urban_az_financial_inc

Why Starting a Business in 2025 is Essential: US Corporations Layoffs

Sun, 05 May 2024 22:28:22 GMT

Why Starting a Business in 2024 is Essential: US Corporations Layoffs

According to a Newsweek article, " A recent string of mass layoffs across the U.S. could be the sign that the country's economy is finally sliding into the recession many feared would hit the nation last year, financial analyst Gary Shilling told Newsweek" (Delayed Mass Layoffs, 2024).

In a Final Call Newspaper article titled, Business Is Warfare’ What is Required for Our Economic Independence?, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan raised a quote from The Honorable Elijah Muhammad that states, "As a people we must become producers, and not remain consumers and employees.

Also the minster pointed out that "At the 10th Anniversary of the Million Man March (“The Millions More Movement”), we brought to us Nine Ministries that we must establish as a people. Among these Ministries was a “Ministry of Trade and Commerce.” Here you have people all over the Earth who would do business with us if we had a product that we could offer them! And if they didn’t have money, then trade; barter: “this for that.” (Farrakhan, 2022).

In a Reuters article, titled, US, Canadian companies kick off 2024 with layoffs, it provides a list of job cuts (See List Below):

1. Amazon's job cuts include less than 5% of employees at Buy with Prime unit, 5% at audiobook and podcast division Audible, several hundred in streaming and studio operations.

2. Microsoft is cutting around 1,900 jobs at gaming divisions Activision Blizzard and Xbox.

3. Ebay plans to cut about 1,000 roles or around 9% of its workforce.

4. Cisco is planning to restructure its business which will include laying off thousands of employees.

5. PayPal Holdings is planning to cut about 2,500 jobs, or 9% of its global workforce this year.

6. Estee Lauder plans to cut 3% to 5% of its global workforce.

7. Wayfair plans to lay off 1,650 employees, or about 13% of its workforce.

8. Macy's is cutting 2,350 jobs, closing five stores.

9. Nike will cut about 2% of its total workforce, or more than 1,600 jobs, as the sportswear giant looks to cut costs after flagging weaker profits this year.

10. United Parcel Service (UPS) plans to cut 12,000 jobs to cut costs.

(US Canadian Companies, 2024)

As a result of mass layoffs by corporations in the United States, now would be a good time to consider starting an online business. The next step after writing a business plan is the design of an online store.

Building Your Credit via Approved Credit Restoration

Digitalseoinc@gmail.com (Eric Brown) — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 15:02:07 GMT

How to build your personal credit via
Approved Credit Restoration Inc.

Professional and Accredited Credit Counseling Service. Approved Credit Restoration

https://www.ApprovedCreditRestoration.com/

Start living the life you deserve to live.

Solve Your Financial Problems By Enhancing Your Credit Score

Secrets to Credit Score Success. How to keep track of your score, get it as high as possible—and keep it that way.

By Tobie Stanger • Jun 27, 2019

If you think your credit history determines only the interest rate you get on home mortgages, car loans, and credit cards, you’d be wrong, but you certainly wouldn’t be alone.

In a recent U.S. News & World Report survey, less than half of the 1,497 respondents knew that in many states poor credit could lead to higher home and auto insurance rates or being denied an apartment (CR opposes the use of credit reports for these purposes).

The consequences go even further: Employers in many areas can use credit reports to vet job candidates, and having a low credit score could mean paying $4,000 more for a typical car loan or $200,000 more for credit over the course of a lifetime than someone with a high credit score.

There are several types of credit scores, but the FICO score is one of the most widely used by lenders, which makes it a good barometer of your overall creditworthiness.

According to the Fair Isaac Corporation, which creates more than a dozen versions of the score for various types of lenders, all of them are based on assorted forms of credit data (such as payment history and amounts owed) provided by the three major credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Each form of credit data is given a different weight (see “The 5 Keys to Your Credit Score,” below).

Finding your credit score can be a frustrating process if you don’t know where to look. The Fair Isaac Corporation and credit reporting agencies will provide your FICO score for a fee, but there are several ways to find it at no charge. For instance, if your bank, credit card issuer, or lender participates in FICO Score Open Access, you may be able to get it free just by logging in to your account.

Discover, which is among the cards that provide FICO scores to its cardholders, will also provide the scores at no cost to non-customers who share information (including their Social Security number), which the company says it will protect from misuse.

