Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Businessman considers bankruptcy for $400K lawsuit I ASKED him if he owed any debts. He said he owed $60K of credit card debt but that they were all still current. I asked him if he was thinking of filing a Chapter 7 petition to wipe out the $60K of credit card debt and the bank…
CHRISTOPHER Mendoza and Meagan Gordon are former sales associates of Nordstrom, Inc., a retail chain with locations throughout California. Mendoza and Gordon worked more than six consecutive days in a week with some shifts that lasted six hours or less. Both employees sued Nordstrom claiming that the employer failed to provide them the required day…
1. DON’T volunteer information. A typical agent is a low-key, friendly agent. They get your guard down by playing a nice guy role. Don’t be deceived by it. Remember that he (includes her) is not on your side. He may appear to be, but he is not. 2. Don’t be a blabbermouth. Taxpayers are scared…
IF you’ve ever found yourself financially broke or buried in debt at one point in your life, I’m sure you still remember how it felt. The feelings of despair and helplessness, the sleepless nights, the endless anxiety about the future- A lot of people will never understand until they have experienced it for themselves. From…
THE landlord or its representative must give the tenant a reasonable written notice in advance before entering the unit, and can enter only during normal business hours generally, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. The notice must state the date, approximate time and purpose of entry. Under California Civ. Code § 1954 landlord may…
CLIENTis 48, married, and has a good job paying him $100K gross a year. A family emergency has caused him some financial hardship because money meant to pay for the house and credit cards were used instead for medical expenses of his brother abroad. Brother is only 35 and single and lives abroad, waiting his…
“ If you are saddled with debt, now is the time to get them discharged. Better now than later when you are about to retire. ” CLIENT is 48, married, and has a good job paying him $100K gross a year. A family emergency has caused him some financial hardship because money meant to pay…
Q: I worked in a company for over 10 years. A new supervisor and I do not get along. Last week, the company let me go without any explanation. I don’t have any disciplinary record. Can the company just fire me without a good reason? A: Yes, an employer may fire an employee without a…
“ Avoid low gross receipts and few but unusually high expenses.” 1. DO not hide interest and dividend income from the IRS, even if your spouse may not be aware of some savings and stock brokerage accounts. Remember Murphy’s Law—your bitter half will learn about it at a worse time later when IRS sends notice…
HAVE you ever faced a situation in your life where you needed help so badly but you were just too afraid to ask for it? Perhaps you felt confused and overwhelmed with the problem that you spent sleepless nights trying to figure out what to do. Or maybe you were afraid of being judged, I…
Q: TWO WEEKS AGO I WAS FIRED FROM WORK. MY EMPLOYER TOLD ME MY LAST PAYCHECK WILL BE MAILED TO ME BY NEXT PAYDAY. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT YET. WHEN I CALLED THE COMPANY TO ASK WHERE MY CHECK IS, I WAS TOLD IT WAS ON THE WAY. I WAITED AGAIN BUT STILL NO…
YOUR credit card payments are past due. You’re confused and don’t know what to do. The bill collectors are calling you non-stop and writing you threatening letters. What do you do? Should you just file bankruptcy? Or are there other options? Most people are unaware that credit card companies will negotiate with you if they…
HOW do you determine if the person visiting you either at your business or at home or calling you are not an IRS imposter? Look for two forms of credentials. IRS Knocks at your door – why it happens and what you need to do when it happens: • Reasons why an IRS visits you…
“ If you are saddled with debt, now is the time to get them discharged.Better now than later.” CLIENT is 48, married and has a good job paying him $100K gross a year. A family emergency has caused him some financial hardship because money meant to pay for the house and credit cards were used…
Someone uses your social security number to file a fraudulent tax return to claim a refund or get a job. An employer’s tax identification is stolen to create a false Forms W-2 to support fraudulent refunds. When To Know Your Identity Has Been Stolen – The IRS Send You A Notice: • You filed more…
