Tax time is now officially passed and you've had a
month to recover from the assault on your bank account and senses. So,
it is time to kick back and relax now, right? Nope. You should be
getting your act together when it comes to your taxes for next year.
I
am not going to harangue you about getting organized for your 2010
taxes. I am a human being as well. I fully recognize the last thing
anyone wants to do at this point is worry about taxes for next year.
No, I am talking about something else in regard to getting your act
together for 2010 - tax planning.
Financial planners promise you
the sun when it comes to investments. Well, we've all seen how that has
been working out lately. While few people have made money on
investments lately, there is another way to make money in general. You
can cut your expenses. What is one of your biggest expenses? Taxes!
Mention
tax planning and people often get visions of exotic offshore
destinations the rich use to hide money. The picture of Richard Branson
water skiing with a nude super model on his back comes to mind. While
such scenarios exist, they are not what I am discussing. Instead, I am
talking about simple tax planning that can save you a bundle. Let's
look at an example.
After eating breakfast, I pop the dishes in
the dishwasher and turn it on. I head out into the garage to work on
something. A nasty smell reaches me. I come back in to find soapy water
all over the floor and smoke coming from the dishwasher. Crikey! I need
a new dishwasher. I head off to the local appliance store and end up
buying a dishwasher that slices, dices and predicts the future. It
costs me $900.
So, what does my new dishwasher have to do with
taxes? I just missed a big tax savings. If I had purchased an Energy
Star certified dishwasher, I would've been able to claim a tax credit
of $300 or so. "Energy Star" is a certification that a device is energy
efficient, which the government is promoting. Now keep in mind this is
a tax CREDIT. Tax credits are incredibly valuable. They are not
deducted from your gross income. Instead, you figure out what you owe
Uncle Sam and then deduct the tax credit from that amount. Yep, a
dollar for dollar deduction.
This is only one example, but it
shows you how a bit of tax planning can make a world of difference in
what you pay in next year. Hiring a proactive accountant is really a
good move. They can create a strategy for you to use losses, deductions
and tax credits to wipe out your tax bill. You can even write off their
fees. Now that is tax planning for the regular guy - you and me!
A company is a separate entity from an individual. A
company is a legalised body, meaning that it can sue and be sued.
Today, the issue of getting into debts does not only imply to
individuals. Companies also run into serious debts owed to so many
individuals. Therefore, if you are making a claim against a company,
you will realise that there are so many others making such claims over
the same thing you are laying claims on, and this is common when making
claims on companies than on private individuals.
When a Corporation Enters Into Economic Difficulty
The
financial existence of a corporation will depend on its business
standing and the remaining capital that it possesses. Just like every
individual will seek for a loan, a corporation too can get into debts
and if the corporation fails to redeem it debts in a situation of
economic crises, the debts would further increase. Remember that the
taxes of the corporation are just a fraction of what is owed by the
corporation to others.
With the advent of economic hardship, a
corporation will still want to maintain its feet in doing business.
This means that its main concern should be to pay its workers. When
this is taken as main concern, the corporation may fail to meet up with
other financial obligations such as paying its taxes. This has resulted
in state as well as federal administration to use the same means of
collecting taxes from individual on corporations.
When this is
done, the administration will have a power or legal right over the
assets of the corporation and this will be sold to financiers who are
willing and able to redeem the debts of the corporation. Whoever pays
for the debts of the corporation to the administration has the right to
recover what he has paid from the corporation. Keep in mind that this
is a form of business in which the investor must make profits on what
he has invested.
The distinction in having a lien over the assets
of a corporation to that of an individual is found in the incidence of
liquidation. It is normal that any creditor will seek legal redress to
have his money. But the principal debt plus any other thing added to it
that has to be gotten from pursuing a corporation that is in debts is
not something that will be easy.
However, it should be noted that
if you have legal authority over the assets of a distressed
corporation, and if the corporation is getting into liquidation, what
is owed to you is secure. But you must know that you will be faced with
so many other claimants seeking redress against the corporation.
Remember this is very possible because a corporation is more likely to
deal with so many people than an individual.
The Advantages of Insolvency
Most
insolvency proceedings will restrict the obligations of an ailing
corporation to pay interest. It should be noted that in a Supreme Court
hearing, it was decided that an owner of a non-consensual claim that is
more than protected like a tax lien will be entitled to interests, but
will not be entitled to other charges except there is an accord that
these should be paid. This will apply equally to federal lien holders.