Though it does not provide the actual score, FICO’s free Credit Scores Estimator provides a range within which a consumer’s score is likely to fall based on answers to 10 questions.

Making Sense of Your Score

FICO scores typically range from a low of 300 to a high of 850. (The national average FICO score is 704.) In general, a score above 800 will qualify you for the lowest interest rates, though even a score in the high 600s should qualify you for a favorable rate.

Experian, one of three major credit bureaus, defines the boundaries this way:

800-plus: Exceptional. Less than 1 percent of borrowers in this range are likely to become seriously delinquent. They’ll easily be approved for the lowest rates.

740-799: Very good. One percent of borrowers in this category are likely to become seriously delinquent. They could be offered the lowest rates from lenders, but it’s not a given.

623-226-7948: Good. Eight percent could become seriously delinquent. This stratum includes the average U.S. credit score. People in this range are considered an “acceptable” lending risk.

623-226-7948: Fair. An estimated 27 percent of the people in this group could become seriously delinquent, making them likely candidates for subprime loans at higher rates.

579 and below: Poor. This group is considered a poor lending risk: Roughly 62 percent could become seriously delinquent. They will be eligible only for the highest interest rates, if they can get credit at all.

Though missing just one payment can ding your score, even a major downturn in your luck or behavior is unlikely to drop it into the very lowest range.

Bruce W. McClary, vice president of communications at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a group that represents nonprofit credit counseling agencies, says the lowest score he’s ever seen was 425, for a consumer who had already been in bankruptcy and was delinquent with several creditors.

“Obsessing over perfecting your score might be a waste of time,” says Katie Ross, education and development manager for American Consumer Credit Counseling, a nonprofit that offers guidance to consumers. Instead, “focus your efforts on keeping it within a healthy range,” she says.

10 Ways to Raise Your Credit Score

Taking these actions can help to raise a sagging score. Just don’t expect it to happen overnight: Depending on the reasons for a poor score, it could take from 12 to 24 months to see a difference.

1. Regularly monitor your credit reports. Mistakes on your credit reports can be costly—and common. A study by the Federal Trade Commission found that 1 in 5 consumers had an error on his or her credit report that was corrected after it was disputed. Consumers are entitled to receive three free credit reports each year—one from each of the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A smart way to monitor your credit is to go to annualcreditreport.com and request a free report from a different agency every four months. Common errors to look for include: credit accounts that aren’t reflected, duplicate credit accounts, debts incurred by a former spouse, and bad debts older than seven years. You can initiate a dispute online at each of the three major credit reporting agencies.

2. Pay your bills on time. Approximately 35 percent of the FICO score is determined by your payment history, and 96 percent of those with the highest FICO scores have no missed payments. It’s better to pay the minimum on credit cards each month than to fall behind.

3. Don’t apply for several credit cards at once. This generates numerous inquiries into your credit history, which may lower your score. Another reason: Opening several new credit accounts at the same time reduces the average “age” of your accounts, which can also lower your credit score. However, multiple requests within a 45-day period for a single type of credit (mortgage, auto loan, or student loan, for instance) are counted as a single inquiry to allow consumers to shop around for the best rate. These are less likely to lower your score.

4. Don’t cancel unused cards (unless they carry an annual fee). Roughly a third of your score is based on the ratio of credit used to total available credit. Eliminating a card will lower your available credit and can work against you.

5. Keep credit balances low. Because a high credit ratio can negatively affect your score, maintaining a low revolving credit balance is wise. (Most people with the highest FICO scores owe less than $3,000 on revolving accounts.)

6. If you charge everything on a rewards card for the points, switch to cash or a debit card for a couple of months before applying for new credit. Even if you pay your balances in full every month, a lot of debt relative to your credit limit can still be viewed negatively.

7. Maintain a variety of credit types. Successfully paying, say, an auto loan, a student loan, and credit card bills over the same period shows that you’re able to juggle different types of credit. That diversification accounts for 10 percent of your score.

8. Pay off debt in collection. With the most current version of the FICO score, debt that was referred to a collection agency but has been paid off will no longer count against you. (Always dispute any debt that has been wrongly assigned to you.)

