A sales tax is a tax that is placed on the purchases of goods or services. The federal government does not have a national sales tax. Qualifying products or services are only taxable by a particular state government. Each state has the ability to impose their own sales tax rate. At the current time Oregon, New Hampshire, Montana, Hawaii, and Delaware are the only states that do not impose a state sales tax. It is possible for different counties...more
Each year there are millions of Americans who prepare their own federal and state tax returns and even more individuals have their taxes professionally prepared. Whatever choice a taxpayer makes there are a number of important tax tips that everyone should know. A W-2 or 1099MISC is needed to accurately prepare a federal or state income tax return. There is always a chance that a taxpayer may misplace these forms or for one reason or another the...more
There is a great range in rates for commercial surety bonds these days. Principals can see premiums range from 1-15% of the amount of the bond. Even a small bond at 15% can be extremely costly. In part 1 of 2 of this article, we will review what bonding companies look at when deciding a rate. Part 2 of this article will discuss what you can do to better your situation to make sure you are at the bonding companies lowest tier rating.Commercial bond underwriting takes more than just personal credit into consideration. In general, a commercial bond submission must include: a bond application with general information on the principal, business financial statements and or a resume on the owner(s), personal financial statements of the owner(s), personal credit of the owner(s) and possibly their spouse(s), and the bond form that must be used to create the original bond. There are specialty programs available for some classes of business that will require less information. However, these programs are far and few in between.A principal must qualify on all surety items named above. A surety can decline a principal if they fail to meet any of the sureties underwriting guidelines. The best way...more
Office Design TipsWherever you work, at a home office or at a work office, your office working experience depends entirely on its design and productivity. If you ask any experts, they will tell you that your office environment and ambience can tell a lot about your efficiency and productivity. A bad office design and an insipid office environment...more
You've finally come to that stage in life when you can afford to own a credit card, not as a supplementary cardholder but as the principal cardholder. Finally, you've earned the right to have a credit card in your own name and to be able to purchase whatever you want without having to ask anybody else's permission. But now that that time has come,...more
We often talk about the big debate about whether leaders or born or made. Are we just born with the all the skills and traits necessary to inspire others to want to follow us, or is it more of a process of learning these skills? While that debate will go on and on, there's one thing I do know, you define yourself as a leader in the "gaps". Those seconds between something happening and your response. In this small amount of time, you show your people just what you value and who you really are. It's in those situations when you have little if any time to think, you just react. In the "gap", you rely solely on your character and values to drive your actions. No faking, no rehearsal, no second chance to get it right. This is why I feel it is so important that one of the first things we do as a new leader is define ourselves. What do we really value? Where will you draw the line in terms of getting results? Will you lie, will you ask people to do things that you would never do yourself? At some point we are all faced with decisions that define who we are as a leader. I can't think of a better way to gain the respect of others by making decisions that are always aligned with...more
Invariably, when I do a seminar, especially one about money or starting your own business, one or two people will come up to me and ask "What's a good business to get into to make a lot of money?" Wrong question! In my experience, whenever I've done...more
Depending on which company supplies your credit card and which credit card you have, you are likely to have access to a whole range of additional services that come along with your credit card. These will be different for all credit card providers...more
Everyone is well aware of the problematic health care industry. It seems the more and more you pay for your health care benefits the less and less they cover. There are many factors that go into the reasons for this failing health care system and I...more
Researching a topic can be frustrating sometimes. You search the web for information only to find much of it not exactly related to the topic you are searching for. This has prompted our experts to help provide better information for people like you....more
Consumer credit reports are often used by businesses to help them decide whether to lend money or provide other types of benefits to a particular consumer. Credit bureaus provide credit report information on consumers to interested parties, to enable...more
If you are buying a car after bankruptcy, here are a few suggestions that could help:First, you want to make sure you've done everything you can to increase your credit score. Once you've done that you're ready to start shopping for your car!Here's a...more