Frustrated typing emails on your BlackBerry? Turn it into a laptop! Freedom Input’s new Freedom Universal Keyboard is a wireless Bluetooth keyboard that allows you to type e-mails and memos quickly on your PDA, Pocket PC or cellphone. It’s easy to use and is the world’s only dual standard full-sized folding keyboard, giving users the feel of an actual desktop keyboard. Get one for $114.99 at FreedomInput.com.
Beauty & The Brief
Since 1987, the Jack Georges brand has been known to make the best briefcases in the universe. Always offering classic, durable, and über-stylish products, they grant all customers a lifetime warranty. Their Sienna line is handmade from individually custom-stained vegetable tanned leather from Tuscany. Prices range from the low $300s to the high $400s. To get to your next business meeting in style, visit JackGeorges.com.
Last Chance
Many American citizens, Green Card holders, and foreign nationals who spent more than four months yearly in the U.S. on a regular basis are headed for a confrontation with the Internal Revenue Service. Tax law requires all people falling into these categories to report the income from foreign bank/securities accounts on their 1040s, and to send a form (FBAR) memorializing these accounts to the U.S. Treasury. Failure to comply can result in penalties of up to 50% of the balance of the account plus a potential prison term of up to five years. IRS Commissioner Shulman has declared an amnesty period; anyone in violation of these requirements can voluntarily comply up to Sept. 23. For those who participate in voluntary compliance, the IRS will waive any criminal charges and limit the penalty on the amount in the account to 20% instead of the normal 50%. Generally the voluntary disclosures will require:
1. Payment of all taxes and interest for the previous six years.
2. Assessment of an accuracy penalty of (20%) or a delinquency penalty (25%) for all years.
3. An FBAR penalty of 20% of the highest account balance during the six-year period.
The IRS provided an example of an individual who’s had $1 million in a foreign account, which earned 5% a year ($50,000). The cost for this individual to make a voluntary disclosure for this unreported income from this foreign account would be $386,000 (38.6% of amount in the account), plus interest.
The IRS rarely gives away anything voluntarily so if you are a citizen, Green Card holder or a foreign national who spent more than four months yearly in the U.S. on a regular basis, this may well be your last chance to become compliant with U.S. tax rules, before one of the 3,200 new IRS employees discover your non-compliance and impose penalties up to and including criminal charges!
› Ronald A. Marini, Esq. & Robert S. Blumenfeld, Esq. of Marini and Associates PA, offers experienced advice and tenacious representation to clients from around the world. For a consultation, call 305.374.4424 or visit TaxLaw.ms.
“I’m not a paranoid, deranged millionaire. I’m a billionaire.
— Howard Hughes
Better in Time
Most successful entrepreneurs would agree that going through old biz books you read years ago or during your MBA could help you interpret old concepts you learned in a new, profitable light.
Money Magnet
If you want to detect if a $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100 bill is legitimate, try luring it with a magnet. Real U.S. currency has microscopic iron particles injected in the ink that are hard to replicate.
Recession TV
ABC’s Shark Tank aims to make or break the dreams of aspiring entrepreneurs who try to work out a deal with a panel of 5 millionaires and billionaires who have to decide whether to invest or not.
