www.kawgf.com/ KAWG&F Accounting Firm Presents: Tax Tidbits for Corporations

With the ever changing complex tax laws, planning is more essential today than it has ever been. There are still many opportunities to reduce a corporation and its owner’s tax, but planning is a necessity! The following is a valuable tip for corporations:

The Kiddie Tax? It’s not what it used to be
Have children under age 19 (or under 24 if a full time student) with unearned income in excess of $1,800? If so, the child’s income per the Kiddie tax rules will be taxed at the parent’s tax rate. In 2006 and 2007, this tax applied to children who were under 18. Prior to that time, the age was 14. Therefore, because of these age increases the opportunity for parents to shift income-generating assets to children have virtually been eliminated and now require coordinating the filing of the child’s return with the parent’s return for more years.

KAWG&F is open Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm. To view Anita Sheckells' biography, click here.

www.murphybedwilmington.com/ The More Space Place Wilmington Presents: Keep Your Gutters Clear!

It’s that time of the year again – many people experience fall quite literally. Falling gutters is a big problem during this time of year. Avoid this problem and have someone check your gutters regularly! Keep them free from debris. As it gets colder and water starts freezing, make sure this isn’t building up in your gutters. While falling gutters is a pain in the fall, a gutter full of frozen water falling on you may be more than just a pain.

www.hvskin.com/ Hunt Valley Laser & Skin Care Presents: Skin Care Tips

Cure pimples:

•Apply a mixture of turmeric and neem on the face .
•A mixture of crushed mint leaves and oats will reduce pimples. Leave this for 20 minutes and wash it with warm water.
•Mix thick curd, turmeric and two drops of oil. Apply on the face.
•Crush garlic and take the juice and apply it on the face daily to reduce pimples
•Make a paste with sandal wood and turmeric and apply it on the face.


For more information, contact Anita Davidson at info@hvskin.com, or by phone: 410-628-1625.

www.jonidaniels.com Joni Daniels Presents: This Month's Power Tools for Women Tip

Empowerment in Your Hands
By Joni Daniels

Charge what you’re worth. Your clients will never think they are getting value if you charge the lowest rates, and they will be puzzled if you are starting out in a new industry and charge what those who have been in the field for over 10 years are charging. Invest some time in developing a marketing plan that that identifies your competition, what they charge, and who their clients are. How do you compare to them in terms of experience and value? Take all of that into consideration when you set your fees.

www.focusconsulting.com/ Focus Consulting Presents: There's No Such Thing as "Pending"

If you have a pile or a file of “pending” or “waiting for,” then you’re kidding yourself into thinking that everyone who was supposed to get back to you actually will. Remember this: PENDING always turns back into ACTION for YOU. Whether you care or don’t care that someone gets back to you, it’s still an open loop. Open loops are still a burden. You will likely have to address it later. In order to keep everything moving forward, not letting things slip through the cracks, incorporate these inevitable tasks into your to do list (on paper or in the computer) and ask yourself how long you will wait until you will take action again if you DON’T get a call back or whatever you’re waiting for. The date you target to take action is just like any other task on your to do list. All these tasks must be together in one list so you don’t have to look in different places for the things you will do on any one day.

For more tips by Leslie Shreve and other useful information, click here.

www.wealthadvocacypartners.com Wealth Advocacy Partners Presents: Tip of the Month

QUESTION: Should I contribute the maximum to my employer’s retirement plan?

ANSWER: NEVER EVER take generic financial advice, given by the media, your friend and even your CPA before assessing your personal situation.

Many of our parents have comfortable retirements because they are receiving Social Security, maybe pensions and health benefits from their employers, and their lifestyles are fairly modest.
We recommend that our clients save between 15 and 20 percent of their gross incomes. That does not mean that all of that goes into their retirement plans.
So, how do you make this assessment?
Lack of accessibility: There is a 10 percent penalty if your take out funds before age 59½ unless you have a hardship.
Build up adequate reserves in bank accounts and cash values in whole life policies – these funds are safe and quickly available.
No Tax Diversification @ Retirement: Pre-tax is great today, but the piper will be paid. Most people are told they will be in a lower tax bracket at retirement, but think back on what you earned at your first job and compare that to today’s income. When your income goes up, so does your lifestyle.
If you can live on $25,000 a year you will be in a lower tax bracket than if you need $100,000/year. Don’t believe that you only will need 50 to 75 percent of your gross income at retirement. Are you planning for your lifestyle to go backward?
Accumulate retirement funds in investment accounts that are taxed TODAY at favorable capital gains rates, real estate and permanent life insurance. Now you also have more asset allocation than just investing in the choices in your retirement plans.
Do you have non-deductible debt? If you are carrying high-interest rate credit card debt pay this off first before making retirement contributions. It’s highly improbable that your retirement plan is earning more (especially in today’s market) than the rate your card is charging. Do you know the interest rate?
Do you have other goals that might precede your retirement? For example, funding college education or buying a home? Those need to be funded in non-retirement plan accounts and, if they are short-term goals, in accounts with minimal risk.
Borrowing out of your retirement plan to fund other goals is a BAD strategy if you have alternatives. You will never be able to recoup the growth you could have gotten had you not borrowed the money.
Your cash flow will be impacted immediately as your paycheck will be reduced as you start paying back the loan. While the loan interest does go back to you, are you aware that it is taxed before you pay it, and then again at retirement?
These are a few reasons to think before acting. At this point, you might be thinking, is there anything GOOD about these plans?

