI international network. Any services described herein are provided by UHY Advisors, Inc. and/or UHY LLP (as the case may be) and not by UHYI or any other member firm of UHYI. Neither UHYI nor any member of UHYI has any liability for services provided by other members.

UHY Advisors, Inc., (UHY), one of the nation’s leading accounting and professional services firms (based in Farmington Hills), announces that Matt Martina, CPA, and Todd Sutherland, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), have joined the team as tax leaders working out of UHY’s Houston Office.

Matt Martina has joined as Managing Director of International Tax Services. He provides international tax services to clients in Houston, as well as nationally. He has more than 25 years of experience in international business planning and tax consulting. Martina contributes to client service areas including structuring, due diligence, transfer pricing, IP migration, regulatory compliance (including FCPA), M&A advisory and tax optimization. He has extensive experience with complex cross-border tax planning projects.

Martina has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from St. Francis University.

Sutherland is new to UHY as the Director of the Research and Development Tax Credit practice. He has over 20 years of experience assisting taxpayers with claiming R&D tax credits, as well as extensive experience in defending R&D tax credit claims under IRS examination. Sutherland specializes in a number of industries including energy, manufacturing, chemical, biomedical, engineering, and contracting.

Sutherland has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Millsaps College, a LL.M. in Taxation from University of Miami School of Law, and a J.D. from Mississippi College School of Law.

About UHY LLP and UHY Advisors
UHY Advisors, Inc. provides tax and business consulting services through wholly owned subsidiary entities that operate under the name of “UHY Advisors.” UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities are not licensed CPA firms. UHY LLP is a licensed independent CPA firm that performs attest services in an alternative practice structure with UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities.

UHY Advisors, Inc. and UHY LLP are US members of UHYI, a UK company, and form part of the international UHYI network of legally independent accounting and consulting firms. “UHY” is the brand name for the UHYI international network. Any services described herein are provided by UHY Advisors, Inc. and/or UHY LLP (as the case may be) and not by UHYI or any other member firm of UHYI. Neither UHYI nor any member of UHYI has any liability for services provided by other members.

Homebuyers in the US have one of the lowest rates of property tax in the world, at just 0.35% compared to the G7 average of 3.6%, shows a new study by UHY, the international accountancy network.

UHY’s study shows that a homebuyer in the US pays just $529 on a purchase of a home worth $150,000, compared with the G7 average of $5,361 (see table below).

UHY Advisors, UHY’s member firm in the US, says that low levels of property transfer tax in the US play a vital role in increasing labor market mobility and growing the economy. High levels of property transfer tax can discourage people from moving for work, as they will be forced to pay a substantial tax bill on the purchase of a new home.

For higher-value properties, tax in the US system is marginally higher at 0.37 percent on the purchase of a property worth $1 million, and 0.39 percent for a property worth $2 million.

UHY calculated an average property transfer tax rate in the US using state and city rates in place across the country – from the zero rates in Texas and Utah to the 1.5 percent and higher rates in New Hampshire and Delaware.

The US charges far lower taxes on a $150,000 property purchase than other major G7 economies such as Japan (11 percent) and France (6.7 percent). The average tax charged worldwide on the purchase of a home worth $150,000 has now reached 4.51 percent – a cost of $6,771 even for a relatively modest home.

UHY says that the cost to Governments worldwide of the coronavirus pandemic could result in pressure to increase property taxes in the coming years. A combination of lower tax revenues and expensive economic stimulus measures will leave many countries with major budget deficits that will need to be addressed.

UHY Advisors explains that the US does not have a federal system for taxes on property purchases, allowing states and cities to set their own rates. While most have kept rates low at under 0.5 percent of the property’s value, some locations have begun to levy higher taxes.

Homebuyers in Washington D.C. are taxed at the highest rates in the country on their property purchases. Someone purchasing a home in the US capital is subject to a levy of 1.1 percent on the transfer of the property and another 1.1 percent on the value of the mortgage. That means a buyer in Washington D.C. is taxed at a higher rate than in the UK, China or Canada. The US’s zero-tax states for property transfers include Oregon, Missouri, Indiana and Idaho.

The average tax paid on a home purchase has risen quickly in recent years. A previous study of property taxes by UHY, in 2013, found that G7 countries charged an average of 2.29 percent tax on the purchase of a home worth $150,000. This has now risen to an average of 3.57 percent in 2020.

Dennis Petri, Chairman of UHY International says: “Taxing property purchases is one way to increase tax receipts to address the costs of coronavirus. However, US states’ tax systems for property purchases have traditionally taken the approach of keeping the burden on individuals low, and that allows Americans to move wherever they need to go to work. That has played an important role in building the robust economy this country has.”

“Not every state and city have the same low-tax approach, however. It can be a very unpleasant surprise for someone moving to Washington D.C., New Jersey or New Hampshire to find that the closing costs on their new home include several thousand dollars of tax payments to the state.”

“Luckily for most Americans, they will never have to deal with the double-digit tax rates on home purchases that they would face in some other parts of the world.”

UHY’s study also shows that several major developed economies now charge tax worth more than 10% on the purchase of a home worth $150,000, including Belgium (11.66 percent) and Japan (11 percent).

Rates of tax on a purchase of a home worth $2 million across the United States average just 0.39 percent, while Russia levy no tax at all on purchases of residential property, regardless of value.

UHY tax professionals studied tax data for individuals purchasing a house worth $150,000, $1 million and $2 million in 27 countries across its international network, including all members of the G7, as well as key emerging economies.

Click here to see full results: https://uhy-us.com/insights/2020/july/uhy-study-shows-homebuyers-in-the-us-have-some-of-the-lowest-rates-of-property-tax-in-the-world