The clock is ticking, the game is almost over, and it is down to the big game’s final four. People around the world are in the final days of selecting the winner of Intuit’s Small Business Big Game competition. On Feb. 2, 2014, Intuit, the home company of TurboTax Canada, will make one small business a star in the biggest commercial game of the year.
Having an opportunity for its chance in the spotlight on Super Bowl Sunday are Barley Labs of Durham, North Carolina; Dairy Poop of Nampa, Idaho; GoldieBlox of Oakland, California; and Locally Laid Egg Company of Duluth, Minnesota. The four were among the thousands of small companies who entered the competition. The thousands were narrowed to 20, then to four. A worldwide vote determines which small business has an unprecedented opportunity for success. One vote per person per day will give one small business a chance at huge success.
Super Bowl Tourney1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Intuit and TurboTax Canada are awarding a prime 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl to the contest’s winner. The worldwide voting is in its final days, and four lucky small businesses are in the position to win big with Intuit and TurboTax Canada. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on Dec. 1.
The winner will receive a professionally produced 30-second television commercial during the biggest game of the year with TurboTax Canada and Intuit paying for the advertisement as well as purchasing the commercial time during the game. Voting is at . Small businesses are the heart and strength of the worldwide economy. Intuit, TurboTax Canada and voters are giving one small business a very big chance. You can get in on the game.
Turbo Tax 2014 is set to launch new online calculators. These calculators are meant for the calculation of subsidies that you are entitled to when you get insurance cover as well as how much premium you are supposed to pay. The new insurance plans have been made possible by the Affordable Care Act that allows low income earners to get health care by paying low premiums.
A CNN poll conducted in March of 2010Citation needed, days after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law found nearly 3 in 5 Americans were opposed to the legislationClarify. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There are four categories that are offered by the insurance exchanges. You will get various types of benefits depending on the coverage that you choose and your income level. They include; gold plans, silver plans and catastrophic plans that are offered to the low income earner below the age of 30.
The Turbo Tax 2014 calculator is user friendly in its design. There are various settings and inputs on the left and to the right there are running totals. The particulars input on the left side determine two things; how much you will have to pay or the tax refund you will get.
There are various details required to be entered in the Turbo Tax 2014 calculators in order to determine the eligibility for subsidy. The personal information includes:
Annual income;
State of residence;
-ZIP code
Whether your employer pays insurance
By entering your information on the left side, you are able to find out what is the best plan for your tax situation. Should you choose to do this manually, it would take a longer time. Therefore, the Turbo Tax 2014 assists in speeding up the process of selecting a decent plan that will not cost you too much in the first couple of years or participating.
The government study that preceded the launch of the Affordable Care Act determined that 90% of those who are above the federal level of poverty are able to pay higher premiums. However, the subsidies only apply to those who do not have health insurance through their employer. Therefore, when filling in your particulars, if you fill in that you receive health insurance on the left side of the 2014 calculator; it means it will not display any subsidy on the right side of the results. It will only display the amount of premiums you are meant to pay.
In case your income is between 133%-399% of the poverty level, then the calculator will show you that your premiums may be at 3%-9.5% of gross income. Anything less than 133% would mean that you get medicaid coverage and therefore do not need to purchase a plan.
You need to note that there is a chance that you may need to include some of your income in the health care calculation. This is because a normal low income house hold spends at least 75% of their income on home expenses. This is why there needs to be some changes in the act in order to accommodate those who are in the low income level of society and give them more in terms of subsidy and less in terms of payment of premiums. Exempting unions and those in congress just isn’t enough of a government benefit for certain parties in the government. This is still under discussion as the rates are not satisfactory to the low income earners who use most of their income for expenses at home.
You never know when problems can occur, and this year people have experienced their fair share of unexpected problems. This summer alone people across the country are dealing with blazing wildfires, destructive storms with dangerous winds, and other natural disasters. Some people are lucky and come out of the damage relatively unscathed, but others aren’t as fortunate. Some people have had significant damage done to their property, and they’re trying to find a way to rebuild. There are also some people that aren’t dealing with disasters caused by nature, they’re dealing with problems caused by other people. Theft of expensive objects, damage done by vandals, blackmail, and other problems happen to people every day.
Internal Revenue Service (Photo credit: LendingMemo)
Many people don’t know what to do when disaster occurs. People with insurance may be able to get some help from their policy, but some policies don’t have enough coverage to completely compensate the policy holder for their loss. Luckily for tax paying American citizens, Uncle Sam has measures in place to help people in their hour of need. Financial losses incurred because of casualty, disaster, and theft losses may be tax-deductible. Tax payers can report casualty and theft can be reported on Form 4684 and Form 1040 Schedule A.
