Pay-By-Mile Floated As Alternative To Gas Tax For California Drivers

Wayne Essex New Post:

Originally posted on Alice@97.3:

SACRAMENTO (KPIX 5) – As complaints rise about the conditions of California’s bumpy roads rise, lawmakers say they may have a way to funnel more money toward road repair. To start, they’ll replace the gas tax.

The California Legislature is looking at a voluntary program that would eliminate the state’s gas tax, which is currently 2^nd highest in the nation at 52.9 cents per gallon. Instead, drivers would be subject to a tax based on vehicle miles traveled of a VMT tax.

“I’m very opposed,” said commuter Carmen Smith, one of many hybrid or electric car drives who paid a premium for their cars in order to save at the pump. “I bought a hybrid because of my drive.”

State Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) just introduced a bill to test out the VMT Tax because the gas tax is no longer bringing in what it used to thanks to…

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Avoiding Audits

Tax season is, arguably, one of the most stressful times of year for individuals in the United States. With all the time individuals put into compiling documents and understanding filing options, it is easy to see why tax audits can be a cause for alarm after making it through such a hectic part of the year. Tax audits are extremely inconvenient, as they often will cost you time and the expense of being examined. Often, audits will also lead to a tax dispute. However, the good news is that it is fairly simple to avoid being audited as long as you remain organized and honest when filing your taxes.

One key thing to remember is that, to the IRS, everything is income and should be declared as such. This includes any foreign income or foreign bank accounts that are sometimes forgotten because foreign banks do not send Forms 1099. If you are audited, the IRS can ask for your bank records and determine if you have failed to declare all necessary items. Keeping good records is a great way to prevent this and can help get you of trouble at the beginning of the auditing process. Always check to make sure that the financial documents you are receiving are correct, especially Forms 1099. The IRS focuses on information return matching, so if the received documents about financial records aren’t consist, you may run into a problem.

Another easy way to make sure filing your taxes and the proceedings afterward run smoothly is to pay close attention to timing during tax season. Make sure you have a clear idea of what financial information you have to file for the current year and when you can claim deductions. When it comes to deductions, also make sure that you are not claiming false deductions. Seek advice if you are unsure about what qualifies as a legitimate deduction. However, it is usually easy to tell, if you are being honest with yourself, what financial activities qualify for deduction.

Using Public Speaking to Promote Your Brand

Good public speaking skills are essential to your career and personal goals. Opportunities that allow you to hone your communication skills should never be overlooked because effective communication can help you successfully convey ideas to management, clients, co-workers, or consumers. Having good public speaking skills can help you quickly establish credibility with an audience. This is important because communication is also a key part of marketing and building a brand. Whether you’re looking to build your client base or simply raise awareness about your company or product, consider adding presentations to your campaign.

Finding opportunities to speak may seem challenging at first. However, once you start looking for opportunities, you may be surprised by how many trade associations, charities, and other groups are looking for good speakers with interesting presentations. Booking your first presentation could be as easy as sending an organization a simple Email or giving them a call.

However, it is important to remember that if there aren’t many opportunities to be a guest speaker, you can create your own opportunities to speak about your brand or product. Consider conducting a self-hosted event where you book a location and invite potential customers to attend. Some hotels and notable business venues may even help you gain attendees by allowing you to invite people from their databases.

Whether you are presenting as a guest speaker or at your own event, the most important thing to remember is that you need be an interesting speaker and keep the audience engaged. Also, make sure that you are presenting information that seems valuable to your consumers. No one should feel like the main point of your speech is to sell something. Finally, make sure your presentation has a call to action that will turn your audience into prospects and paying clients. This can include offering to keep in touch after the presentation or offering informational handouts to your audience.

A Primer to Building Your Start-Up Infrastructure.

Wayne Essex New Post:

Originally posted on NEOS CHRONOS:

“You can be sure that when you have come up with a great idea, at least 10 other people in the world came up independently with the same great idea. The difference will be who is going to make it happen first”.

Building your start-up infrastructure can be a daunting task. Here is a list of proven, free, and easy to deploy tools that can help you save time and money.

Originally published on September 24, 2013. Go to the full article at http://ift.tt/1lMwoTf

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How to overcome the fear of public speaking?

Wayne Essex New Post:

Reblogged from Adrian Niculescu Blog:

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The Uneasy Speaker's Guide to Confident Public Speaking

Wayne Essex New Post:

Reblogged from Rod Schulhauser:

The Uneasy Speaker's Guide to Confident Public Speaking.

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Five tips that will go a long way for a small business owner

Wayne Essex New Post:

There are a couple of tips you may want to consider according to a recent Forbes article if you’re a small business owner.

The first tip is to keep at least $1,000 in the bank. If you mentally think that $1,000 is zero dollars in your bank account then a number of things will run more smoothly. You will have less bounced checks, relationships will be better with contractors and vendors, and finally you’ll be in a better state of mind knowing that you have capital in bank.

Be on time is the second tip. 90% of life is about showing up. If you are five minutes earlier as opposed to five minutes late people will take you more seriously. Your relationships will be stronger, which in turn will lead to more deals and more trust.

Respond quickly is the third. This is a simple as it sounds. Get back to people and customers quickly. Those small things don’t go unnoticed and you’ll be rewarded down the line if not immediately.

