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BETHESDA, Md. & ROSELAND, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Reznick Group, P.C., and J.H. Cohn LLP, two of the top-20 ranked accounting, tax and consulting firms in the United States, today announced plans to merge and become the 11th largest firm in the country with more than 2,000 employees, 25 offices and combined revenues of more than $450M.

Principals and Partners of both firms have agreed to the combination and terms. Pending final approvals, the merger is anticipated to take effect in September. The combined firm will also continue operations in the Cayman Islands and India.

The combination of these two great organizations immediately elevates us to a preeminent position on the East Coast with offices from Boston to Atlanta, provides a significant expansion in California, and establishes a national footprint with additional offices in Texas and Chicago, said Thomas J. Marino, Partner and Chief Executive Officer, J.H. Cohn. This combination of peers changes the landscape of the accounting industry by establishing a firm with an unprecedented concentration of industry experience in real estate, and highly specialized experience in areas such as renewable energy, hospitality, manufacturing and distribution, capital markets, government, construction, life sciences and technology, and valuations.

The synergies and opportunities this merger of equals brings to our clients and staff is nothing short of historic, said Kenneth E. Baggett, CPA, Reznick Groups managing principal and CEO. J.H. Cohn has very diverse clients across a wide array of industries. When combined with Reznick Groups deep knowledge of the affordable housing and commercial real estate industries, as well as the tax credit arena, the result is a firm that is a powerful resource for clients across all of their accounting, tax and consulting needs.

The merger also combines two firms with enterprising employee cultures built around giving employees the freedom and resources to chart their own career paths focused on creating new opportunities for themselves -- and for clients. Both firms have recently garnered recognition by industry and business publications for their excellence and commitment to their people, womens initiatives, and as best places to work. In addition, both firms have recently received major awards for their community involvement and leadership in the cities in which they live and work.

About Reznick Group

Reznick Group is a top 20 national public accounting firm providing accounting, tax and business advisory services to clients nationwide. The firm's industry experience includes affordable housing, banking and financial services, commercial real estate, government, nonprofits, professional services, renewable energy and technology. Reznick Group provides a high level of industry experience in helping clients gauge business trends and seize upon new opportunities while managing risk. The firm offers the resources of a large national accounting firm but maintains an enterprisingapproach that provides the flexibility to proactively meet clients needs in constantly changing economic climates. The firms commitment to industry knowledge and experience has helped clients succeed for more than three decades. For more information, visitwww.reznickgroup.com.

About J.H. Cohn LLP

One of the leading accounting and consulting firms in the United States, J.H. Cohn LLP specializes in audit, accounting, tax, and business consulting services for public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations. Since 1919, the firm's philosophy has remained constant: to provide a highly personalized approach to each client, with intelligent guidance and solutions driven by technical and industry expertise that positively affect client profitability and growth. J.H. Cohn has cultivated a reputation for strategic insight, proactive leadership, unwavering integrity, and a genuine concern for clients and their businesses. To help clients think and act across national boundaries, J.H. Cohn is an independent member of Nexia International, a global network of independent accountancy, tax, and business advisors and the tenth largest provider of audit and advisory services worldwide. The firm has offices in New York, California, Connecticut, and throughout New Jersey. For more information, visit http://www.jhcohn.com.

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Reznick Group, J.H. Cohn LLP Announce Merger

Brussels (dpa) - The average employee in Greece will be earning almost 23 per cent less this year, a study by tax consultancy Ernst & Young and two conservative think tanks revealed on Monday.

The report, published by New Direction, a research organization linked to the British conservative partys caucus in the European Parliament, and the Brussels-based Institute Economique Molinari, calculated the tax burden for "typical workers" across the EU.

For Greece, it showed that real net salary - net of income tax, social security contributions and value-added tax - was expected to be just 13,167 euros (16,820 dollars) in 2012. Last year, the same report had calculated it to be 17,024 euros.

By comparison, the net salary in Germany was estimated at 23,690 euros this year.

Because of this contraction, the tax burden on Greek workers is due to fall significantly, one of the authors of the report, James Rogers, told dpa.

In 2012, the so-called tax freedom day for Greek workers - marking the day of the year in which they finally earn enough to pay all their annual taxes to the state - is due to fall on May 31. In 2011, tax freedom was achieved only on June 12.

The report confirmed Belgians to be the most heavily taxed people in the EU, with their tax freedom day falling on August 5. Germany was exposed as the fifth-highest tax-levying nation, with its tax-freedom day on July 12.

The tax burden was found to be lightest in Malta, Cyprus, Ireland and Britain, where tax freedom falls between April 11 and May 12. dpa alv ncs Author: Alvise Armellini

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Average salary in Greece down 23 per cent in 2012, tax study finds

Brussels (dpa) - The average employee in Greece will be earning almost 23 per cent less this year, a study by tax consultancy Ernst & Young and two conservative think tanks revealed on Monday.

