26 Feb
Posted by Brian Anderson as Corporate Finance
Debt is much more than just a financial issue. It elicits all sorts of emotions.
Last week, my colleague Jacqueline Cohen, expressed her reactions to Edwina Curries remarks on a BBC Radio 5 Live phone in when a callers financial situation was cross examined by the former Tory MP for Derbyshire.
Edwina Currie was a guest on Nicky Campbells daily radio programme on an episode called Are you facing financial ruin?
20 Feb
Posted by Brian Anderson as Corporate Finance
Last month, while most people were preparing their Christmas lists, Louis Alba, a New York contractor, plead guilty to criminal tax charges of failing to pay over to IRS employment taxes withheld from employee wages in the amount of almost $780,000 over approximately six years. Failure to pay over payroll taxes is considered a felony under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 7202. It is punishable by up to five years in jail, and a fine of up to $250,000. In the current economic environment business owners who are strapped for cash sometimes decide to “borrow” from the IRS by not paying the payroll taxes. The theory is that if cash is tight, and the vendors aren’t paid there will be no more merchandise to sell, and therefore the business will go under quickly. The same with the landlord; don’t pay the rent, and one can expect an eviction notice in short order.
Credit Card Perks You Didnt Know You Had
Did you know you have credit card perks beyond just being able to make purchases? Every year, I receive the same letters from the credit card companies that you do – they come in a white envelope. Inside youll find the terms and conditions pamphlet. You know youre not going to read it and you assume the company is not going to take advantage of you so you toss it in the trash.
A mistake indeed because that pamphlet includes all of the perks you probably didnt know you had.
Credit card perks are not often mentioned by the companies unless you are comparing credit card offers. They throw these in to sway you into signing up for their card over another one. The problem is, once the card arrives in the mail, you are using it and you forget all about any promised perks.
The following are some of the best credit card perks out there. Keep
09 Feb
Posted by Brian Anderson as Corporate Finance
Further to the success of his blog on Lloyds, Creditor Liaison Team Leader, Chris Brown, takes a moment to put fingers to keyboard and finally, tell us how it is.
Photo credit to Pat Pilon
It’s a common experience for many of our debt management clients, that the first few weeks of a plan can be the most difficult. Contact from creditors does not stop overnight and it is during this time that we write to creditors explaining our client/s have chosen to enter into a debt management plan. I
30 Jan
Posted by Brian Anderson as Corporate Finance
In IRS Notice IR 2012-3 the IRS announced that innocent spouse defenses pursuant to IRC Section 6015(f) will become a little easier. Generally there are three different kinds of innocent spouse defenses, each with its own rules and exceptions. IRS Notice 2012-8, which somewhat confusingly was announced in IRS Notice IR 2012-3, sets out a proposed new Revenue Procedure which will supersede Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2003-61. IRS Notice 20012-8 addresses the criteria used in making innocent spouse relief determinations under the equitable relief criteria of Internal Revenue Code Section 6015(f). The IRS Notice covers several topics. It provides for certain streamlined determinations; it creates new guidance on the potential impact of economic hardship, and the weight to be accorded to certain facts in determining equitable innocent spouse relief.