But Congress has decided that a holder of a state lien must be entitled
to interest as well as any justifiable fees and charges provided that
these are greater than the claim.
One further difficulty to the
lien holder is that in some cases, the corporation may invoke the law
relating to the limitation period to bring an action against it. If
this is successful, the claimant will be stopped or prevented from
bringing an action against the corporation, but this will also depend
on the facts presented before the courts. If the asset over which there
is a lien is lesser than the value of claim, the claimant is found to
have been under protected and will forfeit any interest on the claim.
If
you own a lien over a corporation, take note that you will be faced
with competing interests either from different claimants or even from
the law itself even if your claim has a right of way over those of
others. This is a hazard which you must be prepared to deal with if
what you stand to benefit is of great value.
Learn more about the history of tax liens as well as tips on how to discharge a tax lien when you visit http://www.businesstaxlien.com, the premier resource portal on federal tax liens.
In 2007 the provisional divorce rate in England and Wales fell to
11.9 divorcing people per 1,000 married population compared with the
2006 figure of 12.2. The divorce rate is at its lowest level since 1981.
For
the fifth consecutive year, both men and women in their late twenties
had the highest divorce rates of all five-year age groups. In 2007
there were 26.6 divorces per 1,000 married men aged 25-29 and 26.9
divorces per 1,000 married women aged 25-29.
Since 1997 the
average age at divorce in England and Wales has risen from 40.2 to 43.7
years for men and from 37.7 to 41.2 years for women, partly reflecting
the rise in age at marriage.
One in five men and women divorcing
in 2007 had a previous marriage ending in divorce. This proportion has
doubled in 27 years: in 1980 one in ten men and women divorcing had a
previous marriage ending in divorce. Sixty-nine per cent of divorces
were to couples where the marriage was the first for both parties.
For
68 per cent of divorces in 2007, the wife was granted the divorce. For
all divorces granted to an individual (rather than jointly to both),
behaviour was the most common fact proven.
United Kingdom:
Between
2006 and 2007, the provisional number of divorces granted in the UK
fell by 2.6 per cent to 144,220, from 148,141. This is the third
consecutive fall in the number of UK divorces and the lowest number
since 1977 (138,445). The figure is 20 per cent lower than the highest
number of divorces, which peaked in 1993 (180,018).
The
provisional number of divorces in England and Wales fell by 3.0 per
cent to 128,534 in 2007. The number of divorces in Scotland decreased
by 1.9 per cent from 13,014 in 2006 to 12,773 in 2007. Conversely, the
provisional number of divorces in Northern Ireland increased to 2,913
in 2007, a 14 per cent increase from 2006 (2,565)
The following statistics were compiled from the American Pet
Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) 2007-2008 National Pet
Owners Survey.
Dogs
There are approximately 74.8 million owned dogs in the United States
Thirty-nine percent of U.S. households own at least one dog
Most owners (63 percent) own one dog
Twenty-five percent of owners own two dogs
Twelve percent of owners own three or more dogs
On average, owners have almost two dogs (1.7)
The proportion of male to female dogs is even
Ten percent of owned dogs were adopted from an animal shelter
On average, dog owners spent $219 on veterinary visits (vaccine, well visits) annually
Seventy-five percent of owned dogs are spayed or neutered
Cats
There are approximately 88.3 million owned cats in the United States
Nearly 34 percent of U.S. households (or 38.4 million) own at least one cat
Fifty-six percent of owners own more than one cat
On average, owners have two cats (2.3)
More female cats are owned than male cats (73 percent vs. 63 percent respectively)
Eighteen percent of owned cats were adopted from an animal shelter
Cat owners spent an average of $175 on routine veterinary visits
Eighty-seven percent of owned cats are spayed or neutered
For additional information on pet ownership statistics, contact the
APPMA at 255 Glenville Rd., Greenwich, CT 06831, 800-452-1225, or visit www.appma.org.
There were 4,607 compulsory liquidations and creditors’
voluntary liquidations in total in England and Wales in the
fourth quarter of 2008 (on a seasonally adjusted basis). This
was an increase of 11.9% on the previous quarter and an increase
of 51.6% on the same period a year ago.
This was made up of 1,562 compulsory liquidations (which
are up 4.5% on the previous quarter and 34.4% on the
corresponding quarter of the previous year), and 3,045 creditors
voluntary liquidations (which are up 16.1% on the previous
quarter and 62.2% on the corresponding quarter of the previous
year).
