WHILE there are no guarantees to avoid an audit, there are creative ways to attract one. Below are 12 easy ways to increase your audit profile. Try any combination to help the IRS zero in on your return: 1. Opt out of e-file to use a name different from the one that appears on your…
Q: I WORK as an hourly employee for a private business. There are days when I work more than 8 hours per day. However, instead of paying me overtime, my employer gives me comp time for the hours I worked. What are my rights regarding this employment practice? A:California law allows non-exempt employees to receive,…
BALDWIN PARK—In this placid and sinless community that was misting into early summer evening, the Flores de Mayo (also know as Flores de Maria), a month-long custom and celebration, which is steeped in history and religious beliefs. The month of May culminates with the Santacruzan — the grandest and the most popular religious festival in many towns and cities throughout…
“WHAT would you do to be global citizens, to improve communities, to act locally but think globally? This was one of the challenging questions of Kofi A. Annan, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, as he spoke to UCLA students, staff, and guests during the annual Laskin Lecture in Royce Hall last Thursday night. It…
To commemorate Memorial Day, the Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League, Inc., (PACCAL) nostalgically observed the federal day that honors men and women war veterans. The May 27 event, done in cooperation with the Philippine–American Veterans Organization, Inc. (PAVO) and Filipino-American National Historical Society, Inc. NJ Chapter (FANHS-NJ), was celebrated together with the veterans’ surviving…
Question: I have to escape my country. I don’t know what to do. I want to go to the United States and try to get help. What can I do? Answer: Assuming you do not have proper entry documents, the border patrol will try to remove you from the United States. However, if a person…
YOU can’t hear enough about the fact that mortgage rates are at record lows! Its absolutely true, I have been in the mortgage and RE business for over 25 years and when I started everyone was refinancing out of a 12% rate to a 9% rate back in the later 80’s. Here we are in…
IF YOU are searching for debt reduction solutions, no doubt you’ve been inundated with advertisements for various debt management programs, companies and solutions. The choices seem confusing to the average consumer. The truth is that every situation is different and what may work perfectly for others is not necessarily going to work the same way…
To commemorate Memorial Day, the Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League, Inc., (PACCAL) nostalgically observed the federal day that honors men and women war veterans. The May 27 event, done in cooperation with the Philippine–American Veterans Organization, Inc. (PAVO) and Filipino-American National Historical Society, Inc. NJ Chapter (FANHS-NJ), was celebrated together with the veterans’ surviving…
ONE of the most successful movie actors in the Philippines today John Lloyd Cruz, heads the list of personalities celebrating their birthdays this June. John Lloyd, who won the title of Box-Office King of Philippine Movies three times (2008, 2009 and 2012), will turn 30 on Friday, June 24, which is also the feast of…
The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) provides “age-out” protection for certain children who turned 21 while waiting for their green card or immigrant visa. For children of non-citizens (such as derivative beneficiaries of their parent’s employment or family based petitions, or minor children of immigrants), there is a two-step process: 1. Calculate the child’s age…
Tilapia was in the news lately as a food item that contains “higher levels of potentially detrimental long-chain Omega-6 fatty acids than 80-percent-lean hamburger, doughnuts and even pork bacon.” The study was reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. In biblical times, tilapia was popularly called St Peter’s fish because reportedly, he caught…
Recipients get packages in 7-10 days South San Francisco, Calif., May 30, 2013 – LBC continues its tradition of innovation and excellent customer service by introducing air cargo with free pick- up service. LBC customers in New Jersey, California, Oregon, Washington and Las Vegas can now send through Air and enjoy parcels to be delivered…
DESPITE the Philippine government’s continuous efforts to promote unity and stability in the country, all it took was one insurgence, to bring it back to the drawing board from all the strides it has made in fostering peace among its citizens. For the last decade, the Philippine army has hunted down Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)…
THE US immigration system is broken and is in need of a major overhaul. After one generation and since 1986, that may soon be coming, with the approval of the Gang of Eight’s comprehensive immigration reform bill by the Senate Judiciary Committee. In a 13-5 vote by members of the democratic-controlled panel, the bill will…
