Archive for January, 2011

Yup, Tax Time Is Looming On the Horizon

January 29th, 2011

It’s that time of the year again.
February means that income tax filing season has begun and important tax documents should be arriving in the mail. Even though your return is not due until April, getting an early start will make filing easier. Here are the Internal Revenue Service’s top 10 tips that will help your tax filing process run smoother than ever this year.

Gather
Start gathering your records: Round up any documents or forms you’ll need when filing your taxes: receipts, canceled checks and other documents that support income or deductions you’re claiming on your return.

Watch
Be on the lookout: W-2s and 1099s will be coming soon; you’ll need these to file your tax return.

Use Free File
Let Free File do the hard work for you with brand-name tax software or online fillable forms. It’s available exclusively at IRS.gov. Everyone can find an option to prepare their tax return and e-file it for free. If you made $58,000 or less, you qualify for free tax software that is offered through a private-public partnership with manufacturers. If you made more or are comfortable preparing your own tax return, there’s Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic versions of IRS paper forms. Visit IRS.gov/freefile to review your options.

Try IRS e-file
After 21 years, IRS e-file has become the safe, easy and most common way to file a tax return. Last year, 70 percent of taxpayers, meaning 99 million people, used IRS e-file. Starting in 2011, many tax preparers will be required to use e-file and will explain your filing options to you. This is your chance to give it a try. IRS e-file is approaching 1 billion returns processed safely and securely. If you owe taxes, you have payment options to file immediately and pay by the tax deadline. Best of all, combine e-file with direct deposit and you get your refund in as few as 10 days.

Other filing options
There are many different options for filing your tax return. You can prepare it yourself or go to a tax preparer. You may be eligible for free face-to-face help at an IRS office or volunteer site. Give yourself time to weigh all the different options and find the one that best suits your needs.

Direct deposit
If you elect to have your refund directly deposited into your bank account, you’ll receive it faster than waiting for a paper check.

The IRS website
Visit the IRS website again and again: The official IRS website is a great place to find everything you’ll need to file your tax return: forms, publications, tips, answers to frequently asked questions and updates on changes in the tax law.

Remember 17
Remember this number: 17. Check out IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax on the IRS website. It’s a comprehensive collection of information for taxpayers that highlights everything you’ll need to know when filing your return.

Review!
Review! Review! Review! Don’t rush. We all make mistakes when we rush. Mistakes will slow down the processing of your return. Be sure to double-check all the Social Security numbers and math calculations on your return as these are the most common errors made by taxpayers.

In case of panic
Don’t panic! If you run into a problem, remember the IRS is here to help. Try IRS.gov or call 800-829-1040.

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If It Makes Money, Let’s Go For It

January 28th, 2011

Who cares about the consequences?
We live in amazing times: have you ever thought about mass producing fake pills? It’s a major international industry and kills people at the same time. It is difficult to estimate the damage being caused by illicit counterfeit diet pills that are marketed as “natural” solutions for weight loss, but conservative estimates from the Health Ministry’s Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit say at least four people have been hospitalized so far. “And this is the tip of the iceberg,” says the director of the PCU.

Fake pills
A phone call to the police was about an elderly woman who had been hospitalized after taking a pill that was presented by its sellers as a natural slimming agent. The call led to a chain of events resulting in an international criminal investigation which, due to its ongoing sensitivity, cannot be described in any detail at this stage. The pills, called Slim Extreme, played havoc with the woman’s cardiovascular system, causing her pulse rate and blood pressure to go through the roof. The woman filed a complaint, the police investigated the source of the pills, a woman was arrested and quantities of the Slim Extreme pills, as well as counterfeit Viagra tablets were seized.

Diet supplements
All diet supplements that have medical indications are forbidden. Food supplements are not supposed to have medical indication. Such indications “are the first sign that these ingredients can cause damage. The police official involved said, “I would advise against consuming pills that come with those kinds of indications. I suspect they contain active pharmaceuticals.” Ordering pills from the Internet or over the phone is also unsafe, he said. People should only purchase pills from pharmacies and be sure they carry proper seals of approval and instructions.

Counterfeit medicines
Counterfeit medicines are found everywhere in the world. They range from random mixtures of harmful toxic substances to inactive, ineffective preparations. Some contain a declared, active ingredient and look so similar to the genuine product that they deceive health professionals as well as patients. But in every case, the source of a counterfeit medicine is unknown and its content unreliable. Counterfeit medicines are always illegal. They can result in treatment failure or even death. Eliminating them is a considerable public health challenge.

Internet sales
In over 50% of cases, medicines purchased over the Internet from illegal sites that conceal their physical address have been found to be counterfeit. Beware! It is tempting when one compares internet prices to the pharmacy prices and once or twice I’ve been tempted myself. I could use the money I save on other things…

Contributory factors to the counterfeit medicine problem
Counterfeiting medicines can be very lucrative. Since many countries have not yet enacted deterrent legislation, counterfeiters often do not fear prosecution.
Paying for medicines can consume a significant proportion of individual or family income. Some people seek medicines that are sold more cheaply. These are often available from non-regulated outlets, where the incidence of counterfeit medicines is likely to be higher.

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It’s Almost the End of January and you’re still In the Market!

January 27th, 2011

This means you are staying in this year, right?
Wall Street, of course, is all gungho on the prospects for 2011. And the Dow Jones shows that it is so. The index passed the 12000 mark yesterday and seems poised for continuing increase. That is, if there is not another outbreak of war, disease, oil spill or other disaster. As enthusiastic as the market and the players are, they are quite the most sensitive things known to man. It’s the old Butterfly Effect all over again: some guy in a far-off place sneezes, CNN reports it and within 2 hours it’s a world-wide pandemic. The market drops in the space of half an hour and then it takes 3 months to recover that loss.

My portfolio
My own portfolio is up, not as much as I had thought it would be. Of the 5 shares in it, I never seem to get a day when all 5 rise, so the end result is that it ‘hovers’. All this does is make me grateful that it is not falling.

The consensus
The general consensus is that U.S. stocks will have another good year as the economy continues to heal. Bonds may prove more risky than they appear as the fear factor fades. And the bulk of the gains in “risk assets” like stocks and commodities will be driven by peppier growth in China and other emerging economies. It’s comforting to know that virtually everyone on Wall Street is forecasting that the U.S. stock market will go up, with gains ranging from 3% to 26%. But much of the illuminating and interesting stuff to ponder is buried in the fine print of the annual outlook pieces.

But
While most prognosticators are predicting the market will finish 2011 higher, at least two investment firms are warning of a stock market peak, and a return of the dreaded bear, as in bear market. An investment team at Ned Davis Research, led by chief investment strategist Tim Hayes, is expecting the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index to make a run at its 2007 all-time high of 1565.15 in the first half of 2011, thanks to seasonal tailwinds and economic conditions moving in the right direction around the world.

The population milestone
Sometime in 2011, the world’s population will cross the 7 billion threshold for the first time, and that has investment implications, says Joseph Quinlan, chief market strategist at U.S. Trust. “Seven billion people represents a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of underlying demand on planet Earth’s finite resources,” Quinlan wrote in the report “2011: A Year of Key Milestones and Special Anniversaries.” As a result, he is bullish on energy and agriculture commodities.

Gold
An ounce of gold closed at a record high of $1,421.10 on Friday, and was up about 30% for the year. But heed the warning that “the recent momentum in gold is more mania than fundamentally driven.” Gold is benefiting from investors’ fear and their thirst for hard assets that retain their value in tough times. Advice: “Reduce gold exposure at current price levels.”

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