June 2009 – The Enterprise Zone (EZ) tax incentive program was created in 1986 to help local businesses, and encourage outside businesses to locate in economically depressed areas. The federal government does not have a comparable economic development program or business tax incentives.
The FTB has a useful primer on California’s Enterprise Zones here…
According to the Wall Street Journal:
If you’ve been in the habit of shopping around for a new term-life insurance policy every few years, you may want to reconsider that strategy: After years of falling premiums, many insurers are raising prices on term policies.
Read more here…
April 15th has come and gone. Did you miss this tax deadline? You may now be faced with interest and penalties for tax due.
The failure-to-file penalty is 5 percent per month, or part of a month, of the balance due, up to a maximum of 25 percent. If the tax return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is $135 or the balance due, whichever is less.
If you owe taxes on your return, it will save you money to file as soon as possible.
Please contact our office to assist you in filing your tax return.
Once again, we have come across another tax scam. These scammers are mailing forms that resemble California Property Tax assessment notices to California homeowners claiming they can perform re-assessments to reduce your property tax for hundreds of dollars in fees. Do not be fooled as these companies are not government agencies.
To read more: MSN ARTICLE ON TAX SCAM
Due to popular demand, we are hosting another FREE QuickBooks training seminar. Are you a new user of QuickBooks? Do you need help with your bookkeeping? Do you stress every year when it comes tax time to get your books in order? This seminar is for you. Topics we will cover:
- Registers
- Reconciling
- Invoicing
- Receiving payments
- Deposits
- and more!
Denny & Company, LLP is offering a free, three hour seminar at our offices in Valencia on January 21st, 2009, from 9am – 12pm. Hosted by our very own Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
Please contact Lisa Starr at our office to reserve your spot – 661-286-8860
One of our clients received an e-mail supposedly from the IRS — and it included two attachments; one a letter purporting to be from the IRS, and the other a form to be filled out and faxed back.
The letter reads, under a pretty silly looking IRS masthead:
Sir/Madam,
Our records indicate that you are a non-resident alien. As a result, you are exempted from United States of America Tax reporting and withholdings, on interest paid you on your account and other financial dealing to protect your exemption from tax on your account and other financial benefit in rectifying your exemption status.
Therefore, you are to authenticate the following by completing form W-4100B2, and return to us as soon as possible through the fax number: +1-646-731-6884.
If you are a USA Citizen and resident, please complete form W-4100B2 and fax it to us, please indicate “USA Citizen/Resident” on the form and return it to us.
When completing form W-4100B2, please follow the steps below
1. We need you to provide your permanent address if different from the current mailing address on your Form W-4100B2 , you must indicate if a non-USA resident, your country of origin to support your non-resident status (if your bank account or other financial dealing has a USA address for mailing purpose).
2. If any joint account holder are now USA residents or Citizen, or in any way subject to USA tax reporting laws, Please check the box in this section.
3. Please complete 1 through 19 and have all account holders, sign and date the form separately and fax it to the above-mentioned number.
Please, complete Form W-4100B2 ‘attached” and return to us within 1 (one) week from the receipt of this letter by faxing it, to enable us update your records immediately if your account or any other financial benefits are not rectified in a timely manner, it will be subject to USA tax reporting and back up withholding (if back up withholding applies, we are required to withhold 30% of the interest paid to you).
We appreciate your cooperation in helping us protect your exempt status and also update our records.
Sincerely,
Laura Stevens
IRS .Public Relations.
The thing I love about this letter is that it’s not written in American English. Americans don’t refer to USA taxes, ever — they are Federal taxes. They also don’t “rectify” situations, they correct them. The other attachment is the form, “W-4100B2″, is nothing more than an elaborate phishing exercise including asking for your mother’s maiden name, and a list of all bank accounts, account numbers, and a copy of your passport. They would then use this information to drain your bank accounts.
The IRS.gov web site recommends the following actions when you receive e-mail purporting to be from the Service:
How to Report and Identify Phishing, E-mail Scams and Bogus IRS Web Sites
The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail.
- The IRS does not request detailed personal information through e-mail.
- The IRS does not send e-mail requesting your PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.
If you receive an e-mail from someone claiming to be the IRS or directing you to an IRS site,
- Do not reply.
- Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will infect your computer.
- Do not click on any links. If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail or phishing Web site and entered confidential information, visit our Identity Theft page.
How to report phishing, e-mail scams and bogus IRS Web sites
If you receive an e-mail or find a Web site you think is pretending to be the IRS,
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Forward the e-mail or Web site URL to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
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You can forward the message as received or provide the Internet header of the e-mail. The Internet header has additional information to help us locate the sender.
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After you forward the e-mail or header information to us, delete the message.