Q:I WORK as a nurse at a hospital that has a strict policy of no unapproved overtime, and no going on breaks unless we are relieved by another nurse. We are forced to skip our breaks if there is no reliever (which happens a lot because we are often understaffed). As for overtime, we don’t…
BE conservative with deductions if you want to avoid audits. Be aggressive and you increase your risk of IRS scrutiny. Play the odds and you invite an audit. The question then is—is it worth the risk? No, it’s not. Saving a few dollars compared with what could be a disastrous experience of dealing with the…
“ Let me get one thing straight, just because you can pay your minimum monthly payments each month doesn’t necessarily mean that you do not have a debt problem” WHILE credit can be a great asset when used wisely, a lot of people tend to misuse it and they acquire more debts than they could…
PART 1 CUSTOMER Service Dashboard: The goal is provide tools and resources in resolving tax matters. The “Customer Service Dashboard” was launched in March 1, 2017 with estimated time frames for your wait time. For more information go to: https://www.ftb.ca.gov Deductions for Taxes Paid or California Other State Tax Credit (OSTC) Legal Ruling 2017-01: California resident…
FIRST client is 48 and married in the last 4 years. Husband was a foreigner who professed his love for her in so many ways. Unfortunately, his love for her was actually for her U.S. citizenship. Client, who had never been married before, fell head over heels for her newfound Romeo whom she met in…
“ Trump’s plan will help more low-income workers to avoid taxes, not to pay income taxes.” ACCORDING to the Tax Foundation’s Taxes and Growth Model, the Trump tax plan would increase the long-run size of the economy by 7% under a higher-rate assumption, or 8% under a lower-rate assumption. The larger economy would result in…
HAVE you heard the story of a poor, old beggar who died one day- and to everyone’s amazement, a money belt found wrapped around his waist contained thousands of dollars in cash? Apparently, he had found the money belt one day while rummaging through trash. He decided to keep it but never realized that it…
PART 1 THE focus of an audit is whether independent contractors should actually be treated as employees. The unpaid taxes for misclassified employees include income taxes, federal unemployment, and FICA withholding and you are on the hook. Here are some TIPS of what you can do now to help mitigate from worker classification audit: •…
“ The Chapter 13 trustee, unlike the Chapter 7 trustee, does not have the power to sell debtor’s house. So, in Chapter 13, there is no risk of losing debtor’s house. But in Chapter 13, client must pay at least $30K over 60 months, or $500 a month.” CLIENT no. 1 is 50 years old…
A MAJOR thrust of the Trump Tax Plan is to bring back jobs to America. Large multi-nationals left and set up operations in foreign countries to avoid our corporate tax rates – the highest in the developed world. We need tax incentives to get them back. Corporate Tax Rates: Trump wants to cut corporate income…
WE’VE all been there. Those moments when almost anything that could go wrong DOES go wrong in our finances. As human beings, we all want to be safe and secure but life doesn’t provide any assurances. Perhaps you are going through financial and debt problems through no fault of your own. Whether self-caused or caused…
EACH year brings hundreds of new laws to Californians and the year 2017 is no exception. Cell phones while driving AB No. 1785: Any electronic devices including smart phones will be illegal to hold and use while driving. Drivers who want to use their smart phones must have it mounted on the dashboard or vehicle…
FIRST client is 45 and single. His gross income last year was $98K, which is good. It reached $98K because of bonus. Without bonus, his gross income is $72K. This year started out for him with nothing to expect by way of bonus. So his last four months gross income was $6K a month, net…
CYNTHIA Begazo, then 53 years old, was hired in March 2015, as the Human Resources Director at Passages Malibu, an addiction treatment center in Malibu, CA. Shortly after starting work, she learned that some workers were not being paid overtime and were not provided meal and rest breaks. She reported this to the CEO, Pax…
HERE are proposed tax changes that could affect individuals like you and me. Individual Tax Rates: President Trump plans to simplify the tax code by condensing the current seven rates into three – 12%, 25%, and 33%. Most Americans will go down in bracket but a few will go up to a higher tax rate….
