Warning: “Miserable” 2015 Tax Season is Here
Warning: “Miserable” 2015 Tax Season is Here
According to a recent article on CNN Money, the 2015 tax season could potentially be the worst since 1985. The 1985 tax season is considered a disaster due to computer failure, lost returns and delayed refunds.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Why is this happening?
As we mentioned in some previously posts, the IRS budget had been cut yet again and the tax code is getting more complex, requiring the agency to take more care in reviewing the complicated returns.
The IRS budget is roughly 10% less in 2015 than it was in 2010, without accounting for cost increases. During that same time period the number of IRS employees has dropped along with the amount of money they have for staff training, a tough pill to swallow with all the recent changes in tax codes and policies. Couple those decreases with the increase in the number of taxpayers (about 7 million people) and you set yourself up for a big mess.
Our advise is simple as always. File early. File accurately. Come to us if you’re already behind so we, experienced tax professionals, can deal with the IRS for you.
For you early birds who have already filed and are awaiting your refund, be sure to check out the IRS 2015 Tax Season Refund Frequently Asked Questions to learn things about how quickly you should expect your refund (usually within 21 calendar days) and what to do if your refund is delayed.
An Entrepreneur’s Guide to New Business Ideas
An Entrepreneur’s Guide to New Business Ideas
New ideas are essential to all businesses, whether start up or 30 years running. There comes a time when any business owner asks the question, “What else can I offer?” The staff of Entrepreneur Media provide an excellent framework for an entrepreneur to answer this question:
- List five to seven things about you – things you like to do or that you’re really good at, personal things (we’ll get to your work life in a minute).
- On the other side of the paper, list things you don’t think you’re good at or you don’t like to do.
- When you’re finished, ask yourself: “If there were three to five products or services that would make my personal life better, what would they be?” Determine what products or services would make your life easier or happier, make you more productive or efficient, or simply give you more time.
- Next, ask yourself the same set of questions about your business life. Also examine what you like and dislike about your work life as well as what traits people like and dislike about you.
- Finally, ask yourself why you’re seeking to start a business in the first place. Then, when you’re done, look for a pattern (i.e., whether there’s a need for a business doing one of the things you like or are good at).
The match up is threefold – Personal strengths, personal interest and customer want or need (demand). When there is harmony in these three areas, you might just have your next product or service!
Good luck and we look forward to hearing from you about your next big idea!
– Your tax, law and financial professionals at GQLaw
rimbatoto
Phishing: IRS Tax Scams 2015
Phishing: IRS Tax Scams 2015
We recently warned our followers about the recent IRS tax scam alerts about phone scams and are back today to let you know about another one of the scams the IRS lists as part of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams for the 2015 filing season: phishing.
Phishing is a problem across the board, not just from scammers posing as the IRS, so its important that everyone understand and learn to recognize the signs of a phishing attempt. In our post from December 18th, 2013, we taught you all about cyber security, specifically with regard to protecting your business but the same principles apply. Then remember how on December 19th members of our staff were victims of phishing attempts through a Verizon Wireless text message that was supposedly from US Bank.
Just like we learned in our study of phishing back in 2013, the IRS warns specifically about online phishing attempts in which scammer pretend to be someone they are not (US Bank or the IRS for example) and create an urgent situation (your bank account has been emptied, your IRS taxes are due tomorrow or you may be arrested) in order to get you to give out personal identification information (phone, address, social security number, bank info, etc.)
Phishing scams often use fake websites that pose as legitimate ones to lure in victims and get information necessary for the criminals to commit identity theft, take your money or worse.
If you receive an unsolicited email that seems to be a phishing attmpt by someone posing to be the IRS, they ask that you report it my sending the email to phishing@irs.gov. The IRS works closely with the Department of Justice to shut down any and all phishing attempts as soon as possible.
For more information on phishing and what to look for to identify a phishing email please see our cyber security post or visit the IRS phishing scams website.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw7f7pO3CAM
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Dirty Dozen Tax Scams 2015: Phone Scams
Dirty Dozen Tax Scams 2015: Phone Scams
The IRS recently published their “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams” for the 2015 filing season one at a time. The first scam on their list: phone scams. Apparently aggressive and threatening callers impersonate IRS agents and threaten police arrest, deportation, and license revocation among other things. They know just how to make people feel desperate enough to give them financial information on the spot. The IRS puts phone scams at the top of their list because they have been so common during the past few months. They also point out that the scam artists tend to target those who are perceived as easy targets such as the elderly, new immigrants and people who speak English as a second language.
We at GQ Law want to remind our followers that the IRS will never call demanding that you pay immediately over the phone. The first contact from the IRS to taxpayers is usually a mailed letter. Despite the negative things many people have to say about the IRS, they do understand that people have rights and threatening over the phone is not part of their practice.