In the twelve months ending Q4
2008, approximately 1 in 150 active companies (or 0.7%) went
into liquidation, compared to the previous quarter when 1 in
every 165 (or 0.6%) of active companies went into liquidation.
Table I. Company Liquidations in England and Wales
(seasonally adjusted) 1
% change – Q4 2008 on
07Q4
08Q1 r
08Q2 r
08Q3 r
08Q4 p
Q4 2007
Q3 2008
Company Liquidations
3,039
3,172
3,639
4,118
4,607
51.6
11.9
of which:
Compulsory
1,162
1,098
1,340
1,495
1,562
34.4
4.5
Creditors Voluntary2
1,877
2,075
2,299
2,623
3,045
62.2
16.1
Source: Insolvency Service and Companies House
p = provisional, r = revised 1 Longer series back to 1999 are presented
in the accompanying detailed tables. 2 Where the CVL is the first insolvency
procedure entered into (see Notes to Editors).
Additionally, there were 2,428
other corporate insolvencies in the fourth quarter of 2008 (not
seasonally adjusted) comprising 261 receiverships, 2,018
administrations and 149 company voluntary arrangements. In
total these represented an increase of 220.3% on the same period
a year ago.
Table II. Other Corporate Insolvencies in England
and Wales (not seasonally adjusted)
1
% change – Q4 2008 on
07Q4
08Q1
08Q2
08Q3
08Q4 p
Q4 2007
Receiverships2
92
159
177
270
261
183.7
Administrations3
575
859
938
1,007
2,0184
251.0
Company voluntary arrangements
91
140
131
167
149
63.7
Source: Companies House
p = provisional, r = revised 1 Longer series back to 1999 are presented
in the accompanying detailed tables. 2 Includes Law of Property Act receivers
(see “Notes to Editors” paragraph 9).
3
Includes Administrator Appointments.
4
The figure for 08Q4 includes 729 separate managed
service companies for which BDO Stoy Hayward was
appointed administrator. The
administrations were approved in September 2008,
but the statistics are counted based on the date
registered at Companies House (which
fell in October 2008, i.e. Q4).
Note: The figures in Table II are
not seasonally adjusted and are not, therefore, on the same
basis as the headline figures in Table I. The accompanying
detailed tables also include the non-seasonally adjusted series
for corporate liquidations.
INDIVIDUAL INSOLVENCIES
There were 29,444 individual insolvencies in England and
Wales in the fourth quarter of 2008 on a seasonally adjusted
basis. This was an increase of 8.2% on the previous quarter and
an increase of 18.5% on the same period a year ago.
This was made up of 19,100 bankruptcies (which were up 9.4%
on the previous quarter and 22.2% on the corresponding quarter
of the previous year), and 10,344 Individual Voluntary
Arrangements (IVAs), (which were up 5.9% on the previous quarter
and 12.2% on the corresponding quarter of the previous year).
In the fourth quarter of 2008, 84.4% of bankruptcies were
made on the petition of the debtor, a similar level to that seen
for earlier quarters and for 2006 and 2007 as a whole. The
percentage of bankruptcy orders involving trading debts
(self-employed bankruptcies) was 12.3% in the third quarter of
2008 (fourth quarter 2008 figures for trading-related
bankruptcies are not yet available).
National Accounts data produced seven weeks after the end of a quarter.
Contains
estimates and analyses of expenditure in chained volume terms and at
current prices, income at current prices, and output in chained volume
terms. Also known as PN2 within Time Series Data.
Office for National Statistics (ONS), Quarterly, Online edition, First/News/Press Release, Contact: +44 (0)20 7014 2083
Download/View entire documents for free here (Left click to View or right click to Download)
Credit outstanding fell by £570 million in March, to stand at £64.7 billion, at the same level as a year earlier.
The proportion of balances bearing interest rose 0.4% to 73.8%.
The number of transactions totalled 164 million in March (18.7%
higher than in February and 0.9% higher than in March 2008), with a
value of £12.1 billion (18.1% higher than in February but 2.0% lower
than in March 2008).
There were 67.2 million cards in issue at end-March, relating to
55.9 million accounts, 63.3% of which were active, ie had a balance
outstanding.
Google credit card search stats
Credit Card searches have remained relatively stable.
