One New Year’s Resolution You Don’t Have to Keep to Be a Winner
Making a resolution to improve your finances puts you several steps closer along the road to a better bottom line, based on data from Fidelity Investments’ eighth annual “New Year Financial Resolutions Study.” Looking for a resolution that will pay off and pay dividends? Simply resolving to pay more attention to your finances improves the chances that your financial health will improve.
According to the Fidelity study, 45 percent of individuals who reported making financial resolutions at the start of 2016 were more debt-free at the end, compared with 34 percent of individuals who did not report making any financial resolutions within the past year. In addition, those who made financial resolutions were more likely to say they felt financially secure compared to those who didn’t make resolutions (45 percent vs. 34 percent).
3 Tips to Help Small Businesses Save at Tax Time
While
running a small business and being your own boss can be satisfying
indeed, it can also be tricky come tax time. To ensure that you keep
more money in your pocket than the government’s, check out the following
tax tips:
1. Deduct everything. The IRS has given dozens of concessions to small business owners, but many don’t take full advantage of all that they can claim. For instance, if there’s a space in your home dedicated exclusively for business, you can deduct some of your housing costs. For a 2013 return, you can claim $5 per sq. ft. of your office up to 300 sq. ft. Additionally, you can also deduct monthly Internet charges, electricity, gas and phone (cell or land line) expenses.
A Cure for the Worst Tax Procrastination: Free Tax Extensions
Now even chronic procrastinators have no excuse for giving the IRS more money than absolutely required.
Last year, more than 10 million taxpayers applied for a tax extension on filing their returns – thus, not only sparing themselves from having to fork over a monthly 5 percent penalty for missing the IRS’ dreaded deadline, but also potentially avoiding making costly mistakes in a mad dash to comply.
“Rushing can cause last-minute filers to forget necessary paperwork
and miss out on claiming key tax credits and deductions,” says Elaine
Smith, master tax advisor at H&R Block, the giant tax preparation
firm.
Taxes are a necessary part of any civilized society. Everyone pays them, whether they realize it or not. Taxes fund important public services, like education and infrastructure. They also help to pay for social programs that benefit all members of society, like health care and welfare. And lastly, taxes help to maintain the orderly operation of our economy by raising revenue necessary for government spending on things like defense and law enforcement.
So why do people hate paying taxes? There are a few reasons:
-Many people resent being forced to pay what they see as unfair amounts of money toward something they believe doesn't benefit them personally in any way.
-Others may feel angry or frustrated when their tax burden changes from year to year without warning (this is especially common during financial crises).
-Finally, some may simply refuse to pay their fair share because they think there's too much corruption involved in the system (there isn't - but this kind of thinking only helps fuel conspiracy theories).
None of these attitudes is healthy or conducive to constructive discussion about taxation issues related thereto...so let's try another approach!
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