The IRS has received reports of about 290,000 scam contacts since 2013 and knows of nearly 3,000 victims who have collectively paid over $14 million as a result of the phone scams!
The IRS will never:
- Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
- Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
- Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
- Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
Source- IRS Newswire
We also want to remind you that the IRS doesn’t use email, text messages or social media to talk about your personal tax issues or refunds so if you are contacted in and of those ways you can immediately know you’ve been the victim of a scam.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a tax scam the IRS advises you do the following:
- If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS workers can help you with a payment issue.
- If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to the TIGTA at 1-800-366-4484 or at www.tigta.gov.
- If you’ve been targeted by this tax scam, also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y5z0kWgBcM
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This information is not intended as legal counsel. Please make an appointment for you FREE consultation with our experienced tax law team so we can advise you about your particular tax situation.
5 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read
5 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie
If you haven’t read this book already, you really should. Almost any list of the top books on leadership, interpersonal communication, relationships and success contain this title because of its simplicity and real value. Learn from Dale Carnegie, one of human relations’ forerunners, as he shares stories of common people like most of us and greats such as Abraham Lincoln, Charles Schwab, John D. Rockefeller and many more. His overarching message? If you care about others, they will care about you. (This book is now “public domain” and can therefore be downloaded in pdf format for free online.)
Who Moved My Cheese
Spencer Johnson, MD
Change, change, change. That’s a day in the life of an entrepreneur. Who Moved My Cheese is the story of two mice and two men and their fight for what makes them whole. In the case of our characters, it’s cheese. This book teaches timeless principles of change and how we can prepare for, run with and even enjoy changes in our lives.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Patrick Lencioni
A “leadership fable” as this book style is called, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is written from the standpoint of a struggling executive team that needs to make some changes, or fail. This book takes an interesting and very powerful approach to team dynamics and engages the reader by putting him/her in the shoes of each character. A great book for discussion and reading simultaneously as a team.
Freakonomics
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Freakonomics isn’t like the rest of the books mentioned here, in fact it’s not like any other book out there. From cheating schoolteachers, to crack dealers and sumo wrestlers, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner take a fascinating and engaging approach to studying “the hidden side of everything.” Levitt, the MIT economist, shows how solutions to problems aren’t often a result of common knowledge or a great strategic plan, they’re a result of digging deep into information to find what no one else has. This book will help an entrepreneur see that the answers he/she islooking for to take business to the next level, usually can’t be Googled.
Multipliers
Liz Wiseman
In Multipliers Liz Wiseman helps the reader explore deep within his/herself the question, “Am I a builder or a breaker? A creator or a destroyer? A multiplier or a diminisher?” She helps pick apart the way managers try to motivate and inspire in order to truly understand how to make the people around you smarter and better, rather than making yourself smarter and better. A diminisher may think he/she is the smartest and best person in the room but a multiplier makes everyone else the smartest and the best in the room.
Enjoy these great titles and keep on learning! From your financial, tax and legal partners at GQLaw.
Taxpayer Advocate’s Annual Report to Congress
Taxpayer Advocate’s Annual Report to Congress
The National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina E. Olson, recently released her annual report to Congress. This report creates a dialogue within the IRS and the highest levels of government to address taxpayers’ problems, protect taxpayers’ rights, and ease taxpayers’ burden. The report lists the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers, gives legislative recommendations and reports on the most top 10 most litigated issues in federal courts.
Olson emphasizes four key points in the preface to the report.
- “First, the budget environment of the last five years has brought about a devastating erosion of taxpayer service, harming taxpayers individually and collectively;
- “Second, the lack of effective administrative and congressional oversight, in conjunction with the failure to pass taxpayer rights legislation, has eroded taxpayer protections enacted 16 or more years ago;
- “Third, the combined effect of these trends is reshaping U.S. tax administration in ways that are not positive for future tax compliance or for public trust in the fairness of the tax system; and
- “Fourth, this downward slide can be addressed if Congress makes an investment in the IRS and holds it accountable for how it applies that investment.”
This year’s report identified the following as the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers:
- Taxpayer Service is Poor and Getting Worse
- The declining quality of service is alarming. In the coming year the IRS is unlikely to answer even half of the telephone calls it receives!
This is why you need an experienced tax attorney like Gary Quackenbush on your side! If you have tax problems, he knows how to be sure to get his calls answered and your problems under control.
- Lack of Service in Local IRS Offices
- There are not enough IRS employees in local communities who understand local economies. This may hurt taxpayers as it makes it harder for them to comply with their federal tax obligations.
