Business News

The bad news is the anemic economy has impacted small business owners, many of whom may have an operating loss for 2008.  The good news is, if your business sustained an operating loss, you may be able to benefit from carrying what is called a net operating loss (NOL) into a different tax year—a tax year in which you had or will have taxable income—and take a deduction for the current NOL against that different year’s taxable income. 

Each year there are millions of Americans who prepare their own federal and state tax returns and even more individuals have their taxes professionally prepared. Whatever choice a taxpayer makes there are a number of important tax tips that everyone should know.

You read in newspapers about big-name celebrities caught violating U.S. tax law, but beware: You’re at risk, too.
Celebrity lands in tax trouble.  That story always finds a way into your newspaper or your favorite news website.  After all, who hasn’t read about Brazilian racecar driver and “Dancing with the Stars” winner Helio Castroneves?  The 33-year-old faces trial in Miami on charges he failed to report $5.5 million in income from 1999 to 2004.

In many businesses managers dictate to employees.  Many times this is done in a way that may undermine what is being attempted.
Throughout history we have heard of people in the military who led by example.  They put themselves in similar risks as the troops they were responsible for, in looking out for them and their welfare.

This time of year is stressful as you start to prepare your tax return.  However, for many people the stress of their tax obligations affects their everyday life.  For many reasons they owe taxes but are unable to pay them.  Compounding the problem they fail to file their tax returns on time.

Just getting started, have you been naughty or nice? Uncle Sam wants to know — and he’s doing a lot to find out

For U.S. taxpayers cheating here and there — or maybe just about everywhere — on their taxes, this news should send a chill up the spine.

Your website is important to you. It’s a part of your business model and, for some companies, the lifeline of their company.  So imagine what would happen if your website was ripped away from you and is now in the possession of another party.  How does this happen?  Easy enough — it has already happened to several companies in the last two months.  Don’t let it happen to you.
Recently a major security exploit was found with Google’s Gmail service allowing a clever hacker to create an Email Filter* in your Gmail account (even without having your password!) that would forward the email and then delete it from any specified Gmail account.  Thus forwarding the email to the hacker and deleting it before you ever knew.

For those Santa Clarita residents who may be looking for more stable employment right here in your own backyard, there are many reasons to consider Shield Healthcare as your future employer.  For over 50 years, Shield Healthcare has been one of the largest providers of high quality disposable medical products such as, incontinence, enteral nutrition, urological, ostomy and diabetes supplies for the care of patients in their homes.  A large part of our success can be attributed to the nearly 300 employees, 25 percent of which have over 10 years of service, who personify Shield’s dedication to customer satisfaction.  In fact, an impressive 98 percent of our customers state they would recommend Shield to someone in need.  Another critical factor for our continued success is our commitment to employee achievement.  In addition to a comprehensive employee benefits plan we also offer:

Recently we had some coffee and conversation with Cindy J. Harris CPA.  She has serviced the Santa Clarita Valley for over 15 of her 24 years practicing as a CPA.  Cindy mentions the tremendous changes that the SCV has seen as well as the tax and financial changes that will be the topic of conversation at tax time this year.

Instead of dreading the task of gathering tax information for your CPA, why not use these simple organization techniques.  Read on to learn more.

There are many things that can bring benefit to a business.  The key is to be open minded to exploring and learning how to implement them.  One of these things is situational awareness.  When the process is understood, it can be of great benefit to a business.

Some of the most important issues that parents of teenage children that are going to be driving face are making sure that they have the right coverage at a cost that will not break the bank.  Often, when parents call in for an insurance quote on their teen they get quotes with rates that are two to three times higher than what they had been paying themselves.  Of course, when you really think about it, they are newly licensed and just learning how to operate a vehicle in our congested community.  So the possibility that an accident or claim could happen is much higher due to the lack of experience.

Here’s the scenario — you get a card in the mail, one of those little reminders that tells you it’s time for your annual financial checkup.  Your reaction: I’ll take care of that later.  Here’s why you should look forward to it.

The recent Tax Extenders and AMT Relief Act of 2008 (Extenders Act) provides extensions for several popular tax breaks and the addition of several new relief provisions, including disaster-area tax relief.  Following is an overview of some of the key provisions for individuals and business owners in the new legislation:

Preventive medicine is one of today’s fastest-growing medical specialties.  The theory that a healthy diet and lifestyle plus regular checkups can reduce the likelihood of life-threatening or disabling illnesses has gained almost total acceptance.  The same preventive philosophy can be applied to your 401(k) salary deferral plan and to other employee benefit plans.  It makes sense.  Regular checkups of various plan features can ensure that your plan continues to function smoothly and effectively.

Early one morning, you are out for a jog.  As you approach an intersection, you notice a “no-walk” red traffic signal against you.  There are no cars approaching on the horizon, so you decide to keep jogging and enter the crosswalk against a “no-walk” red traffic light.

Retirement is just one of many events that can trigger a retirement plan distribution -- changing jobs, getting laid off, or losing a job due to a merger or acquisition are just a few other examples. Today, it is not unusual for a person who is years away from retirement to suddenly find him- or herself with a lump-sum retirement plan payout of $50,000, $100,000, or more.

Taxpayers, whether individuals or businesses, need an efficient, effective filing system for their tax-related documents.  Tax-related documents includes records that identify sources of income, keep track of expenses, determine the value of property, save time when preparing the tax return or support claims made on your return.  These records would include employer W-2s, 1099s, bank and brokerage statements, cancelled checks and credit card receipts.