How to identify phishing e-mail scams and bogus IRS Web sites
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Sample of phishing e-mails
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All IRS.gov Web page addresses begin with, http://www.irs.gov/
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Are you a victim of Identity Theft?
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Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338)
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Visit the IRS Identity Theft resource page
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You may also report misuse of the IRS name, logo, forms or other IRS property to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration toll-free at 1-800-366-4484.
Additional resources
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OnGuardOnline.gov provides protection tips from the federal government and the technology industry.
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IR-2006-49, IRS Establishes e-Mail Box for Taxpayers to Report Phony e-Mails.
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You can also forward suspicious e-mails to the Federal Trade Commission at: spam@uce.gov or contact them at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
When faced with the question of whether or not to outsource payroll, more businesses are learning the benefits of outsourcing. Our clients have found the advantage when we (or another vendor) prepare their payroll for the following reasons:
(1) Save time – Payroll is more than just writing a paycheck. It includes calculating net pay, preparing quarterly and annual payroll tax returns, filing the W2′s and assisting owners &/or employees with questions.
(2) Prevent penalties & interest – Complying with the tax laws and employment regulations can be difficult and easily overlooked. It is unreasonable to expect an employee of a business to keep up on tax codes and still have time to perform their normal duties.
(3) Avoid pain & free up time – The time and pain we save our clients to prepare payroll far outweighs the costs. Business owners free up their time and energy to run their business.
For more reasons to why you may benefit from outsourcing payroll, read “8 Benefits of Outsourcing Payroll” Here. PLEASE NOTE — this is not an endorsement of the firm in question, merely a reference to their article. For a referral to a good local payroll service, give us a call!
Intuit has released the new version of QuickBooks 2009 with added features and functions. This version maintains the same structure and format as the QuickBooks 2008 version; so all of the QuickBooks 2008 fans need not worry. Instead of re-creating the program, Inuit simply added new, interesting features. Our favorite features include:
- Multiple Currencies: Enter invoices, bills, checks, or deposits in foreign currencies. QuickBooks downloads the latest exchange rates and displays your date in real time home currency.
- Company Snapshot: Hate running 3 different reports (accounts payable AND accounts receivable AND profit & loss report) to gauge your business? With the company snapshot, you can see all this information in one picture.
- QuickFilter: Filter your customer or vendor lists for key words in the address or information.
These are a few of the new features of QuickBooks. To see more new features, call our office or visit the website below.
http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product/accounting-software/latest-business-accounting.jsp
… about “tax resolution specialists” like these guys:
Missouri AG Sues Tax Resolution Firm
Jefferson City, Mo. (Aug. 18, 2008)
By WebCPA staffThe Missouri attorney general has filed suit against tax representation chain JK Harris & Co., saying the firm did not provide the services promised to resolve its clients’ state and federal tax problems.
The Missouri lawsuit follows on the heels of a $1.5 million settlement by the chain with 18 other state attorneys general in June, and a $6 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit last year. The AG’s suit is seeking full restitution from JK Harris for Missouri customers who paid up to $4,500 for the services they did not receive.
“JK Harris promises it can help consumers who are having tax problems, but the Missourians who complained to my office told a different story – one of unreturned phone calls, lost paperwork and a worse financial situation than when they started,” said Missouri AG Jay Nixon in a statement.
A spokesman for the firm defended its practices. “JK Harris has become the nation’s largest tax resolution firm in the United States, having served over 225,000 customers since 1997 because of proven results and satisfied customers,” said a statement from Josh Baker, executive vice president of client advocacy at JKH. “Customer complaints are taken seriously at JK Harris. At this time, we have not been served with a lawsuit, nor have we read details in the complaint, so we cannot comment on any specific filings. What we can say is our customers and their satisfaction are our top priority.”
In a recent interview, CEO John K. Harris discussed the settlement with the 18 attorneys general. “No question we had some faults,” he said. “I agree that we did and we corrected all that and we are trying to lead the industry in the direction of full disclosure, honesty and integrity in the business.”
In the Missouri case, consumers complained to Nixon’s office that after they paid for debt relief services, JKH failed to follow the process it advertised in handling customer cases. Consumers also reported that they often had to resend their financial disclosure information and supporting documentation because JKH kept losing their paperwork, and they would learn that their assigned case specialists were no longer working on their files only by calling JKH for updates. Consumers who requested full refunds were denied.
Also named as a defendant in Nixon’s lawsuit was a business affiliated with JK Harris called Professional Fee Financing Associates LLC, which makes consumer credit loans as part of the JKH contract process. Nixon said PFFA’s forms fail to disclose crucial information about finance charges, payment schedules, the total number of payments and the total price that consumers will have to pay. PFFA also does not have the required certificate of registration from the Missouri Division of Finance.
Your BEST choice in resolving tax issues with the IRS and state agencies is to first see a CPA, face to face, who is experienced in dealing directly with the government.