Absolutely to name a few:
Forced savings
Employer matches
Peer support at work
Limited investment choices is not as overwhelming as unlimited choices
Creditor proof until you start to spend them

The point is that maybe not ALL of your retirement savings should go into these plans. Take the time to decide how much and where to invest.These decisions will impact your life BEFORE and DURING retirement, as well as the LEGACY that you leave behind.

For more information, call Wealth Advocacy Partners at 410-527-1171 or click here.

www.womenandwineevents.com Women's Wine & Dine Presents: TBA - Something Special for the Holidays

Trockenbeerenauslese, is not the German way of saying “To be Announced” – however, this delectable, liquid love kind of wine deserves a special fanfare.

TBA’s translation literally means – “Dried berries harvested late.” It’s a German wine lingo that might as well mean, “we let these berries hang on the vine as long as possible prior to the frost (had they frozen, they’d be Ice Wien) to concentrate the sugar, and this is good stuff!”

TBA, as those in the know call it, is an intensely sweet nectar of the God’s like dessert wine. TBA also has the pedigree and clout to make it in the highest quality category of Prädikatswein - which means “Wines with Predicate” (or for us non-Germanic speakers – VIP vino) – and this applies in both Austria and Germany. TBA wines aren’t your $2 buck chuck, because the berries literally are hand harvested one by one. We are talking individually selected grapes which have been kissed “botrytized” by the proverbial “noble rot” as it were - this is where funky mold is a good thing (kind of like expensive cheese, but not really). They’re made from individually selected grapes affected by noble rot, i.e. "botrytized" grapes.

The raisin-like, shriveled berries have more wrinkles than Madeleine Albright, but they are far sweeter. These wines are redolent with nuances of toasty caramel, honeyed apricot, and of course that funky “noble rot like wine musk” that once you learn to appreciate, you never quite get enough of. TBA’s are made from a few grape varieties - namely Scheurebe, Ortega, Welschriesling, Chardonnay, and Gewürztraminer. However, the Super Duper VIP of them all is that famous German grape…Riesling grape, it is precisely Riesling’s raciness (due to its abundance of acidity even at super ripe status) that allows for extra complexity you just can’t get with the other candidates.

TBA’s are somewhat esoteric and will not abound in most wine & liquor shops, but a good wine monger will order them for you. In Baltimore Swirl, Spirits of Mount Vernon and Bin 604 are all more than capable of tracking them down and I highly suggest you consider adding this new guest to your Thanksgiving table (makes a great gift too!).

www.mondaymover.com Monday Mover Presents: Defeating Mental Mediocrity

By Torin Ellis

Although there is no manual for success, the person becomes the central character in every situation. It’s true that there are no limits to what you can accomplish when you know whom you are, what you want and what you are willing to do. Perhaps a bit altruistic for some. Here’s the point: many are preoccupied with the small stuff and are too tired to give energy to the larger objectives. For a moment, your situation may have you feeling like one of the least, the last or the left out. Temporary indeed. Solution is simple. Don’t drain your mental reserves.

tydingslaw.com Tydings & Rosenberg LLP Presents: Common Estate Planning Myths

MYTH: My children have a right to inherit my estate.

TRUTH: If you do not have a Last Will and Testament, your children will be entitled to a portion of your estate. However, you are able to disinherit a child in your Last Will and Testament. You cannot, however, disinherit your spouse. A spouse will always be entitled to at least a one-third share of your estate, barring a valid pre- or post-nuptial agreement to the contrary.

For more information, please contact L. Content McLaughlin, Esq., Tydings & Rosenberg LLP, 100 E. Pratt Street, 26th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. She can also be reached at (410) 752-9755 or cmclaughlin@tydingslaw.com. To view her biography, click here.

www.cabotcheese.com Cabot Creamery Presents: This Month's Recipe

Cappucino Kugel
Serves 6 to 8

www.royalblueproductions.com RoyalBlue Productions Presents: Tech Tip

Urban Legends

We all receive those emails from well-meaning friends who want to pass along the latest "warning" or request for support for an ailing child. But how do you know if they're true or a hoax? Try checking the stories out at Snopes (www.snopes.com) - the online Urban Legend authority. Just enter the title or topic in the search box, and Snopes will return any entries they have on the subject. Well-researched information is available at your fingertips. This gives you a chance to play 30-second detective, and could help preserve your reputation with those your own contact list.