Accounting Rules

Tax Year: Usually Financial year begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 of the same year.
Accounting Standards: Accounting in the USA is based on domestic standards defined by:
- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
- The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
- The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB)
Accounting Regulation Bodies: AICPA
GASB
Accounting Reports: Annual report including income of statement, the balance sheet along with supporting CPA notes. The report must be filed on a Quarterly basis (10 K) with the SEC company.
Publication Requirements: According to the S-X rule of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), all companies which make a public appeal for saving have to present annually to the SEC an information file called "10 K" for American companies and "20 F" for foreign companies.
Companies quoted on the stock-exchange have to publish their accounts.
Professional Accountancy Bodies: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Institute of Management Accountants
National Association of State Boards of Accountancy
American Accounting Association
Certification and Auditing: Companies have to seek a statutory auditor to conduct an annual audit of the financial health of their organization. You can contact:
Public Company Accounty Oversight Board ;
Deloitte & Touche
Ernst & Young ;
KPMG ;
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Accounting News: Accounting Zone
New York Times Accounting
Accounting Web

Tax Rates

Consumption Taxes

Nature of the Tax: Sales Tax is levied by individual States at various rates. For more specific information at local level, consult the United States Taxation Site and the FTA website.
Tax Rate: Varies by State and city (around 5% and 6%).
Reduced Tax Rate: Varies by State and city. Click here for more information.
Other Consumption Taxes: Other consumption taxes are levied at the local level. Click here for more information about other consumption taxes by states.

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Corporate Taxes

Company Tax: Tax is levied at a graduate rate from 15% on every dollar up to USD 50,000 to a flat rate of 35% for USD 18,333,333 and over.
Tax Rate For Foreign Companies: Corporate income is taxed at the federal, state and sometimes at the municipal levels. Income is taxed during the year that it is earned and again when it is distributed to the shareholders.

The income of a Corporation is taxed twice, once at the level of the corporation as a separate entity, and a second time at the shareholder level when profits are distributed by means of dividends.
Capital Gains Taxation: Capital gains are combined with ordinary income, and taxed at the same rates as corporate income.
Main Allowable Deductions and Tax Credit: - An exemption amount for the taxpayer, the spouse, each child, and any other qualified dependents, and certain disabilities,
- Mortgage interest paid on one's primary residence or other residence,
- Equity loan or Line of Credit interest,
- Charitable contributions to eligible entities,
- Business deductions, such as mileage, related to an individual's expenses regarding their employment,
- Business startup and operation, and farming expenses (including travel, meals), not to exceed business income,
- Union and professional dues,
- Medical expenses above a certain percentage of the individual's Adjusted Gross Income (AGI),
- The cost of tax advice, software, and books,
- Moving expenses, in some cases,
- Job search expenses as one searches for work in the same industry,
- Educational expense (but only if it does not prepare one for a new career).
Other Corporate Taxes: In addition to Federal taxes, States and municipal taxes vary from one state or community to another.

Individual Taxes

Tax Rate

Different scales depending on the family status (married couples under a joint system, married couples under a separate assets system, single and head of the family), limited to six rates.	10%, 15%, 25%, 28% and 33%
High incomes are subjected to an additional tax.	35%

Allowable Deductions and Tax Credit: Depend on the State of residence.
Special Expatriate Tax Regime: An expatriate's US source income may be exempt from US tax. For further information consult the website USA International Offshore.

Double Taxation Treaties

Countries With Whom a Double Taxation Treaty Have Been Signed: As of May 2010, 60 countries have signed a double taxation treaty with the USA
Withholding Taxes: Dividends: 30%, Interest: 30%, Royalties: 30%

Sources of Fiscal Information

Tax Authorities: IRS
Other Domestic Resources: White House.gov (pages on taxes)

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Intellectual Property

National Organizations

United States Patent and Trademark Office.
U.S Copyright Office

Regional Organizations

APEC (Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation)

UNECE (UN Economic Commission for Europe )

ECLAC (UN Ecomomic Commission for Latin America & the Carribean)

ESCWA (UN Ecomomic and Social Commission for Western Asia) --> UNECA (UN Economic Commission for Africa)

APEC (Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation)

UNECE (UN Economic Commission for Europe )

ECLAC (UN Ecomomic Commission for Latin America & the Carribean)

ESCWA (UN Ecomomic and Social Commission for Western Asia)

International Membership

Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property
Membership to the TRIPS agreement - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

National Regulation and International Agreements

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent United States Code Title 35	20 years	Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Trademark US trademarl law	20 years , renewed for periods of ten years, unless previously cancelled or surrendered.	Trademark Law Treaty Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design Industrial Designs
Copyright Copyright Law	During the life of the author plus either 50 or 70 years	Berne convention For the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms Rome ConventionFor the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations WIPO Copyright Treaty WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
Industrial Models United States Code Title 35

Legal Framework

Independence of Justice: Independent.
Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: Foreign nationals can expect an impartial trial from the judicial system.
The Language of Justice: English.
Recourse to an Interpreter: Each federal court is required to provide, at judiciary expense, a certified or otherwise qualified interpreter in judicial proceedings instituted by the United States for a party who speaks only or primarily a language other than English.
Sources of the Law and Legal Similarities: The main source of the law is the constitution of 1787. The country legal system is based on federal court system influenced by English common law and judicial reviews of various legislative acts. Each state has its own unique legal system with its own supreme court. A case may be appealed from a state supreme court to the federal Supreme Court only if it is related to federal issues like U.S. Constitution or laws/treaties of the United States.
Checking National Laws Online: Office of the Law Revision Council

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Standards

National Standards Organizations: American National Standards Institute
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Integration in the International Standards Network: The ANSI is a member of:
- The International Standard organization (ISO);
- The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC);
- The International Accreditation Forum (IAF)
- The U.S. member of the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC)
- The Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT)
- The Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC)
- Via the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB), a member of the Inter American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC).
Classification of Standards: - Five Standards Panel manage by the American National Standards Institute:
- the ANSI Biofuels Standards Panel (ANSI-BSP),
- the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel,
- the ANSI Homeland Security Standards Panel,
- the ANSI Nanotechnology Standards Panel,
- the Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel,
- the classification code is: ANSI + 1 letter showing the technical area + digit number and the year.
Online Consultation of Standards: The ANSI webstore or the search engine NSSN.
Certification Organizations: Directory of ANSI Accredited Certification Programs for Product Certifiers
Directory of Accredited Telecommunication Certification Body Programs
Directory of ANSI Accredited Certification Programs for SQF Standards
Directory of ANSI Accredited Certification Programs for SFI and PEFC Standards

Business Practices

General Information: Business.gov
USA.gov
Doing Business
Doing Business In the USA
Opening Hours and Days: From Monday to Friday, 8:30 /9:00 am to 5:00/6:00 pm.

Public Holidays

New Year's day	1 January
Martin Luther King 's Birthday	17 January
President 's Day	February
Memorial Day	May
Independence Day	4 July
Labor Day	September
Columbus Day	October
Veteran 's Day	11 November
Thanksgiving	Last friday of November
Christmas Day	25 December

Periods When Companies Usually Close

New Year's day	1 January
Memorial Day	31 May
Independence Day	4 July
Labor Day	6 September
Thanksgiving	25 November
Christmas Day	25 December

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United States: Business Environment