Sports Hero - Steve Piascik

Steve Piascik, CPA MT recovered four professional baseball players from the Dominican Republic $1.5million in taxes and interest they did not need to pay. To them he is their "sports hero".

Sports Hero!
Saving professional athletes money makes Steve Piascik a hero, to his clients.

March 31, 2003

Richmond, VA
ERAs, RBIs, and HRAs, are not stats Steve Piascik and his team are concerned with during baseball season.

Instead, Piasciks team of accountants and financial planners are focusing on numbers like EBITA, 401ks, and AGI as part of the full range of accounting and financial planning services it provides to professional athletes, including many professional baseball players.

Piascik is president of Piascik & Associates, P.C. (P&A), a team of certified public accountants and certified financial planners located in Richmond, VA. While veteran Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens works on his pitching arm, P&A team member,
Kim Nemr, CPA is hard at work developing a deferred compensation plan for one of the firms professional sports clients.

Piascik started P&A in 2001 after leaving KPMG, LLP where he was a Senior Tax Manager in their Richmond, Virginia office. Piascik had also spent several years providing financial services to clients of Proformance, Inc., an agent firm for professional athletes. When Piascik opened his own practice he wanted to continue this unique niche and, Proformance was eager to begin referring their clients to him because of their long--standing relationship. Since then, Piascik has built a cl ent base of over 30 professional athletes, the majority of whom are professional baseball players.

One of the challenges professional athletes have is high income and high tax expense," said Piascik. Our goal is to help them minimize their tax burden and help them make long-term financial decisions."

Piascik and his team also take care of many logistical issues unique to their professional athlete clients, or as they refer to them members". An example of this is that most players spend a great deal of time on the road, and their state of residence can affect their tax bracket. According to Piascik, the state of Florida has some significant tax advantages. Therefore, being a Florida resident (where most professional baseball players spend at least three months in spring training) has distinct advantages. P&A can assist athletes with the details of establishing residency.

In contrast to residency issues, some athletes have tax consequences due to their non-resident status, said Piascik. He sites the example of four professional baseball players who were faced with paying over $1 million in federal taxes on bonuses paid for services rendered outside the United States. Other CPA firms had misfiled the athletes federal tax returns for these services by non-residents of the United States. Based upon their in-depth knowledge of specialized tax issues regarding professional athletes and international tax law, P&A was able to recover over $1.5 million of federal taxes and interest paid by the four athletes for services not rendered within the United States, said Piascik.

Piascik has established clear expectations that are at the heart of P&As core values: 1) deliver more than the client expects; and, 2) work hard to reach your goals. These values resonate with his clients.

Steve and his team have a very hands-on approach," said Jennifer Rickman, client manager for Proformance, Inc. Their attention to detail helps our professional athlete clients who often have complex financial matters. P&A are quick with ideas, but patient with suggestions. Steve is very involved and is always prompt getting back to you."

This spring, while the major leaguers are warming up their bats, Steve Piascik and his team are focusing on saving their professional athlete clients tax expenses, and on providing financial strategies to ensure for the players and their families futures.

Steven M. Piasciks Resume:
Steven M. Piascik, CPA, MT
Born: 1968, Gardner, Massachusetts
Position: President -- Piascik & Associates, P.C.
Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. Master of Taxation from Virginia Commonwealth University

Associations: AICPA
        VSCPA

Career Path: Joyner, Kirkham, Keel, & Robertson, P.C. - Accountant
            Henry R. Hortenstine, III CPA, P.C. - Accountant
            KPMG LLP -- Senior Tax Manager
            Piascik & Associates, P.C. -- President -- Since 2001

Family: Wife: Randi and Children: Matthew & Madison
Hobbies: Boating, watching and participating in sports, and any outdoor event.

Piascik & Associates, P.C. Headquarters: 4470 Cox Rd., Suite 110, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 804.527.1815 804.527.1816 fax www.piascik.com

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