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| Provided to you Exclusively by Robert D. Ashby, CMPS |
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For the Month of March 2006 --- Vol. 1, Issue
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In This Issue...  |
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Some real eye-openers are in store for this month's issue of "Views You Can Use", including a heads-up about the IRS plan to do more audits...and why. And as you think about tax time, have you been planning to take that juicy refund and plunk it down on the car of your dreams? If so, here's some help on making that decision between buying vs. leasing. Taking a quick self-profile will give you the right answer. And did you know that most of your private information is readily available online – right down to an actual photo of your home? Find out how to get yourself and your loved ones removed from this scary website. Read on...and please be sure to call or email if you need any assistance at this time! |
| No More Mr Nice Guy... |
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The initiatives to create a "kinder, gentler" IRS don't seem to be on their way anytime soon. So if you're still wrapping up your write-offs and putting those finishing touches on the tax return – keep good records and be careful which way you round. The IRS recently conducted a major compliance exam, and determined that the difference between what taxpayers SHOULD pay in tax and what they DO pay is about $325 billion. That's a whole lot of business lunches! So who are the biggest offenders?
So what does the IRS have in mind? Lucky us, the IRS is going to increase the number of audits being done, and has received a $500 million dollar hike in its audit budget to do just that. Although Congress normally doesn't like IRS audit initiatives, high budget deficits have helped change their minds about working harder to recover some of the "missing money". Want to make sure you're following all the rules? They change frequently, and there are presently well over 50,000 pages of tax code! The best defense is a good offense. Always work with a professional CPA to prepare your returns. And if you need a great CPA recommendation...just give me a call! |
| Do You Know Who's Looking? |
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You have an unlisted number...so everything is private, right? Would you be alarmed to know that even when you are "unlisted", a perfect stranger can look you up online, see your address, birth date, past addresses, and even see a photo of your home, down to the detail of your child's play set out in the back yard? Alarmed yet? You should be. Take a look at this website: http://www.zabasearch.com/. Simply plug your name in, and you are likely to be surprised, and probably a bit distressed to see all the information that is readily available online. How could this happen? Easy. Virtually every major change in your life is recorded somewhere in a government document. When you are born, a birth certificate is issued. When you obtain a driver's license, get married, buy a house, file a lawsuit – all of these events are recorded in public documents easily available to you and to others. Government records are intentionally public in order to enable citizens to monitor the government and to ensure accountability in our society. The challenge is to balance the public's right to information with the individual's right to privacy. The two main federal privacy laws are the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Freedom of Information Act, but they apply only to federal government agencies. And they almost seem to conflict with each other, as the Privacy Act deals with keeping government records about an individual confidential, while the Freedom of Information Act is commonly used to pry open government files. But these laws are attempts to balance the public's right to know...against the rights of an individual to retain their own privacy. For more information, view this helpful website: http://www.privacyrights.org/ So how can you get removed from the ZabaSearch site? You can "opt out" by sending an email to info@zabasearch.com. The email request must contain your full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and list of records to be removed (i.e. if multiple addresses are listed, list each address). Do yourself a favor, and take just a minute right now to get yourself removed from this list – then forward this article to your friends and family as well. |
| To Buy or Not to Buy...That is the Question
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Ahhhh...there's nothing like that new car smell. But those new car payments can often turn the good feelings a bit dank and musty. And the big question on financing a new car is whether it should be purchased or leased. So which is better? It depends. A lease finances the use of a vehicle; a loan finances the purchase of a vehicle. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks. When you buy, you pay for the entire cost of a vehicle; regardless of how many miles you drive it. You typically need more cash up front for down payment and sales taxes, but your first payment is a month after you drive off the lot. When you lease, you pay for only a portion of the vehicle's cost, which is the part that you "use up" or that depreciates during the time you're driving it. There is typically no need for a down payment, but you may be required to give a security deposit. In most states, you only pay sales tax on your monthly payments. And with a lease, you make your first payment before the key goes in the ignition. What should YOU do? Lease payments can improve your monthly cash flow because the payments are 30-60% lower than a loan to purchase. And if the money saved by leasing is invested wisely, it can add up to a hefty sum. While the lower up-front and monthly payments are the obvious benefits of a lease, the best feature may be that you have a guaranteed buyer of your car for a pre-determined price in the future. When your lease ends, you simply turn the car in...even if it its value has declined far more than the dealer had anticipated. This can be a huge benefit, especially with all the incentives to push new cars, making used cars less attractive. Remember, you don't have to turn in your car; you can buy it or extend the lease at the end. If you enjoy driving a new car every two or three years that is always under warranty and has the latest features; you don't like trading and selling used cars; you drive an average number of miles, want smaller payments every month and don't mind always having a car payment...then you should lease. Buying the car gives you something to drive that eventually has no monthly payments. But repair costs may become an added expense and hassle as the car ages and exits the warranty period. If you don't mind higher monthly payments, prefer to build up some trade or sales value, like the idea of ownership, like paying off your loan to be payment-free for a while, don't mind the possible cost of repairs after the warranty has expired, drive more than average miles, prefer to drive your cars for many years, like to customize your cars...then you should buy. |
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