The Recommendation to Congress is that they codify the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The IRS has adopted a Taxpayer Bill of Rights but it is not yet officially codified by Congress. The report also recommends that Congress enact comprehensive tax reform, as simplification would make things easier for both taxpayers and the IRS.
For more information or to read the full report click the link to the Taxpayer Advocate website. Be sure to also check out their easy to understand graphics with a summary of key points.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that helps taxpayers and protects taxpayer rights.
We here at Law Offices of Gary Quackenbush are also here to help you with your tax problems. With years of experience working with both the IRS and Taxpayer Advocate Service we know just how to help you with your tac problems. Call us today to set up your free initial consultation 858-549-8600. We look forward to meeting you!
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This information was gathered from the Taxpayer Advocate’s website and is not intended as legal counsel. Please make an appointment for you FREE consultation with our experienced tax law team so we can advise you about your particular tax situation.
An Entrepreneurs’ Gift
An Entrepreneurs’ Gift
Lights, presents, family, food and more food. Everybody loves the holidays. A time when people seem to be a little nicer and just a little more giving. In light of the holiday season, David Hagenbuch, Associate Professor of Marketing at Messiah College and founder of MindfulMarketing.org gives a shout out to entrepreneurs and their gifts to the world.
The 3 Gifts Entrepreneurs Give to the World:
1. Ideas
“We live in a society where it’s so easy to be a critic and point out what’s wrong in what others have done. Meanwhile, it’s much more challenging to create — to come up with a new approach that no one has ever thought of before, or to make an incremental improvement to an already good concept. Such new ideas are golden.
“New ideas also implant a sense of optimism and hope: We don’t need to accept the status quo. Things can be different. Things can be better.”
2. Innovations
“Innovations from entrepreneurs such as Johannes Gutenberg, Henry Ford and Steve Jobs have enriched humanity throughout history and transformed our world. From the minute we wake in the morning until the moment we lay down to sleep at night, entrepreneurial products and services facilitate our work, play and nearly every other activity we perform.”
3. Employment
“Many professions offer extraordinary gifts to individuals and society: physicians give health, teachers impart wisdom, judges bestow justice, counselors offer direction and soldiers provide protection. What do entrepreneurs give of such significance? Jobs.
“To provide another with gainful employment is one of the most profound gifts one can give. While doctors heal people physically, business owners heal people economically. A job allows someone to provide for his/her own needs as well as those of loved ones and even others. Employment is much more than financial security, however. For most people, meaningful work helps provide them with a sense of purpose and supports their self-worth.”
For these three reasons, today GQ Law would like to say ‘thank you’ to all of you entrepreneurs out there. It’s that spirit of innovation, creation and giving that employs our families, drives our economy and gives us opportunity.
From one entrepreneur to another, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
rimbatoto
Spotlight on Gary Quackenbush, San Diego Attorney
San Diego Attorney Gary Quackenbush
Did you know San Diego attorney Gary Quackenbush has been practicing law since 1988! That’s a long time. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, Gary continued his education at Cal Western School of Law in San Diego, California .
He’s a fun loving family man with four kids and 4 grandkids with one more on the way. Outside of the office Gary loves to rock climb, water ski and spend time traveling with his wife, Cheryl, to see his kids and grandkids who currently live all over the country.
Gary Quackenbush is not just an in office San Diego Attorney, he can also be heard multiple times a week on the radio and anytime online! You can also catch the same episodes of GQ On The Law Radio on Stitcher radio here. His podcasts cover topics from goal setting and New Years resolutions to “financial fitness”, bankruptcy and taxes. (Stitcher allows for on-demand listening to full episodes where iTunes plays a preview and allows you to download the full episode to add to your library).
Recently Gary was spotlighted on the website of Craig Sewing, a well known San Diego radio and TV personality. Read the featured post here. Then stay tuned to KCBQ 1170 weekdays from 6-8pm to catch Gary and many of Craig’s other Financial and Real Estate Elite on air live.
Why You Need a Power of Attorney
Why You Need a Power of Attorney
When I first heard about a “Power of Attorney” I figured it was what you got after finishing law school and taking the Bar. The good news is that a Power of Attorney is much simpler than that! There is no rigorous three years of law school required to get a Power of Attorney, instead you just need a few documents, someone who DID go to law school who can help you (Gary Quackenbush!) and a clear head to make some decisions.
So what is a Power of Attorney document all about and why do you need one? Watch this video of Gary and Coronado Real Estate agent Ruth Ann Fisher on the Craig Sewing Show as they discuss how a Power of Attorney could have saved Ruth Ann’s in-laws a lot of grief when her father-in-law was seriously injured and unable to sign real estate documents right as they were about to sell a house.
*Power of Attorney discussion starts at 2:16*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC34Tlyy0JA
Power of Attorney (P.O.A.) : A document giving someone else power to act in your behalf.