“Few people know how to be old.” – Francois De La Rochedfoucald They say that youth is wasted on the young. This is untrue. Youth is wasted on the old, if all they do is pine away to become young again. There are many great things about growing old. If you can accept the aches and…
THE US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit recently joined the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and reversed its previous decision in De Osorio et. al v. Holder (De Osorio I), which had held that an “aged out” derivative beneficiary of a family or employment-based petition for immigrant status cannot benefit…
ONCE again, a Filipino has made his country proud by gaining honor and prestige in the international arena. On April 29, 2013, Canada’s Department of Justice has announced the historic appointment of the first Filipino-Canadian into the Supreme Court of Justice of Ontario, Honorable Justice Steve Anthony Banate Coroza. Justice Coroza will be the superior…
UNTIL now, social media is being inundated by opposing feedbacks from Pinoys over best-selling author Dan Brown’s (Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol) description of Manila as “the gates of hell,” in his new book, Inferno. In Brown’s book, Manila is depicted as a city of “six-hour traffic jams, suffocating pollution, horrifying sex trade.”…
IT WAS heartbreaking to see how a community in Moore, Oklahoma was reduced to rubble after it was hit by a powerful tornado on Monday. measuring top-of-the-scale EF5, with winds of more than 200 miles per hour. The tornado killed 24 people and injured more than 120. It also caused $2 billion in damages, and…
May 22, 2013 Dear Editor: Re: May 22, 2013 “Philippines fears for workers in Taiwan amid row” YOUR Journal’s past coverage of events related to the Republic of China (Taiwan) has been noticed. Amid the current tense relations between the ROC and Philippines following the recent fatal attack on a Taiwan fishing vessel, we look…
A SAD news greeted me when I arrived at the San Francisco Airport on May 7 on the way to my training. Mr. Felino Punzalan, our esteemed veteran leader in San Francisco died and was buried yesterday. I asked: “Why did you not inform me? I could have come.” “It was very sudden. And quick….
PEOPLE with heavy debt think that they have serious problems in life that are almost unbearable. “Attorney, we can’t sleep because our creditors are hounding us day and night! They threaten us with lawsuits and wage garnishment and bank levies!” Well, yes, if you have too much debt, it does create a financial problem for…
IF YOU run your own business, consider employing your children this summer vacation. Employing your children gives you a triple benefit: 1. It teaches your children the virtue of work and the value of money. 2. It could save you around 27 percent by shifting income down from a maximum rate of 35 percent for…
BEDFORD Care Group, Inc., a company that operates six assisted living facilities in Fresno County, was recently cited by the labor agency, for violating California’s employment laws including unpaid minimum wage, unpaid overtime, meal and rest break violations, and failure to issue itemized wage statements. The employer was ordered to back-pay eleven residential caregivers a…
“Homes that are under water have only a few option to refinance their mortgages, the HARP programs is probably your best bet but it’s not for everyone and there are restrictions.” THE Home Affordable Refinance Program expansion helps today’s historically low rates become available to customers who have an existing mortgage loan owned by Fannie…
A week ago, a whole nation fidgeted while the next installment of political drama unfolded during the May midterm elections. In any case, what can one really do within the three-layered hiatus from the time one is elected, proclaimed and finally assumed into office? A campaign combat is many things: a pageant, a carnival, a…
The Southern Philippines is known for its rich traditional practices particularly in relation with birth, marriage, death, funeral and mourning, worship, beliefs, myths, everything that pertains to their daily activities and the way they enjoy and celebrate life. Southern tribes, like any ethnic group, have their own brand of musicality and a wide array of…
The Southern Philippines is known for its rich traditional practices particularly in relation with birth, marriage, death, funeral and mourning, worship, beliefs, myths, everything that pertains to their daily activities and the way they enjoy and celebrate life. Southern tribes, like any ethnic group, have their own brand of musicality and a wide array of…
DURING a recent appreciation dinner for faculty members at St. John’s Seminary, I was sitting next to a rabbi, who is a professor of Old Testament theology, and his wife. “What about you,” I asked the wife, “do you also teach? “I do,” she answered. “I teach monotheistic religion.” At that time I had become…
