Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
THE first client is 75. Her husband passed four years ago and left her with $30,000 of credit card debt. She has been making minimum payments on their credit cards for the last 15 years as far as she can recall at the rate of $800 a month. So in one year, she pays about…
YOU have one shot in asking the IRS to abate (forgive) penalties that have been assessed for late filing, late payment, or audit adjustments. Make this opportunity count. Submit a compelling letter supported with convincing evidence as to why the IRS should abate your penalties. Here’s a list of records to submit to IRS: •…
Next Webinar on Sept. 29 Explores Adding Diversity to Corporate Boards SACRAMENTO – If there was any question about the interest women have in learning how to land a seat on traditionally male-dominated boards that govern public companies headquartered in California, the August 13 webinar cohosted by California Treasurer Fiona Ma answered it. More than six-hundred women…
An app for pc developed by a group of Filipinos that measures the impact of the coronavirus is the winner of NASA’s Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge. Data analysts Nick Tobia, Helen Mary Barrameda, Kristel Joyce Zapata, Theresa Rosario Tan and Miguel Oscar Castelo from CirroLytix created a dashboard for public policymakers and economic planners to…
The Need for Family Governance Then The Philippine business landscape is unquestionably dominated by family-owned businesses. Despite the humble connotation that average men try to pin on it, the truth is that family enterprises are a major force that largely contributes to the economic success of the country. However, family-owned businesses are not without their…
$100 million to go towards rent assistance as pandemic continues THE latest Los Angeles County Rent Relief program created to help county renters who have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis will launch Monday, August 17, and will remain open for a two-week period, closing on August 31. The rent relief program will provide…
California judge denies motions to delay injunction A California judge on Thursday, August 13 denied motions by Uber and Lyft to extend a deadline to appeal a preliminary injunction that ordered the companies to classify their drivers in the state as employees. At a hearing at the San Francisco Superior Court, Judge Ethan Schulman denied…
Your right to expression in the workplace Q: I SAW your article about employee protections for political activities like attending rallies. What about posting political messages on Facebook or other social media sites? Can my employer legally fire me for postings like these? Do they have the right to ask me to take my posts…
THE COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone’s life in only a matter of months. As the virus continues to batter the economy, a lot of people are finding bankruptcy as their only way out. This is a sad reality but if you look on the bright side under the grim circumstances in which you find yourself…
IS there a constitutional right to file for bankruptcy? Yes, there is. The United States Constitution adopted 250 years ago provides for the creation of bankruptcy courts and the power to administer them. Our founding fathers believed that people should be given a chance to have a fresh start in life to become productive again…
IT’S bad enough to receive a tax bill from the IRS. It gets worse when penalties and interest are added. Malo. 1. If the penalty is minimal, do it yourself. You may want to ask a tax accountant to review your letter. 2 .If the amount is substantial, ask a tax professional to represent you….
