Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, November 20, signed 29 agreements signifying a “milestone in the history of exchange” between the two countries. “Thanks to our joint efforts, we have made productive the results in cooperation in all areas bringing benefits to our two peoples and making a contribution to…
IN February 2018, the IRS started certification of individuals with delinquent tax debt to the State Department. How will the IRS certification impact you? • Upon receipt of certification. The State Department will either deny application or revoke current passport or both. • You are overseas. Limited validity passport for direct return to the US…
1. 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…
The municipal government of El Nido on Thursday, November 15, announced that a total of 50 more tourism establishments are now facing closure for violating the three-meter coastal easement policy in the town. El Nido town administrator RJ de la Calzada said that the establishments that violated the environmental rules have been given a two-week…
CES (Consumer Electronics Show) gives us a glimpse of the next mega trend in consumer technology. Each January, tech giants from around the world gather to show off their latest inventions in Las Vegas. Let me give you a list of our favorites at the tech show earlier this year. 1. Robots of all Kinds:…
“To prevail on a harassment claim, the employee must show that the conduct created a hostile work environment. A hostile work environment is one in which harassment occurs that is severe, frequent, or both.” AUGUSTINE Caldera worked as a correctional officer at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) for 20 years. Caldera, who stutters when…
1. 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…
IF you are one of the millions of homeowners who survived the mortgage crisis in 2008, you have something to be grateful for. In 2008 alone, close to 900,000 homeowners were in foreclosure. This went on for several years until about 2011 and 2012. Hundreds of thousands lost their homes. Dreams were shattered. Banks were…
IN part 1: we defined 1) who are resident aliens, nonresident aliens or both, 2) who are exempt individuals, and 3) closer connection exception. In part 2: we defined 1) how resident aliens and nonresident aliens are taxed, 2) when is income considered U.S. sourced, 3) withholding requirement and employee issues. In part 3: we…
MOST people who are struggling with debt problems for the first time are often confused and don’t know what to do. They’ve never been in this situation before. They have always paid their bills on time. For the first time in their life, they are finding it difficult to fulfill their debt obligations. Bill collectors…
CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is the largest trade fair for consumer electronics. It’s presented by Consumer Technology Association (CTA) annually in Las Vegas. It has been our tech bell weather for more than 50 years. CES features the latest products from 4,500 exhibiting companies from around the world. CES gives us a glimpse of the…
A GROUP of flight attendants from Virgin America, Inc. sued the company for unpaid wages and missed breaks. The employees alleged that Virgin did not pay them for the following: hours worked before, after, and between flights; time spent completing incident reports; time spent in training; time spent taking mandatory drug tests The employees also…
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 any other kind of business entity. Other business entities used…
A LEI or a flower garland is more than something you wear around your neck, as it is a message of welcome, congratulations, love, sympathy and many more. Used around the world, the earliest record of flower garlands being sold in Egypt was shortly before the birth of Christ. However, the proliferation of leis…
SUSANNA Smith worked as a superintendent, and Cleve Pell worked as an operations officer for the Montebello Unified School District (MUSD). In the course of doing their jobs, Smith and Pell discovered that Ruben Rojas, the Board of Education and Chief Business Officer of the school district, obtained his position by misrepresenting his past employment…
“It’s becoming clear that the choice she has to make is to be able to make the mortgage payment or the credit card payment.” THE client is 53 and recently widowed. She works as a caregiver and met her now-deceased husband through her job. At first, the husband was her patient. She provided…
If you plan to trade stocks, it helps to get an understanding of basic terms that are mentioned frequently on TV, radio, and social media. There are three Major indices: 1.Dow Jones Industrial Average. 2. S&P 500. 3. Nasdaq Composite. 1. Dow Jones Industrial Average is the oldest index, dating back to 1896. It tracks…
A lot of people who consult with me about their debt problems are going through the worst time of their lives. Unlike other problems in life that sometimes just go away on their own, debt problems will only get worse unless you do something about them. While dealing with debt and coming up with a…
AMOUNTS for tax returns in 2018 are compared with amounts in 2017. Exemption credits: a. $118 from $114 – Single, Married filing separately, Head of Household. b. $236 from $228 – Married filing jointly. c. $367 from $353 – Dependent. d. $118 from $114 – Age 65 or older. You are considered to be 65…
THE Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) on Wednesday, October 24, found a total of P20 increase in daily minimum wage to be the “acceptable” amount for workers to recover from the lost of purchasing power brought by inflation. This is said to be way below the P344 wage increase that the labor group Associated…
YES, definitely! These are the best of times to invest in the stock market. If you are not trading stocks now, you are missing the longest bull run in history. It may not be too late. We may still have a year or two before the party is over. Returns have been awesome. The internet…
TRISTAN Do worked as a mechanical engineer at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems Company for eight years without any issues. However, that changed when he started reporting to a new supervisor who unfairly singled him out for performance deficiencies. Do believed that his status as a gay man played a role in the supervisor’s harassing…
“Creditors have to pay lawyers to file the lawsuits and get the judgment and liens. They cost money as everyone knows. Trump paid his personal lawyer Cohen hundreds of thousands of legal fees Lawyers cost money. That’s a fact of life.” THE client is 71. Her husband died five years ago, so she lives with her unmarried…
“Bankruptcy is never a fun thing to do or just an easy way out for people who simply want to run away from their obligations. The fact is that most people want to do the right thing and pay their creditors but their situation has gotten so bad that without bankruptcy, they would simply be…
SOCIAL networking site Facebook on Tuesday, October 23, has shut down a total of 95 pages and 39 accounts linked to President Rodrigo Duterte and Imee Marcos, daughter of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos for operating as a “spam network.” According to a statement from Facebook, the said pages and accounts were “encouraging people to…
• YOU may need to pay quarterly estimated taxes unless tax owed is less than $1,000 upon filing of the tax return or you do not owe any taxes in prior year if you have income from business as sole proprietor, or receiving K-1 as a partner or shareholder of S-corporation. Refer to IRS Publication…
Last week’s sell off inspired me to write today’s article to caution you when stock markets dive. When stock prices drop, one’s first reaction is to sell. That’s the worst thing you can do. The best you can do is sit back and wait for the market to recover. If you sell when prices drop,…
THE clients are young seniors at 62. The husband took an early retirement as he has a serious illness. Two years ago, the husband was diagnosed with stage 3 leukemia. He has been undergoing treatment with a new cancer-fighting drug that is still experimental. The cancer went into remission last year but resurfaced recently. I…
(Bonuses and shift differential pay can increase overtime rates) “Under California law, overtime pay is computed on the basis of the employee’s “regular rate” of pay. If the employee receives only an hourly rate, then the hourly rate is the regular rate. Employees may be paid in more than one way, for example, an hourly…
“A K-1 visa allows a foreign national to come to the United States to marry a United States citizen. The K-1 visa is valid for ninety (90) days after entry to the United States, during which time the marriage must take place. Once the foreign national is issued a K-1 visa, any of his/her unmarried…