9. Get a secured credit card after bankruptcy. If you’ve been through bankruptcy, using a secured credit card backed by a refundable deposit may be an effective way to start rebuilding your credit. A bankruptcy will have less impact on your score over time if you don’t default on new loans. It may be a while before you can access credit inexpensively again: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies stay on your credit report for up to 10 years.

10. Consider new tools that can boost your credit score. Consumers with little credit history or less-than-stellar scores may now use two new tools that could boost creditworthiness by taking into account additional information, such as utility or mortgage payments and bank balances. Click here for the pros and cons of these.

Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the August 2019 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Understanding Tax Laws - Tips for Understanding the Tax Code

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 14:56:57 GMT

Tips for Understanding the Tax Code

Many people think that publications by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are the definitive source of information about how to file your income taxes, but this actually isn't the case. The tax code, also called the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), is where the actual rules are published. Unfortunately, in addition to being thousands of pages long–in 2014, the IRC was approximately 2,600 pages long–the IRC is not easily decipherable by the average person.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The rules governing how income is taxed in the U.S. are incredibly complex.

There are many sources of information that are intended to help taxpayers understanding the rules about what they are required to pay, and what tax credits and tax deductions they may be eligible for.

Some of these sources include the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) publications, calling the IRS, consulting texts for tax professionals, hiring a tax professional, seeking volunteer tax assistance through VITA, and consulting texts for a consumer audience.

The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) vs. Treasury Regulations vs. Revenue Rulings

The IRC contains the official, legally-binding tax rules that have been set forth by the U.S. Congress. Taxpayers can view the tax code online on the website for the Office of the Law Revision Counsel.1

Treasury regulations–also referred to as tax regulations–are the U.S. Treasury Department's official interpretation of the tax code. These are published in Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations (26 CFR) and are also available online on the website for the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO).2

The advantage of consulting these sources is that they are provided by the government, so taxpayers can be assured that the information contained in them is correct. The disadvantage is that there is a vast amount of information and it can be difficult to understand. If you don't understand a rule or regulation correctly, and you make a decision regarding filing your income taxes based on your own misunderstanding, you will still be held liable for knowing the correct information.

Revenue rulings are the IRS's official interpretation of the code as it applies to specific situations. They may be easier to decipher for taxpayers, but they do not have the same legal bearing as the IRC–tax code itself–or the Treasury regulations.3

Consult IRS Publications

There are IRS publications that provide interpretations of the tax code. They are summed up in booklets that are available in print or to access online on the IRS website.4

The publications are readily available, free, and relatively concise. They are also easier to understand than the tax code itself. However, for some people, the publications are still quite obtuse.

Make a Phone Call to the IRS

The document called "IRS Publication 910: Guide to Free Tax Services" provides phone numbers for IRS departments, in addition to instructions about how to call them for help with your tax questions. Before you call one of these numbers, the IRS recommends that you have the tax form, schedule, or notice to which your question relates; the facts about your particular situation; and the name of any IRS publication or other source of information that you used to look for the answer.5

While calling the IRS might seem like an ideal solution, the IRS offers this disclaimer to taxpayers–if they provide wrong information to you, you will still be held responsible: "If we should make an error in answering your question, you are still responsible for paying the correct tax." You will still be responsible for the back taxes and interest if an audit later determines that you paid less than you should have, even if it was based on advice from a representative at the IRS.

However, you will not be charged any penalty due to an IRS error. A penalty from the IRS is an additional amount the IRS sometimes charges to those who have underpaid their taxes. If you do call, take copious notes, including the representative's name and title, and the time and date of your call.

Consult Texts for Tax Professionals

The publications that are published for an audience of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), accountants, and tax attorneys are some of the most detailed interpretations of the tax code available. Some of these publishers include West, CCH, Kleinrock, and Tax Analysts.

However, these texts can be very expensive to purchase, and they are not written for a layperson audience. They are highly technical, and if you aren't a CPA, accountant, or tax attorney, it may be hard to grasp the content in these expert sources.

Hire a Tax Professional

Most people who are experiencing difficulties with their tax returns will end up consulting a tax professional. Enrolled agents and Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) are both reliable and affordable sources of information. Hiring a professional may save you some time, even if it is an additional expense. To find a tax professional in your area, visit the National Association of Enrolled Agents or the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

One possible disadvantage of hiring a professional is that–if you do not screen them carefully by asking the right questions–you could end up with a professional who applies a very liberal, or even abusive, interpretation of the tax code to your financial situation. This can cost you dearly if you get audited. However, it's important to keep in mind that even amongst the most ethical and knowledgeable of tax preparers, different professionals may prepare your returns differently based on their interpretations of the tax code.