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More than 10 million tax returns were re

Wayne Essex New Post:

Reblogged from Berics Accounting:

More than 10 million tax returns were received by @HMRCgovuk by the 31 January - A New Record! - http://ow.ly/tg278

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How to Manage Your Money

Wayne Essex New Post:

Reblogged from TALKBACK4Teens:

With the New Year comes resolutions; stop smoking, lose weight, do better in school, save more, etc. However, without the necessary tools each of these resolutions will never get accomplished. Tools are what enable us to do better and succeed. Without them we are walking blind trying to accomplish our goals. Unfortunately, schools these days do not emphasize the importance of personal finance tools.

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It can be very difficult to save money, especially when you are barely floating above water. This post provides great advice!

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Outsourcing Accounting and Financial Services

A recent article in Forbes talked about the benefits of companies who outsource financial and accounting services instead of keeping them in house. A lot of people perceive outsourcing for these services as being an additional or heavy expense that could be unnecessary if you hire correctly in house. Chief Financial Officers tend to see it differently and they believe outsourcing these services results in better efficiency within their company. As stated in the Forbes article, "Driving efficiency is a high priority for CFOs who want to outsource F&A processes, according to an Ovum study of 150 large companies in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Most survey respondents saw the main strategic aim of the accounting department as delivering efficiencies, whether that is within the department itself or across the company as a whole." One of the main advantages of outsourcing for these services is that these financial and accounting companies usually have better in house technology than companies with internal accounting departments.

I like the fact that accounting companies are becoming increasingly more sought after for businesses. Companies can build great accounting teams within their organization, but sometimes outsourcing for these services is a better fit. These accounting companies have more of an expertise because they focus solely on that certain function of business.

via Wayne Essex http://wayneessex.net/outsourcing-for-accounting-and-finance/

Less Is More When Speaking Publicly

According to a recent article in Forbes, the single most important rule to public speaking is less is more. Nick Morgan feels that people get themselves into speaking mistakes when they try to include to much information into their public address. Sometimes only making a couple of points based on a subject is better than trying to go over the top and drive a point in with too much backed up material. One should also consider the subject they are talking about and the audience at hand. If they already have a strong grasp of the material it would be wise not to drive points home that most people understand - it might be overkill than helpful.

People often don't try and pause nearly enough as they truly should. Instead of saying "um" or "like" it is more appropriate to simply not say anything at all and collect your thoughts. Pausing also allows time for your point to be understood by the audience.

Another important part of public speaking is connecting with the audience. According to the article, "When you’re connecting with an audience, you must connect with them on an emotional level as well as an intellectual one. Get rid of the extraneous emotions – the nerves, the anxiety, the fight-or-flight worries, the stuff that’s on your mind – and instead focus on the one, two, or three emotions that matter the most to the story you’re telling and to the audience.  Take the audience on a simple emotional journey as well as an intellectual one." Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that speaking is somewhat of a form of entertainment. You want the audience to be engaged, to enjoy what you are speaking about, and to not be bored.

via Wayne Essex http://wayneessex.org/less-is-more-when-speaking-publicly/

State Gas Mileage Tax?

A recent article in USA Today expressed the new development for Oregon drivers in that they won't be taxed on the amount of gas their cars burn but instead on the number of miles they drive. It would be a VMT tax, or vehicle miles traveled. Many people are curious if this new taxation will work, and if so, will we start seeing it implemented in other states around the country. Jamie Rall, a transportation specialist, commented on the new tax, "Per-mile charges are the most high-profile and discussed possible alternative to the gas tax. There's no question about it: States want to know if this is going to be a viable way to fund transportation into the future."

Oregon has introduced the new taxation to a preliminary group of 5,000 volunteer drivers. The state is hoping this will show the public and lawmakers the new alternative is fair and easy to implement while not needing crazy tracking devices to monitor car mileage traveled. This new program will be introduced in 2015 and will include two forms of tracking systems. The first option is a more traditional solution in which miles traveled is simply tracked by taping into the cars odometer. The other alternative is to be tracked via GPS. This will give an indication of how far a car traveled and where it traveled (people won't be charged for out of state or off road trips).

The state of Oregon is considering the fact that cars are now becoming more fuel efficient and how people with newer cars might shy away from the program. They are trying to find ways to give people with highly fuel efficient cars more incentive to buy into the program. It'll be interesting to see how successful the initial program of 5,000 volunteer drivers performs. I'm sure if it does well we will begin to see some other states following suite and so on.

via Wayne Essex http://wayneessex.net/state-gas-mileage-tax/

Getting Over The Fear of Public Speaking

I came across a great article in Forbes recently that talks about public speaking and how it can be such a scary thing for a lot of people. Richard Quest, a CNN commentator was featured in the article. As a commentator Richard isn't necessarily in front of many people speaking but merely a video camera. He has no problem addressing millions of people on the television, but when he is live in front of an audience he can't be more nervous. He has been suffering with this fear for many years and he finally enlisted help to combat his nervous tendencies. He decided to take a class for public speaking for business leaders at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA).

At the academy, he was taught to breathe deeply from the belly. Taking the time to pause, breathe and collect your self sets you up for success and enables you to remain calm and relaxed. "With practice, belly breathing will eliminate the shaky voice.  And, as I’ve suggested, it should also help generally with your nervousness, because we tend to breathe shallow, quick breaths when we’re alarmed, and deep, slow breaths are the opposite of that.  Thus, your body will send a signal to your brain that things are OK."

Anxiety can be such a pain for so many people and its unfortunate how much it can effect your well being. Sometimes the best thing is to just get up there and do it. The more speeches you deliver, the more confident you will become and the less fear you will feel. You never know too, with more practice you might even start to crave the feeling of speaking publicly. Being a great public speaker is a fantastic attribute to have and can really carry you in your endeavors.

via Wayne Essex http://wayneessex.org/getting-over-the-fear-of-public-speaking/