This can be absolutely essential, in health care, end of life, financial and business decisions if you were to become legally incompetent. Without a Power of Attorney document, there may be no way for your family members or business associates to carry out your wishes, sell your house, run your business, etc.
There are three types of Power of Attorney in California.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
A healthcare POA allows you to choose someone to be your representative, called an “agent,” and make healthcare decisions for you if you were not capable or able to make them yourself. This comes in to play most often due to illness, injury, or incapacitation.
A Living Will, another essential part of a complete Estate Plan, usually only covers life-sustaining medical treatment. A Healthcare POA covers a lot more situations and is not limited to terminally ill or permanent coma situations.
Why do I need a healthcare POA? We understand that these health care possibilities are things that most people don’t like to think about. Most of us think “That will never happen to me!” The problem lies in the fact that accidents and illnesses do happen and we have little to no control over whether or not they happen to us. Think of it like car insurance, nobody wants to get in a car accident and getting insurance isn’t saying that you will get in accident, its just the right thing to do to protect yourself and those around you. Setting up a healthcare power of attorney will save your family members a lot of problems and potentially conflict, should something happen to you.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Power of Attorney
HIPPA governs how and with whom healthcare providers share your healthcare information. A HIPPA POA allows you to clearly allow your “agent” to receive all your healthcare information.
Why do I need a HIPPA POA? Due to the restrictions set in place to protect your privacy, even with an agent designated as a healthcare power of attorney, without a HIPPA power of attorney, healthcare providers may not be able to share all the details of your medical situation with the person you set up as your agent on your Healthcare POA. Your “agent” needs all of your healthcare information in order to make an informed decision on your behalf.
Durable Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney allows you to choose who will be able to act on your behalf in a number of financial and business situations if you were unable to do so yourself. This is the type of POA that would have helped Ruth Ann’s in-laws when they were about to sell their house and her father-in-law was seriously injured and was unable to sign the Real Estate documents. Since both her mother and father-in-law’s names were on the deed, without a durable POA set up, there was nobody else who could sign for her father-in-law.
Why do I need a durable POA? A recent Forbes article that is referenced in the YouTube video above spells it out clearly
“If you do not have a Durable Power of Attorney and are unable to manage your affairs, a court may need to appoint a guardian or guardians to act on your behalf – often without your input or agreement. And in the meantime, critical financial or business decisions or transactions won’t be carried out – and that negatively impact you or your loved ones.”
All in all, you need a Power of Attorney so that if misfortune strikes, there can be order and peace with your life and your affairs. Make the decision today to protect your future and make an appointment to come in and set up some Power of Attorney documents with San Diego’s expert estate planning attorney Gary Quackenbush. He’s been helping people just like you for years and can help you understand the ins and outs of the documents and make sure that everything you want gets lined up.
Call us today at 858-549-8600 or 855-MY-GQLaw
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This information is general information about California law. Laws change frequently. This is not a substitute for professional legal counsel. Please come in to our office for a free consolation to get advise about your individual situation.
Top CEO’s on How to Conduct Meetings
Top CEO’s on How to Conduct Meetings
Drake Baer, Business Insider writer and entrepreneurship expert, shares some fantastic principles from a few of today’s top execs on how to conduct meetings. Here are a few excerpts from his article (full version here):
Opsware CEO and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz likes to have one-to-one meetings.
Horowitz, who spends much of his time mentoring young leaders, says that most important job for a CEO is to architect the way people communicate in a company.
The one-to-one meeting is essential to that process, he says, as it’s the best place for ideas and critiques to flow up from employees to management.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg sticks to a strict agenda.
Sandberg brings a spiral-bound notebook with her to every meeting. In that notebook is a list of discussion points and action items.
“She crosses them off one by one, and once every item on a page is checked, she rips the page off and moves to the next,” Fortune reports. “If every item is done 10 minutes into an hour-long meeting, the meeting is over.”
The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs kept meetings as small as possible.
He ran meetings with a similar minimalism. He hated when they were too big, because too many minds in a room got in the way of simplicity.
Jobs carried the same standard with himself: When US President Barack Obama asked him to a meeting of tech darlings, he declined. The guest list was too long.
Google CEO Larry Page says no one should wait for a meeting to make a decision.
“No decision should ever wait for a meeting,” the email reads. “If a meeting absolutely has to happen before a decision should be made, then the meeting should be scheduled immediately.”
As you can tell, there’s no perfect agenda, no perfect structure and no one size fits all answer on how to conduct meetings. The idea is to make sure employees feel like their opinions are heard, that ideas come out and that there’s no settling for mediocrity.
Here at GQLaw we like to meet with you one-on-one to help you with your tax, legal and financial questions. We look forward to spending time with you!
