Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
YOU want to help your children go to college and if you’re like most parents, you would do anything to help them get a good education. At some point, you may be asked to co-sign your child student’s loans. That may be fine but my question is: Do you really understand what you are getting…
WE discussed previously the requirement for consistent basis reporting between the person receiving the property and the decedent’s estate. Applicability of filing requirements for US Citizens for transfer certificate. 1. Citizen of the US including with dual citizenship upon death and died after December 31, 1976. 2. Part A. Decedent’s worldwide estate exceeds the unified…
SOMETIMES debtors cannot decide whether they should seek debt relief through Chapter 7 wipe out of all dischargeable debts or a consolidation and reorganization through a Chapter 13. They usually ask me what they should do in their financial situation. I know after handling thousands of bankruptcy cases in the last 30 years, debtors are…
Q: TWO years ago, I signed up with an agency to work as a nursing assistant assigned to patients in private homes. Recently, the agency asked me to sign a document stating that I am an “independent contractor” and I was now going to be a “1099 worker.” I received a W-2 before this. I…
(Part 1 of 3) WHILE audit penetration has, decreased, the quality of audits has improved. Auditors undergo specialization training. They conduct economic reality audits that involve looking at issues beyond your tax returns into how you survive with the amount of income that you report. This intrusion into the lifestyle of taxpayers has become disturbing….
Robert “Bobby” Murphy named one of the youngest billionaires in the world The introduction of the smartphone in the mid-2000s and the genesis of the start-up business culture ushered in a new wave of entrepreneurs who are making billions through technological innovations. One of those billionaires is Filipino-American Robert “Bobby” Murphy, who, along with business…
In a CNN report written by Paolo Taruc on September 21, 2015, the Philippines emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing economies with an average gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.2% per year from 2010 to 2014. The figure represents the highest growth in nearly four decades, according to the National Economic and Development Authority…
Client filed for Chapter 7 without lawyer in 2008 did not get discharge CLIENT is 65 and a widow. Wanting some male attention, I guess, she posted her picture on the Internet. She looks much younger in the posted picture. She showed me the picture. She looked like she was 48. But she said that the…
COREPOWER Yoga (CPY) owns a chain of yoga studios throughout the country, including at least thirty-one studio locations in California, and offering yoga classes throughout the day. CPY operated a “Yoga for Trade” (YFT) program where studio managers scheduled yoga students for shifts during which they cleaned and performed other project-based work at the…
IF you’ve accumulated a lot of debt and something has happened in your life that’s made it difficult to pay your bills, you are not alone. After almost 18 years of practice as a debt relief attorney, I know that bad things can happen to good, honest and decent people. If you are going through…
Two major requirements under the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015: 1. The estate executor or others required to file an estate tax return Form 706 after July 31, 2015, should provide Form 8971 and Schedule A to the IRS to report the final estate tax value of the property…
Senior needs Chapter 13 to stop sale of $1.0M house by judgment lien of $30K “ Don’t wait until the last minute. Credit card debt must be wiped out now by Chapter 7 or 13. Otherwise, these debts will become lawsuits that become judgment liens that will put your house at risk. If you wipe…
Q: I WAS severely injured in a recent car accident while returning to work on an errand. I had to undergo multiple surgeries. I missed several weeks of work and will need more time off for treatments. I am afraid to tell my employer about my need for more time off because I might be…
THIS is the second of three articles on how the IRS selects tax returns for audit. Our first article discussed how tax returns are received, verified, and reviewed. This article deals with how your tax returns are stored into master files. The next and last article will discuss how the IRS scores your tax returns…
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? If you’re like most people, perhaps you felt momentarily lost and confused or perhaps even panicked, not knowing what was…
1. Non-recognition rules of property settlement between spouses. There is no gain or loss recognized on a transfer of property incident to a divorce under IRC section 1041. Sample 1 Toni receives payments from her ex-husband in return for her agreement to abandon her claim to ex-husband’s retirement benefits. The payments are for the transfer…
Senior needs Chapter 13 to stop sale of $1.0M house by judgment lien of $30K CLIENT is 61. Her husband is 60. In my book, they are young seniors. They bought their house in 2006 just before the crash of the housing market. They used a zero down 10 years interest only mortgage for the…
SEXUAL misconduct in the workplace is more common than most people think. In many instances, victims do not complain for fear of retaliation, of being disbelieved, or for sheer embarrassment. However, it is only by filing a complaint can a victim of sexual misconduct at work obtain justice. Consider the following story from an actual…
DID you ever wonder how the IRS selects tax returns to be audited? Here’s a three-part series on how tax returns are received, stored, and chosen for audit: • How e-filed and paper-filed tax returns are verified, validated, and reviewed for accuracy. • How tax returns are stored into master files. • How IRS scores…
THE current political environment has disturbed many immigrants. The administration has touted that immigration laws will strictly be enforced, with tough talk on rounding up immigrants for deportation. This has sowed fear and confusion among immigrants, especially the undocumented. Immigrant workers are especially vulnerable to threats as many employers exploit immigrant workers for cheap labor….
REPUBLICAN president-elect Donald Trump unveiled a new framework for his revised tax plan. Basically, his plan simplifies the tax code – reduce tax rates, simplify provisions, and reform business taxation. His fellow Republicans control both the House and Senate so he’ll probably deliver on most of promised tax reforms that we have not seen since…
ONE thing certain about debt problems is that most of them don’t just go away by themselves. They’re there when you go to bed at night and they’re still there when you get up in the morning. It’s almost impossible to have peace of mind when you’re in debt because you are constantly worrying about…
ARE your “golden years” golden? Not so for more and more Americans age 65 and older. The rate of personal bankruptcy filings among those ages 65 or older soared by 150% from 1991 to 2007, according to AARP. The biggest jump in bankruptcy filings occurred among people aged 75 to 84; their rate skyrocketed 433%….
Formerly rich seniors need Chapter 7 relief “ We have strength for all things in Christ who empowers us – He infuses us with inner strength and we are self sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency!” CLIENT is 65. She still works middle management and earns $37K yearly. Although she is married, I would say that she…
Q: I HAVE been working five years for a company (with over 200 employees) in Los Angeles. My wife just gave birth to our first child. Being a new father, I want to be there and bond with my new baby. When I asked my boss about parental leave, he laughed at me. But when…
1. TAX Day is April 18, 2017: While we are accustomed to a filing tax deadline of April 15, this day falls on a Saturday so the deadline is moved to Monday April 17, but the District of Columbia observes this day as Emancipation Day, so this year’s tax deadline is pushed further back to…
Is non-admission of guilt the same as innocence? SONNY Low is a 71-year old San Diego resident, who took the free introductory Trump University seminar. Trump University persuaded Low to pay $1,500 in order to attend another seminar. During the second seminar, Low was told that he needed to have a mentor in order to succeed…
“ Workers in ‘substantially similar’ jobs but of different races or ethnicity will need to be paid equal wages.” (Part 2 of 2) TEXTING While Driving: Texting is already forbidden, but new law further prohibits drivers from using smartphones for other purposes while behind the wheel — unless they’re in hands-free mode. The state’s ban on…
IF you are experiencing debt problems, you may find it difficult to talk to other people about it to the point that you are not getting the help that you need to find a solution. I understand. Debt is a very personal matter so most people don’t feel comfortable discussing it with anyone. So they…
CLIENT is 64, a young senior. I say young because I consider seniors in their sixties as still active and robust. Except for more white hair, they still feel like they are 30. The problem with being in the sixties is that seventy is just around the corner. Now when one becomes 70, after ten…