GDP Growth
Economy contracts by 1.9% in Q1 2009
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 1.9 per cent in the first
quarter of 2009, unrevised from last month’s estimate. GDP is 4.1 per
cent lower than the first quarter of 2008.
Output
of the production industries fell by 5.3 per cent compared with a fall
of 4.5 per cent in the previous quarter. This was driven by
manufacturing output which fell by 5.5 per cent.
Construction output fell by 2.4 per cent over the quarter, unrevised from the previous estimate.
Output
in the service industries fell by 1.2 per cent in the first quarter,
down from a fall of 0.8 per cent in the previous quarter. The largest
contribution to this decline came from distribution and business
services.
Household expenditure fell by 1.2 per cent and is now 2.8 per cent lower than the first quarter of 2008.
Government final consumption expenditure rose by 0.3 per cent and is now 3.5 per cent higher than the first quarter of 2008.
Gross fixed capital formation fell by 3.8 per cent and is now 8.3 per cent lower than the first quarter of 2008.
The
trade deficit in real terms decreased from £7.6 billion in the fourth
quarter of 2008 to £7.3 billion in the first quarter of 2009. Exports
of goods and services fell by 6.1 per cent while imports were down 5.9
per cent.
The GDP expenditure deflator rose by 1.8 per cent
compared with the first quarter of 2008, down from 2.0 per cent in the
previous quarter.
Compensation of employees at current prices fell by 1.1 per cent and is now 0.3 per cent below the level seen a year ago.
Total gross operating surplus of corporations rose by 0.2 per cent and is now 3.2 per cent higher than a year ago.
Notes: Unless otherwise specified:
Growth
refers to a comparison of output in the latest quarter compared with
the previous quarter. This is referred to as quarterly growth.
Annual growth refers to a comparison of output in the latest calendar year in comparison with the previous year.
Figures are in chained volume or real terms in that they have been adjusted to remove the effects of price change.
Looking for a UK definition of the term home equity. Could anyone point me in the right direction? So far all I have found is this from wikipedia:
A home equity loan (sometimes abbreviated HEL) is a type of loan in which the borrower uses the equity in their home as collateral. These loans are sometimes useful to help finance major home repairs, medical bills or college education. A home equity loan creates a lien against the borrower's house, and reduces actual home equity.
Home equity loans are most commonly second position liens (second trust deed), although they can be held in first or, less commonly, third position. Most home equity loans require good to excellent credit history, and reasonable loan-to-value and combined loan-to-value ratios. Home equity loans come in two types, closed end and open end.
Both are usually referred to as second mortgages, because they are secured against the value of the property, just like a traditional mortgage. Home equity loans and lines of credit are usually, but not always, for a shorter term than first mortgages. In the United States, it is sometimes possible to deduct home equity loan interest on one's personal income taxes.
There is a specific difference between a home equity loan and a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). A HELOC is a line of revolving credit with an adjustable interest rate whereas a home equity loan is a one time lump-sum loan, often with a fixed interest rate.
Source
The government, facing a housing crisis that’s escalated far beyond
all but the most dire predictions, is looking at ways to spend at least
$50 billion to make sure borrowers can stay in their homes.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to announce a sweeping
initiative on Feb 18 in a speech in Arizona, one of the nation’s most
severe hot spots for foreclosures. Details of the government’s plan are
not yet ready, but there is already plenty of chatter in the nation’s
capital about how it might work.
Here are some questions and answers about the plan that’s coming together.
Q: How might the government’s plan work?
A: The plan is likely to feature hefty incentive payments designed
to encourage the lending industry to lower mortgage rates or reduce the
total principal amount owed by borrowers, a Democratic Senate aide
briefed on the plan said Friday. The idea is believed to be attractive
because it is expected to be far less expensive than having the
government buy up troubled loans, which are often combined and divided
into mortgage-linked securities that are owned by investors.
It was unclear, however, whether those government subsidies would be
paid up front to companies that collect mortgage payments, or whether
they would stretch out over several years. Those companies, known as
loan servicers, have been roundly criticized for not being equipped for
a massive surge in defaults and foreclosures.
Q: How big is the problem?
A: Over the past two years, foreclosures have skyrocketed. More than
2.3 million homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, up more
than 80 percent increase from 2007, and analysts say that number could
soar as high as 10 million in the coming years, depending on the
severity of the recession.
Q: Why haven’t earlier efforts to fix the problem worked?