The report, published by New Direction, a research organization linked to the British conservative partys caucus in the European Parliament, and the Brussels-based Institute Economique Molinari, calculated the tax burden for "typical workers" across the EU.

For Greece, it showed that real net salary - net of income tax, social security contributions and value-added tax (VAT) - was expected to be just 13,167 euros (16,820 dollars) in 2012. Last year, the same report had calculated it to be 17,024 euros.

By comparison, the net salary in Germany was estimated at 23,690 euros this year.

Because of this contraction, the tax burden on Greek workers is due to fall significantly, one of the authors of the report, James Rogers, told dpa.

In 2012, the so-called tax freedom day for Greek workers - marking the day of the year in which they finally earn enough to pay all their annual taxes to the state - is due to fall on May 31. In 2011, tax freedom was achieved only on June 12.

The report confirmed Belgians to be the most heavily taxed people in the EU, with their tax freedom day falling on August 5. Germany was exposed as the fifth-highest tax levying nation, with its tax freedom day on July 12.

The tax burden was found to be lightest in Malta, Cyprus, Ireland and Britain, where tax freedom falls between April 11 and May 12.

Several eurozone nations have been forced to put up taxes in recent years, as they battle with the currency blocs ongoing debt crisis.

In another report, also issued Monday, the EUs statistical office Eurostat said the average standard rate for VAT in the euro area was 20 per cent in 2012, up from 18.1 per cent in 2000.

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LEAD: Salaries in Greece down 23 per cent in 2012, tax study finds Eds: Adds Eurostat figures on eurozone taxation

FLEMINGTON The county Board of Taxation hasnt gotten anywhere near its attempt to hire a full-time tax administrator for a salary of $35,000.

According to board President Anthony Danzo, two qualified candidates responded to its recent advertising. One sought $65,000 a year. The other, Jeff Burd, current assessor in Ewing Township in Mercer County, apparently misread the ad, thinking it offered a salary of $135,000. Once the pay was clarified, he wasn't interested, Danzo reported.

Bergen Countys tax administrator was paid $153,392 last year, according to the state Division of Taxation. Of the 21 county administrators, nine were paid more than $100,000 last year, the state reported.

The countys desire to pay $35,000 is based on that amount being set in a state law about tax administrators and is the minimum Hunterdon can pay, based on its population. The figure was set in 1979 and has never been raised; the tax board believes it must offer a competitive salary to attract good candidates.

Hunterdon tax administrator Athan Tom Efstathiou, who died last August while attending a professional conference, had a 2011 salary of $92,392. He was the tax administrator since 1994.

Freeholder Director Rob Walton has said Efstathiou was paid too much, and that the county only needs a part-time tax administrator.

Assemblywoman Donna Simon, who lives in Readington Township, is drafting legislation that would give county officials the freedom to decide whether a part-time administrator could sufficiently meet the needs of their constituents. At present, state law mandates a full-time tax administrator.

Walton has said the county would like to share a tax administrator with another county. State Sen. Mike Doherty has drafted a bill to change the law to allow that.

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Hunterdon tax administrator job pays $100,000 less than candidate thought

Analysts expect this fall's election to turn on the economy. President of the American Enterprise Institute Arthur C. Brooks wants to deepen the debate on the economy by discussing which economic policies are morally right. Brooks talks to Steve Inskeep about his book, The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Economic issues are shaping this year's presidential campaign, as we're hearing in this morning's news. Arthur C. Brooks, of the American Enterprise Institute, says that debate involves more than money. It's a question of which economic policies are morally right.

ARTHUR C. BROOKS: This is one of the greatest weaknesses of people on the political right and free enterprise advocates in America today; is this inability or unwillingness to make moral arguments. People who are not especially sympathetic to the free enterprise system have very successfully been making moral arguments. The leitmotif of the 2012 campaign, it turns out, is going to be fairness, and that's a moral argument.

INSKEEP: Brooks tries to counter that with a moral argument for free enterprise. His new book, "The Road to Freedom," contends that people are happier with less government, which leads to another big question of 2012 - how much less government?

Help me define, as you see it, the responsibility of government - because as people who read this book will know, you're not an advocate of no government. You see a place, it seems, for a social safety net and so forth. So what are the limits?

BROOKS: The government should be doing two things, basically. The first is providing a minimum basic safety net for the truly indigent. That means enough food, enough housing, enough medical care. Today, the safety net we have in this country reaches all the way up into the middle class.

People who retire, middle-class people who retire, take three times as much out of the Social Security system they ever paid in. That's completely unsustainable, and it's not fair. And that's a really important thing to keep in mind.

We also have a social safety net that's trying to take the risks out of life, that's trying to achieve greater income equality. That's the wrong basis for a social safety net. Social safety net should be relieving the worst suffering.

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'Road To Freedom': Moral Debate For Free Enterprise