DON’T BE A VICTIM TO A TAX SCAM

Each year, people fall prey to tax scams. Stay safe and be informed – don’t become a victim.

If you get involved in illegal tax scams, you can lose money or face stiff penalties, interest, and even criminal prosecution. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be on the lookout for these scams:

Telephone Scams

Threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain an ongoing threat. The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams in recent years as scam artists threaten taxpayers with police arrest, deportation, license revocation, and more. These con artists often demand payment of back taxes on a prepaid debit card or by immediate wire transfer. Be alert to con artists impersonating IRS agents and demanding payment.

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WORKING with TAX EXEMPTS

Over the years, I have been a volunteer with many charitable organizations – sometimes as a board member, other times as an executive officer and once as the President. And after being away from this kind of involvement, imagine my surprise that I find myself back into it. The cause is Women’s Running, and I am surprised as I am neither a woman nor a runner. At the gym, I prefer the recumbent bike to the treadmill.

Kathrine Switzer has been a friend and a client for nearly 35 years. If you do not recognize her name, search the internet. If you do recognize her name, you know her long history with women’s running: Starting with the 1967 Boston Marathon Kathrine was physically attacked mid-stride in the event by the race director because she was a woman who registered and was running in what was then a men’s only event; extending to her innovative Avon Women’s Sports programs; getting the Olympics to make a women’s marathon an official event; and today, as the founder of a new tax-exempt, 261 Fearless Inc. (http://womenslifestyle.com/kathrine-switzer-marathon-woman-changes-the-pace/)

FAILURE IS FEEDBACK Part 4

Failure is a stepping stone towards success. But the information that you gather only has power when it is applied to real life situations. Failure is Feedback when you can learn different lessons from the failure, and that puts you on your way to success.

It is easy to feel like a failure when something does not work out. It is first instinct to feel disappointed when your project or start-up fails. At that moment, you could not care less about feedback from failure. 

Failure is Feedback: Part 3

Failure is a stepping stone towards success. But the information that you gather only has power when it is applied to real life situations. Failure is Feedback when you can learn different lessons from the failure, which puts you on your way to success. 

Failure is Feedback

Failure is a stepping stone towards success. But the information that you gather only has power when it is applied to real life situations. Failure is feedback when you can learn different lessons from the failure, and that puts you on your way to success.

It is easy to feel like a failure when something does not work out.

It is a first instinct to feel disappointed when your project or start-up fails.

At that moment, you could care less about feedback from failure.

BUSINESS PLANNING with PROGRESSIVE MANAGEMENT INC

An interview with Howard Lipset

I was recently interviewed for Richard Noll’s Legal Newsletter. My interview is part of a four-page newsletter that he mails out, and I was very honored to be interviewed. I would like to share it with you.

What benefits does Progressive Management provide to its clients?

How Can You Prove a Sidewalk Trip and Fall Claim?

What seems to be a relatively basic legal claim – being compensated for a personal injury sustained when you trip and fall on a dangerous sidewalk condition – is actually a complex endeavor  for  the plaintiff.  You must prove the existence of a dangerous condition; that the responsible party had notice of; and that it caused the personal injury. Common injuries in these cases include a broken wrist, a fractured  humerus (upper arm); torn rotator cuff; broken ankle; herniated disc or torn knee cartilage.

On September 15, 2003, the New York City Administrative Code shifted the primary responsibility for sidewalk trip and fall accidents from the City of New York to the adjoining property owner. Under the new law property owners have the duty to maintain the abutting sidewalk in a reasonable safe condition and shall be liable for personal injuries resulting from any failure to do so. The new law does not apply to one, two or three family residential properties that are, in whole or in part, owner occupied and used exclusively for residential purposes. In those cases, the City of New York remains primarily responsible for the maintenance and care of the sidewalk.

Do You Know What “PCORI” Is?

Well, you had better. It is the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and it is a new fee under the Affordable Care Act.

And it is a nit-picking little fee filed on IRS Form 720 for any employer with a self-funded plan. Form 720 is a 6-page form that was originally intended to be an excise tax on gasoline and other gasoline type products. It is filed quarterly, but for PCORI it is filed annually in the second quarter.

You need to count up the number of covered persons (including dependents), and if your plan year ended on or before 10/1/13 you owe $1.00 per person, and $2.00 per person for years ending on or before 10/1/14. However, a plan ending March 31, 2015 does not have to file until July 2016. Yes, 16 months later. And the definition in the official instructions does not easily interpret this. We had to get it in writing from the insurance company.

Martial Arts vs. Business Development

During May 2014, I was asked to give a presentation about Business Development to networking group, IBO.

In order to keep everyone’s attention I decided to go off-beat. The first thing I produced was a piece of wood, 9 inches by 12 inches and asked them to guess as to what its primary use was. And inside of one minute, someone called out that it looked like a board one breaks with their fist. The right answer.

I then asked what the correlation could be between this board and business development. That answer is quite abstract, as well as practical.

What is Your Time Worth?

The difference between a small business simply getting by or forging forward may be that they should be increasing their overhead in the right places.

If a business owner is spending more than five hours a month on any particular function, they must consider outsourcing the work. In today’s world, many functions performed by specialized departments in large corporations are available to small business from small companies.