By: Martin Santiago THE resilience of the housing market continues as mortgage rates hit another all-time low, giving potential buyers more purchasing power and strengthening demand. We expect rates to stay low and continue to propel the purchase market forward. However, the main barrier to rising demand remains the lack of inventory, especially for entry-level…
PHILIPPINE fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) is the latest brand to feel the impact of the coronavirus pandemic after it suffered financial losses due to enforced lockdowns in the country. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the fast-food giant reported a net loss of P10.171 billion from April to June, reversing…
1. THE failure-to-file penalty is generally more than the failure-to-pay penalty. If you cannot pay all the taxes you owe, file anyway to prevent the more costly failure-to-file penalty. 2. The failure-to-file penalty is 5% per month of the unpaid taxes, not to exceed 25%. 3. The failure-to-pay penalty is only ½% per month, not…
Your work and your right to political expression Q: I CARE about today’s issues of social justice – from racial inequality to voting rights suppression to fighting for decent wages. I want to participate in peaceful demonstrations, but wanted to know its effect on my job. Can I be terminated from work if I join…
IF you’re in debt and are considering bankruptcy as an option for you to get needed relief, perhaps just hearing the word “bankruptcy” makes you extremely nervous. Maybe the word conjures up images in your mind of losing everything you have and not having a financial future. Relax. It’s not what you think. Regardless of…
THE client is 53. He is married and owns a house. He used to have a business, which was a DBA sole proprietorship. “DBA” means “doing business as.” Sole proprietorship means that an individual conducts a business in his personal capacity, without a corporation, or other kind of business entity. Other business entities used to…
Nowadays, the Philippines, much like every other country in the world, is facing a very challenging and difficult time. Filipinos’ day-to-day lives have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in many ways: the loss of some family members, jobs and income, mobility, and even homes because of travel restrictions. Because of such challenges, there is…
PATRICIA Samson worked as a portfolio manager for Wells Fargo Bank. On October 28, 2014, Patricia informed her supervisors that she would take a medical leave of absence to recover from chronic endometriosis. The next day, Gwin, her supervisor, sent a meeting invitation entitled “Patricia Displacement Conversation” to his boss, Stender Sweeney. In the message,…
AS our tax laws become more complex, we find it more difficult to comply. The COVID-19 pandemic makes compliance even more challenging. As we fail to comply in filing or paying required taxes, the IRS hits us with certain penalties. The source of these penalties is the Internal Revenue Code which imposes various civil penalties…
WHAT are friends for? Friends, of course, like to help each other. But to what extent and what favors can you ask from a friend? The client’s friend wanted to set up a restaurant. The friend was a chef who had just graduated from culinary school. His idea was to serve street food from his…
A Filipino American has been silently but efficiently disrupting the heavily evolving and saturated market of carbonated beverages, and in this specific case: sparkling water. Meet Sandro Roco, the 31-year-old founder of NYC-based company called Sanzo. The global pandemic has thrown a huge curveball to everyone, derailing business plans all over and forcing some small…
The Philippines’ Bureau of The Treasury issued an invitation to overseas Filipinos to invest in Retail Treasury Bonds (RTB) in a Zoom presentation last Thursday, July 23. The presentation was a joint effort by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), and included…
LIKE most people, you’ve worked hard and have done your best to pay all your bills on time. But in life, at one time or another, we all find ourselves in a a situation where debt can be overwhelming. Many people feel hopeless and powerless over their debt problems. Debt problems can easily spill over…
Asian American labor force and businesses disproportionately disrupted by COVID-19 compared to whites, UCLA report finds LAST week, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that closures were once again being put in place as cases in the state continue to rise. On Friday, July 24, the state reached yet another grim milestone of 159 new COVID-19…
JOURNEY at Pechanga, the par 72, 7,219-yard golf course at Pechanga Resort Casino, is now open with limited operations to maintain the health and safety of guests, team members and the community. The greens on all 18 holes were aerified before opening in late April to provide the best playing conditions possible for many months…
KAREN Martinez worked as a Case Manager for John Muir Health, a health care service corporation operating primarily in Contra Costa County, CA. Martinez was an hourly non-exempt employee who was regularly scheduled to work from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with supposedly a 30-minute unpaid off-duty meal period. When the employer instituted cost cutting…
IRS penalties have been consolidated into two groups: A uniform accuracy-related penalty and a fraud penalty. 1. Accuracy-related penalties are computed at 20% of underpayments attributable to any of the following: A. Negligence or disregard of rules or regulations, B. Substantial understatement of income tax, C. Substantial valuation overstatement, D. Substantial overstatement of pension liabilities….
THE client is 67. Her husband passed away five years ago after a long fight with kidney failure. He was on dialysis for eight years waiting for a kidney transplant. It’s a long wait to get new kidneys from a donor. The average waiting period is 10 years. However, just because it’s been 10 years…
MAYBE you’ve experienced this before. You’re driving down the road one cold, chilly day and before you know it, you find yourself surrounded by a thick white wall of dense fog. How did you react to the situation? If you’re like most people, perhaps you felt momentarily lost and confused or perhaps even panicked, not…
