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Original article found here: http://www.pioneercredit.com/newsletters/articles/archive/tax_season_0203_2011.asp

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Programs offer free tax help for taxpayers who qualify.

Trained community volunteers may help with special credits, such as Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled. In addition to free tax return preparation assistance, most sites also offer free electronic filing (e-filing). Individuals taking advantage of the e-file program will receive their refunds in half the time compared to returns filed on paper – even faster when tax refunds are deposited directly into one’s bank account.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program
The VITA Program offers free tax help to low- to moderate-income (generally, ,000 and below) people who cannot prepare their own tax returns.

Certified volunteers sponsored by various organizations receive training to help prepare basic tax returns in communities across the country. VITA sites are generally located at community and neighborhood centers, libraries, schools, shopping malls, and other convenient locations. Most locations also offer free electronic filing. To locate the nearest VITA site, call 1-800-906-9887.

Tax Counseling for the Elderly
The TCE Program provides free tax help to people aged 60 and older. Trained volunteers from non-profit organizations provide free tax counseling and basic income tax return preparation for senior citizens. Volunteers who provide tax counseling are often retired individuals associated with non-profit organizations that receive grants from the IRS.

As part of the IRS-sponsored TCE Program, AARP offers the Tax-Aide counseling program at more than 7,000 sites nationwide during the filing season. Trained and certified AARP Tax-Aide volunteer counselors help people of low-to-middle income with special attention to those ages 60 and older. For more information on TCE, call 1-800-829-1040. To locate the nearest AARP Tax-Aide site, call 1-888-227-7669 or visit www.aarp.org.

Military personnel and their families get free tax help!
The military also has a strong Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. The Armed Forces Tax Council (AFTC) consists of the tax program coordinators for the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The AFTC oversees the operation of the military tax programs worldwide, and serves as the main conduit for outreach by the IRS to military personnel and their families.

Airmen, soldiers, sailors, marines, guardsmen, and their families worldwide receive free tax preparation assistance at offices within their installations. These VITA sites provide free tax advice, tax preparation, and assistance to military members and their families. They are trained and equipped to address military specific tax issues, such as combat zone tax benefits and the effect of the new Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) guidelines.

Most service members file their tax returns electronically at their tax centers and, by selecting direct deposit, receive their refunds in as little as one week. This combined effort ensures that service members receive free tax assistance from well-trained and equipped military tax preparers.

Items to bring to the VITA/TCE site to have your tax return prepared:
Proof of identification
Social Security Cards for you, your spouse and dependents and/or a Social Security Number verification letter issued by the Social Security Administration
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) assignment letter for you, your spouse and dependents
Proof of foreign status, if applying for an ITIN
Birth dates for you, your spouse and dependents on the tax return
Wage and earning statement(s) Form W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, from all employers
Interest and dividend statements from banks (Forms 1099)
A copy of last year’s federal and state returns if available
Bank routing numbers and account numbers for Direct Deposit
Total paid for daycare provider and the daycare provider’s tax identifying number (the provider’s Social Security Number or the provider’s business Employer Identification Number)
To file taxes electronically on a married-filing-joint tax return, both spouses must be present to sign the required forms.

It is extremely important that each person use the correct Social Security Number. The most accurate information is usually located on your original Social Security card.

Information courtesy of www.irs.gov

The recession has sent many small business owners on a rollercoaster ride when it comes to securing funds for their businesses. First, in 2008, small business owners saw bank lending standards tighten dramatically, making it almost impossible to get a bank business loan.

Recently, laws were passed to regulate consumer credit providers, in attempt to decrease consumer debt. Unfortunately, many credit card companies raised rates on business credit cards to compensate. As a result, some merchants were forced to close their credit cards while others had their lines of credit taken away from them.

During this financially turbulent time, merchant loans have always been available for small business owners who operate retail and/or service-oriented businesses. However, recently, the Small Business Administration has introduced a new loan program and made some changes to an existing loan program, in order to make it easier for merchants to gain access to business funds.

Small business owners must now decide which method(s) best suit their businesses.

