Work Opportunity Tax Credit Provides Help to Employers

In today’s tough job market and economy, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) may help employers. Many business owners are hiring and should be aware that the WOTC is available to employers that hire workers from targeted groups who face significant barriers to employment. The credit is worth as much as $2,400 for each eligible employee ($4,800, $5,600 and $9,600 for certain veterans and $9,000 for “long-term family assistance recipients”). It’s generally limited to eligible employees who begin work for the employer before January 1, 2026. The IRS recently issued some updated information on the pre-screening and certification processes. To satisfy a requirement to pre-screen a job applicant, a pre-screening notice must be completed by the job applicant and the employer on or before the day...

Business Owners Should be Prepared for IRS Audits

Many business owners ask: How can I avoid an IRS audit? The good news is that the odds against being audited are in your favor. In fiscal year 2018, the IRS audited approximately 0.6% of individuals. Businesses, large corporations and high-income individuals are more likely to be audited but, overall, audit rates are historically low.  That said, business owners should be prepared. There’s no 100% guarantee that you won’t be picked for an audit, because some tax returns are chosen randomly. However, completing your returns in a timely and accurate fashion with our firm certainly works in your favor. And it helps to know what might catch the attention of the IRS. Business owners should be prepared: audit red flags A variety of tax-return entries may raise red...

Typosquatters profit from common user errors

The Web has opened plenty of new avenues for criminal behavior. For example, you may have heard of cybersquatting. Someone registers a site’s domain name that includes a trademark and then tries to profit by selling that name to the trademark owner.  But are you familiar with typosquatting? You should be because typosquatters profit from common user errors.  These schemes can make just about any organization, along with visitors to its website, the victims of fraud. Fat fingers Like cybersquatting, typosquatting (also known as URL hijacking) involves the purchase of domain names in bad faith. It takes advantage of an inclination among users known as “fat fingers” — basically, our tendency to hit the wrong keys and enter misspelled trademarks or brands. For example, in a case involving...

Quantitative Easing Explained

As posted to Malekanoms YouTube Channel on 11/11/10 (Run Time: 6 minutes, 48 seconds) Quantitative Easing Explained . . . Again?  Why "Again"? That's because I originally posted this clip as Blog Post #150 way back on 11/17/2010 when it was hot off the presses.  Now . . . 9 years later, the powers-that-be have learned nothing. On 10/16/2019, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) released an article entitled, "The Fed Is Buying Treasurys Again. Just Don’t Call It Quantitative Easing".  The article alerts the reader to the fact that, on 10/15/2019, The Federal Reserve began buying short-term Treasury debt Tuesday at an initial pace of $60 billion a month, but officials say these purchases are nothing like the bond-buying stimulus campaigns unleashed by the central bank between 2008...

Connection Between Fraud and Geometry

What is the connection between fraud and geometry?  Fraud experts have long suggested that the presence of three conditions, known as the “fraud triangle,” greatly increases the likelihood that an employee will commit fraud. Over the years, this conceptual framework has been expanded to become a “fraud diamond.” Understanding these models can help you protect your business. Classic shape The classic fraud triangle consists of: Pressure An individual experiences some type of pressure that motivates the fraud. Pressure can come from within the organization — for example, pressure to meet aggressive earnings or revenue growth targets. Or, the pressure could be personal, such as the need to maintain a high standard of living or pay off debt from credit cards, medical bills or gambling. Rationalization Perpetrators must be able to mentally...

Picking the Right Retirement Plan for Your Business

If you’re a small business owner or you’re involved in a start-up, you may want to set up a tax-favored retirement plan for yourself and any employees. Several types of plans are eligible for tax advantages.  But what is the right retirement plan for your business and it's employees? 401(k) plan One of the best-known retirement plan options is the 401(k) plan. It provides for employer contributions made at the direction of employees. Specifically, the employee elects to have a certain amount of pay deferred and contributed by the employer on his or her behalf to an individual account. Employee contributions can be made on a pretax basis, saving employees current income tax on the amount contributed. Employers may, or may not, provide matching contributions on behalf of...