Casualty Losses
A casualty is defined as the loss, significant damage, or destruction of property because of a sudden event. In order to claim property as a casualty cost, the event that caused it must be easily identifiable and unexpected. Natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, storms, and wildfires fit the criteria, but Mother Nature doesn’t have to be the only cause of your loss. Losses due to car accidents, terrorist attacks, and vandalism can all be claimed as a casualty loss.
Theft Losses
The IRS’ definition of theft isn’t too different from what law enforcement officials view as theft of property. The IRS defines theft as “the taking and removing of money or property with the intent to deprive the owner of it. The taking of property must be illegal under the law of the state where it occurred and it must have been done with criminal intent.” According to the IRS embezzlement, robbery, blackmail, burglary, extortion, larceny, and even kidnapping for ransom all full under the umbrella of theft losses.
Losses You Can’t Claim
The government offers IRS tax help to taxpayers that have experienced hardship, but there are some situations where you won’t be able to claim the property and finances you lost over the year. Property that was misplaced cannot be claimed as a loss, nor can property that was accidentally broken. Tax payers may also not claim any property that has gone through progressive deterioration. In order to be tax-deductible the damage must be cause by a sudden and unexpected event. As an example, if your home was significantly damaged in a storm you would be able to claim that. If your home was damaged because of termite infestation or mold over a period of time, you would not be allowed to claim that.
Business Destinations For Tax Havens: Taxes can often prove to be rather annoying expenditures that Government enforces on its people. Unfortunately there are different types of taxes which are applicable to different scenarios and businesses can often face various forms of taxes as their business grows and expands. While there are many tax deductible items, they’re not much so many businesses might face an ever growing amount of taxes for each year.
Fortunately, businesses now have a little trick up their sleeves and look for business destinations for tax havens. These little havens are governed under various governing bodies that don’t always have the same amount of tax. However, tax havens have a special quality and that is that they have almost no form of taxation. Furthermore, businesses have no obligations to reveal any information which is related to their tax payments or bank accounts.
However, the following 5 business destinations for tax havens are extremely popular and many businesses are tempted by them:
Panama
With a well developed commerce and banking sector, the picturesque city of Panama is not just loved for its famous canal. Considered to be among the best business destinations for tax havens, Panama has been popular for well over a decade now. Although it still has some laws ensuring tax payments from all business ends, Panama has become a business tax haven for many local and international businesses and organizations. These businesses in turn have greatly boosted Panama’s banking sector and go for it.
The Cayman Islands
Falling under British rule, these little clustered islands are considered to be more of a tourist destination; the Cayman Islands have started garnering popularity as a great tax haven for many businesses. Its lack of income tax, corporation tax and capital gains taxes has made it one of the first places that any business chooses. With the availability of various international banks as well, the Cayman Islands is a popular place. However, there is a rumor that there has been a Community Enhancement Fee which works like a tax for the people. Find out more information about Cayman Islands offshore company regulations
Luxemburg
A pretty exotic location that is a large popular tourist attraction, Luxemburg favors business endeavors with it’s easy to keep laws and high GDP that attracts businesses towards it. Already crowned as the second largest financial hub in Europe, Luxemburg enjoys numerous local and international businesses. Capitalizing on a large number of foreign banks, Luxemburg has money storage systems. Even after Luxemburg adopted the OECD standards the policies of Luxemburg have hardly changed from its former tax evasive ways.
Monaco
Surrounded near France, Monaco’s claim to fame had been the Formula One race courses but it increasingly became a favorite among many multimillionaires and their businesses. Although there are other taxes in place, there is no income tax and no inheritance tax. While still ideal for businesses, Monaco has increasingly become more favored for millionaires through this little loophole. In fact, Monaco also has a rather extensive international banking sector which houses billions of tax free revenue.
Tax preparation help at the library (Photo credit: Newton Free Library)
Filing your income taxes is one of those necessary evils that nobody looks forward to. It’s a time consuming, highly detailed process that typically requires several hours of your attention. Luckily, in today’s digital world, filing your taxes doesn’t have to be such a headache. Thanks to advances in technology, you can now work with an accountant to file your taxes from the comfort of your own home. There are a couple of different options for electronic filing that help you to save time and money when you’re doing your income taxes.
Virtual accounting
Let’s face it: we’re all busy and sometimes we just don’t have the time to sit through an hours-long appointment with a tax preparer. When you add in the time spent commuting across town and finding parking, in-person meetings can really start to add up. A number of firms out there that now offer virtual income tax preparation. Some even provide online drop off service, so that you can simply send all of your tax documents in electronically without ever setting foot in a physical office. Nothing is more convenient than that.
You can either choose to work with a large tax preparation service like H&R Block, or an accountant in your area that offers virtual tax preparation services. It’s simply a personal choice based on your comfort level and preferences. Either route you choose, it’s likely you will need to have some face time with your accountant. This can be done in a few different ways. The most common way to connect is through video conferencing that’s done via the web. Some accountants will also connect with you over the phone or through a chat feature that is offered on their website.