One new program that the SBA has introduced is the ARC loan program (America’s Recovery Capital), in which struggling small businesses can receive up to ,000 to be used to pay off existing debt. The SBA has also revised its 504 loan program, previously only allotted to small business owners who “…sought new loans to buy real estate, upgrade machinery and make improvements,” (Wall Street Journal). Now, the loans may be used by borrowers who want to “…refinance their existing SBA-backed loans as long as the amount is 50% or less than the total cost of expansion,” (Wall Street Journal).

Merchant loans, however, allow business owners the opportunity to receive up to 0,000 in easy, unsecured business funds. These funds are suitable for merchants who’ve owned their businesses for at least six months and process at least ,500 in monthly credit card sales. The advance is then repaid via a small percentage that is deducted from the business’s daily credit card sales.

Merchants can visit the SBA website to learn more about these loans and determine if they are a good fit for their businesses. Merchants can also visit merchant loan websites to get a free quote and to learn more about them and whether they would work best for their businesses.

Another thing that affects the price you pay for car insurance is your driving record. There are many different insurance companies that have all kinds of special offers and discounts. You can also get free quotes on how much your insurance will be with most companies.

As far as your age goes, generally the younger you are the higher your rates will be. As for gender, Male drivers tend to pay more then female drivers, especially under the age of 21. So, if you are a male driver under 21 it is really hard to find cheap insurance. This is mostly because all of the testosterone that younger males have. They tend to put themselves in more reckless situations. A male drivers insurance rate should actually drop by their 21st birthday. A female drivers rate isn’t affected significantly due to her age.

The make and model of your vehicle can also greatly affect the amount you pay for auto insurance, or the safety rating of the vehicle actually.

Certain makes and models of vehicles have higher safety ratings then others. For instance, if you bought a vehicle made mostly of light materials such as aluminum and fiber glass, you would probably pay more for insurance sense it is more likely the vehicle will have significant damage in a collision.

Now, if you bought a vehicle made of heavier materials then it would be less likely to have significant damage in a collision, thus you would pay less to insure that particular vehicle. A lot of the time older vehicle cost less to insure because a lot of older vehicles are made of steel.

There are many different insurance companies that offer special offers and discounts. It’s good to shop around and get quotes from a variety of insurance companies to see which one is right for you. Here is a tip though, if you get a quote and you know you have a less then spotless driving record, you will have to go a little further then the quote to see what you would actually have to pay for insurance. Some companies don’t review your driving record until after you get your quote and continue to sign up with them. Having accidents or tickets on your driving record can make your insurance rates go up.

Again, there are many things that may affect your insurance rates. Make sure you shop around until you find just the right coverage for the right price. There is a lot more that affects your insurance then what’s in this article so if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask an insurance agent from each company you think may be a possibility to purchase from. That’s what they’re there for, right?

Establishing and sustaining a business is a venture that many people find being hard and very demanding. Small business financing can be obtained from many financial institutions that have packages that are tailor made to suit this scale of enterprises.

Obtaining finances for setting up and improving an existing venture can take different approaches. The most common and effective method is the use of personal savings. Individuals can save their earnings from wages and salaries for the purpose of establishing an enterprise. Personal savings are very safe and convenient for they avoid unnecessary debts incurred by getting loans. One can save small amounts of money for a long period and it will eventually accumulate to the required sums able to establish an investment.

Bank loans are among the most popular avenues that are used nowadays for getting capital to establish or develop a venture. Loans are obtained from financial institutions and non financial organizations. Most financial organizations have tailor made loans with different packages of which an interested buyer can choose from. Loans intended for small scale enterprises have small interest rates with the aim of encouraging people to invest. Other loans are of negotiable status where the bank and the client can discus and agree on the modalities of repayment.

Non financial organizations like government corporations also offer loans to people interested in establishing firms of this status. These organizations do have attractive packages which are mainly aimed at boosting the level of investment of the citizens. Most of these organizations are government corporations that major in specific fields. Agriculture corporations give loans to ventures that are aligned in this field. The repayment rates are much lower compared to the interest levied by commercial banks.

Acquiring assets on credit is also another method of financing an investment. The assets can include operating stock, where by when the products are sold; the creditors can be paid back their due amounts. Fixed assets like office furniture or other necessary equipments can be paid for either by installments or after an agreed period. This method is effective for it enables the venture to start being operational while it slowly acquires its own assets.

