Caveat Emptor or Let The Buyer Be Aware of Tax Scams

A number of taxpayers have a morbid fear of the Internal Revenue Service.  When a taxpayer owes the Internal Revenue Service a large tax debt this can create a tremendous amount of anxiety and sleepless nights.  Some unethical companies will pray on the taxpayer's vulnerability and guarantee or promise to settle their tax liability with the Internal Revenue Service for fractions of their actual debt.  In actuality the only one that can make such a guarantee is the accepting agency which is the Internal Revenue Service.  Be weary of paying a company that requests a large retainer up front and guarantees that they will be able to solve your tax problems.  California Attorney General Jerry Brown is suing Roni Deutch for what they are calling a "Heartless Scheme".  You can read the full story by clicking on the link.  Tax Lady Roni Deutch Sued for “Heartless Scheme”.

Avoid Steep Penalties for Florida Unemployment Returns (Form UCT6)

Erroneous, incomplete or insufficient unemployment reports filed with the State of Florida can cost businesses steep penalties starting with the third quarter of 2010. Read the tax bulletin at:  http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/tips/tip1060bb-03.htm

Backup Today!!

Have you told yourself one, two, maybe even three times that, “tomorrow we definitely have to backup our system”. The only problem is that tomorrow never gets here. Only after I had a client called desperately seeking a current backup of his data after his computers crashed, did I realize that “tomorrow” has to happen today. The damage is done once the computer crashes. At that point you have three options. The first, simplest and most cost effective is to just restore your data from a secure website source or external drive (ie jump drive, external hard drive, cds). The second and third are both equally expensive which are recreate all of the data lost or hire a company that restores data from computers. Be proactive about your business and safeguard your data by investing in some sort of backup system TODAY!

Unemployment Tax Rate Skyrockets

A Clemmons and Company’s client had the lowest possible unemployment tax rate. Due to the down economy a lay off was necessary for ONE employee. Florida Department of Revenue raised the business unemployment rate from the lowest possible to the highest rate in one quarter. Throughout all of my years of doing unemployment tax returns, I have never seen a rate increase so drastically for one employee to receive benefits in such a short period of time. To receive clarification/explanation, I contacted the Florida Revenue Department. The Revenue Agent reply was that this is what the department is currently doing being that the State’s Unemployment Fund is depleted. Feel free to contact Clemmons and Company to discuss ways to maintain a low tax rate.

THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY

It is not all glamorous being an entrepreneur. Many people look at entrepreneurs especially their employees and are quite envious of their accomplishments and wealth. I had employees of of some of my clients that felt as though the owners were overpaid. The envious person is really blinded by the outer appearance. They fail to see the whole picture clearly. Regardless of whether the business owner receives revenue or not, guess what the employee still has to be paid. If an employee makes a customer error, the worst thing that could happen is that their employment will be terminated. However, the business owner could possibly loose everything if they are sued by the customer. The envious person also does not see the sweat and equity that it takes to build a successful business, the sleepless nights spent worrying how the company will cover payroll or how the company will finish that big job order that came in when half of the employees did not come into work. The rewards are great of owning your own business, but the risks of owning a business are even higher. Next time your looking at the greener grass on the other side, make sure you are looking through with corrective vision!

TO SAVE OR NOT TO SAVE IS THE QUESTION.

I was reading an article yesterday on yahoo finance on practical ways of becoming a millionaire. The writer stated that when he was 19 years old a mentor instructed him to view investing as a regular monthly bill. I heard this advice repeatedly throughout my years. Today is a different ballgame. The world is deep into a recession. Many people today are struggling just to pay the mandate and necessary expenses. If you are barely able to make the mortgage payment or keep the electricity on, is saving for retirement really feasible? What are your thoughts?

Reduced Unemployment, What?

Senator Tester's proposal to eliminate the $25/week in extra unemployment benefits that laid off people have been receiving since the 2009 stimulus bill passed.