Scheduling time to talk via video conference, phone, or live chat ensures that your taxes will be prepared according to your needs and preferences. Generally, filing your income taxes virtually requires a simple conversation at the beginning of the process in order to hammer out necessary details before your accountant gets down to the nitty-gritty of doing your taxes. You then converse by email or phone if there are questions during the process or after the return has been prepared.
Tax preparation software
An estimated 81% of people in the United States filed their taxes electronically last year. While virtual accountants are starting to become more prevalent, it’s likely that the bulk of these individuals used tax preparation services to simplify the filing process. Tax preparation software has seen a surge in popularity over the past decade, with the development of popular programs like TurboTax by Intuit which allow you to complete the filing process online from start to finish.
The program’s popularity is largely attributed to its convenience. TurboTax provides an inexpensive, easy to follow, and convenient solution for filing your income taxes. You can simply download the software or purchase it at a nearby store, run it on your computer and begin entering information from your W-2s and other tax forms. It simplifies the deduction process by taking you step by step through common (and uncommon) tax deductions. Generally, the software helps to maximize your return because it covers all the bases with tax deductions.
If you don’t finish doing your taxes on TurboTax in one sitting, you can always come back to them. The program saves your progress online or on your computer, so you can simply pick up where you left off. Once you’ve completed your tax returns, you can file with the click of a button and opt to receive your refund electronically, or via paper check in the mail. You can also pay your taxes electronically if you end up owing money. It’s a highly convenient solution with little margin for error, and a great choice if you are not particularly confident in your skills when you’re filing taxes on paper.
Thanks to today’s technology, there are a few great ways to minimize the hassle of filing your income taxes, including Intercall’s virtual events and other tech options. If you would like to explore a more convenient solution for filing, look into options for virtual accounting or consider purchasing tax preparation software to simplify the process. Tax software will save you a lot of time and potential frustration!
Stories of large companies avoiding tax litter the news, but those are companies have purposely exploited loopholes and international trade agreements to avoid paying a fair rate of tax. That doesn’t mean it is immoral to avoid unnecessary tax and in fact, it is perceivable to consider HMRC as acting inappropriately by not advising people of the best or most tax efficient method of investing their money and receiving the resulting income. What is even more worrying is that succession planning is taxed heavily and the money, if from an estate, has already been taxed many times before.
How HMRC Taxes Inheritance
Anyone who receives an income in the form of inheritance will need to pay tax on that income if it reaches the inheritance tax threshold. The current inheritance tax threshold of £325,000 is in force until April 5th 2015 and that means any estate worth over £325,000 will pay 40% tax on the amount that breaches the threshold. So for example, an estate worth £325,001 is just one pound over the threshold and this would mean there is 40 pence of tax to pay.
You can’t simply avoid tax by giving someone gifts just before you die because any gifts given in the seven years prior to death count towards the overall estate. This is to avoid the obvious move by people who are diagnosed with terminal illness or have low expectations of making it through the next few years. However, here are a number of ways you can legitimately minimise any tax on your estate:
1. Create a Will
You need to have a will in place if you want to control how your estate is distributed. A Spouse may not need to pay inheritance tax, but other members of your family may come forward and lay claim to a portion of your estate if you have no instructions in place. This form of distribution will attract the taxman.
2. Avoid the Seven-Year Rule
Consider the benefits of seeing your loved ones benefit from some inheritance before you pass on. Giving gifts more than seven years before your death will ensure there are no hidden surprises that push your state over the threshold when your time comes.
3. Give in Stages
You can give anyone £3,000 as a gift without worrying about inheritance tax and that amount rises to £5,000 if the gift is a wedding present. The recipient may need to declare the money as income, but that is unlikely to be an issue and unless the recipient is a high earner, they would still benefit from a reduced tax rate if they need to pay any tax at all.
4. Use Family Trusts where Possible
Family trusts protect gifts from inheritance tax up to the threshold limit, but the control of the trust remains with the original trust creator. You still need to be aware of the seven-year limit, so making a trust sooner rather than later is a good idea.
5. Close Tax Efficient Saving Accounts
Savings kept in the tax-free savings accounts known as ISAs or Peps are not protected from any taxation when inheritance is due. Taking your money and either using it in one of the above outlined methods or spending it to reduce the overall size of your estate can benefit your loved ones when the time is right.
None of the methods mentioned here are remotely immoral, but they are simple guidelines that help your family benefit as much as possible from the accumulation of your life’s work. You will have paid tax on your income and possibly on your pension contributions if you exceeded your annual allowance at any time. Additionally you may have been taxed when you withdrew your pension so nobody can argue a case against you if you are as tax efficient as possible.
Paula Whately is a writer who believes that you should consider succession planning as early as possible to ensure that you and your family pay as little tax as possible. To help you understand how to sort inheritance tax limitations, you should contact will solicitors for more information.