Injecting profit earned from the firm back into the venture is very effective of growing the venture. The profit after meeting the salaries of the employees, the remainder can effectively be used in either acquiring assets or paying the loan that the firm owes creditors. Pumping the profits back strengthens the status of the investment and makes it able to stand on its own feet.

While buying loans, care should be taken to evaluate all the terms and conditions stipulated. Loans might have hidden charges and harsh repercussions in case of defaulting or delays in repayment. It is hence necessary to repay loans on time to avoid legal tussles.

Looking for ways of small business financing is a bold step towards the creation or flourishing an existing investment. All the avenues have their own impacts and only the most suitable avenue for the specific caliber of venture should be used. Proper use of the finances employed can reap better yield for the firm.

After the economical crash, mortgage lenders were given bailouts from the Federal government with the goal that the lenders would help Americans stay in their homes and continue to pay a reduced amount if they qualified for a modified mortgage. This is potentially a huge help to those who’re struggling to pay their mortgage payments due to the struggling economy, especially as most of the homeowners who’re having their homes foreclosed on have sub-prime mortgages which have been common in recent years for home buyers who have less than ideal credit.

However as the Obama administration has discovered, some of the lenders which have received large sums of money to help out the American people have done very little at all. The US Treasury department has spent or dedicated vast sums of money to financial institutions for the purpose of reducing the number of foreclosures across the country.

In response, some of the major banks that have received funds have done very little to help alleviate the situation.

In the first week of August, 2009, the Obama administration published the first of many monthly reports regarding the banks’ assistance to those homeowners who qualify for mortgage modification because they’ve fallen behind on their payments so as to avoid having these homes fall to foreclosure. As many as two and a half million homes may fall into foreclosure this year it is expected.

Unfortunately, the mortgage lender bailout has been revealed as a disappointment by the first of these reports. Some of the lenders, such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo, have only extended offers of modifications to between 12 and 13 percent of qualifying homeowners. JP Morgan bank sits at the other end of the scale with modification offers running at around 30% of eligible homeowners.

It should prove to be interesting what the result of the monthly published figures are; having your figures be easily available to the public can sometimes be a stimulus for businesses or corporations to do a better job. Certainly, having these government funds utilized in the manner for which they were designated would be a move forward at the very least.

Hopefully, with the release of these facts and figures, the banks who’ve eagerly accepted the government bailouts will feel more obligated to do what needs to be done and help frustrated and strapped homeowners find a way to make their mortgage payments or at least not ruin their credit rating. At the very least, it’s time we see more big businesses held accountable for what they do with their federal bailouts.

A thought leads to an idea and an idea can lead to grand enterprise.  Sculpt your thoughts carefully as it has the power to transform your world.

With this philosophy, SCQuARE International believes in developing critical thinking skills to create successful a business growth strategy.

SCQuARE International specialises in enabling organisations with the business skills needed to solve business problems and capitalize on opportunities through the application of SCQuARE’s ‘thinking’ methodology. Changing thinking is a business decision that you need to make if you want business growth.

SCQuARE includes strategies for each of your departments and encompasses strategic marketing plans, business proposal writing, strategic consulting and more.

SCQuARE is a way of thinking that is developed specifically for business. The ability to ‘out think’ a competitor remains the only sure way to keep ‘one step ahead’.

Decision making is a paramount skill that all businesses need. At SCQuARE experts analyse the business strategy from the planning stage based on foresight and vision. This allows you to take effective decisions for achieving your business goals and objectives.

Further, planning is an initial and important phase of business. At SCQuARE, you will get a plan which is flexible and can be modified to re-define the pivotal issues and solutions – without having to start the planning process again.

The ability to critically think through an issue, to write a proposal which gains approval first time, to create strategic marketing plan and to provide a presentation which is compelling are the absolute skills required in today’s business world.

 

With a list of prominent clients, SCQuARE is leading business consultancy in Australia. The company’s belief in an out-of-the-box strategic marketing plan as per the business requirement is making them a popular choice among its clients.

 

By following SCQuARE‘s system you can begin on the road to developing critical thinking skills that are necessary to ensure success.