New Partner: Blaine Martin, CPA – Tax Partner
Blaine Martin joined the firm in 2018 and focuses on providing tax services to our clients in the real estate and entertainment industries, as well as to closely-held businesses and their owners. “I am so excited to join an already stellar leadership team here at ML&R, and look forward to helping our people and clients achieve their goals.”
Get to know Blaine a little better below:
What’s a fun fact about you?
A video of me, at 4ish years old, trying to avoid a kiss from my aunt and subsequently slamming my head on a kitchen island made it on to America’s Funniest Home Videos. Sadly, it did not take home 1st place.
What’s your favorite thing to do in Austin?
Although I wish I was better, I love playing golf. FORE!!
What new skill have you learned lately?
Parenting 😊. Similar to my golf game, I have yet to master this skill, but it is new! My wife and I have two wonderful children – Henry (3) and Ada (8 months). Changing diapers in the dark, warming bottles to the perfect temperature, and minimizing social disruptions in public are all facets of this skill that I am getting better at each day. Fortunately for me (and the kids), my wife Laura is a pro-level mom who keeps our family functioning.
What is a client success story you’d like to share?
My favorite client success story involves one of my very first clients after joining Maxwell Locke & Ritter. My client owned and operated a field services company in which they would send teams all over the country to repair large pieces of industrial equipment. As part of their service agreements, the per diem amounts incurred by their service teams were passed on to their customers. Their previous CPA had been limiting these per diem expenses to 50% under the Meals & Entertainment regulations. But after reviewing their contracts and related IRS guidance, we determined that since these expenses were passed on and paid by the customer, the per diem expenses incurred by my client were not subject to the 50% limitation. Ultimately we were able to file three years of amended returns, resulting in a refunds of more than $100k.
What’s your favorite thing about working at ML&R?
There are so many things I love about ML&R, but I would have to say my favorite is our people! We have a great group that truly operates like a family. Our team is constantly stepping up to help their co-workers – and not only with professional tasks. During the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020 and the “great freeze” of 2021, our people were in constant contact with each other to make sure everyone and their families were ok. Although we are a growing firm, everyone still takes time to get to know their colleagues on a personal level, which is another wonderful example of our great culture.
You can read more about Blaine here, as well as the business and personal tax services we offer.