The best way to guard against these discrepancies is to choose a professional whose interpretation of the tax code is most in line with your own philosophy of tax obligations. Are you the type who prefers to opt for deductions aggressively and hope for the best, or would you prefer to err on the side of caution? An experienced tax preparer will be able to articulate their stance so you can see if it matches up with your own vantage point. You may also want to ask how much experience the person has with preparing returns similar to yours, especially if your tax situation is unusual.

Seek Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

The IRS has a program for providing assistance to low-to-moderate-income individuals with their tax returns. This program is called Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA). Volunteers specifically trained by the IRS help taxpayers answer their tax questions and prepare their tax returns. There is a special emphasis in this program on helping low-income taxpayers understand what possible advantages the tax code may include for individuals specifically in their situation, like how to claim the earned income credit and the child tax credit. 6

Help is available for free to qualified taxpayers. Individuals typically qualify based on their income; in 2020, if your income does not exceed $56,000, you may qualify for assistance through VITA. The tax preparers that work for VITA are volunteers, and they may not have professional-level tax training, so it's possible they may not always give correct advice. In addition, their training is typically only intended to help with relatively simple tax returns.7

Consult Texts for a Consumer Audience

There are many consumer publications that are intended to educate the average taxpayer about income tax issues, and help them take advantage of all the credits and deductions they are entitled to. Some of the most reliable, up-to-date, and widely respected sources include books published by Nolo, J. K. Lasser, and Ernst & Young.

These books are affordable (generally $25 or less) and easy to find in local bookstores and online. While libraries may have copies of them, they may not be the most recent versions. Of all the credible sources that attempt to interpret the tax code for individual taxpayers, these books are probably the easiest to understand.

However, it's important to remember that information you find in these books does not have any legal bearing.

Conclusion

The rules governing how income is taxed in the U.S. are incredibly complex. In order to fully understand what you are required to pay (and what you aren't), it's recommended that taxpayers consult the most reliable source of information they can understand and afford. Finally, if you are ever in a situation where you are audited, there's always a chance you may be required to pay more than you thought you had to. In the event that this happens, you may want to keep some money in an emergency savings account.

Setting Up Your Business via Business Ownership Support System (B.O.S.S.)

Digitalseoinc@gmail.com (Eric Brown) — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 14:54:56 GMT

Empower Yourself!

Become Your Own Boss Now!

B.O.S.S. U.P. primarily stands for Business Ownership Support System with

Unlimited Potential

Boss Ups' core purpose is to inspire and help you to engage in entrepreneurship and business ownership.

Your current (or former) job won’t let you work from home??? But you're home and can't leave your home

or don't want to? Great! Why not Start your own business then? NOW is the perfect time!

After all a J.O.B. is Just Over Broke anyway! Your window of opportunity is NOW!

Everybody's home, online, surfing, $hopping and conducting business.

It's become the "new normal'.

If that's where everyone is at then it's a no brainer. That's where you should be with your business NOW.

In front of them NOW.

The perfect time to get their Attention is NOW with YOUR Business, IDEA, Service and Products.

Stop working out the trunk of your car. Get your online business and store NOW.

Set up your Work At Home Business. Get officially setup! We’ll guide you through it and show you how!

Don’t have time, patience or expertise? No worries! Let us do it for you! That's part of what we do!

You will not be by yourself. We don't mind walking and guiding you through and setting up for you.

We have a great Online Business Startup package!

EIN (business tax number)

Domain name (yourbusinesname.com)

DBA (state recognized business name)

TPT - Transaction Privilege Tax licence (if needed)

LLC or INC (legal business entity)

Official Business Website that will work on Desktop, Laptop, Tablet & Mobile with a Sleek, Modern, Professional Design

Social Media Business pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube)

You'll also get a monthly Blog Post optimized for internet search. Fresh content is KING with the search engines.

PLUS you get Basic SEO service. That means we set up your online business correctly. So when someone does a search looking for products or services and they key in words and phrases related to your business, products and services they find you!

The IRS Already Has your Tax Data...so why do you still have to file taxes???

Digitalseoinc@gmail.com (Eric Brown) — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 14:49:39 GMT