Saturday, September 27, 2025
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Five Things to Know Before Prepay Your Property Taxes

Muzahed I.
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0

The Internal Revenue Service’s 27th December 2017 regulation upended many taxpayer’s plans of paying their 2018 property taxes early before the new tax law takes effect in January 2018 to claim a federal deduction.
If you are also thinking of prepaying or already prepaid, here are few things you should know:

1. Check Your Tax-Assessment Dates

Before paying tax, you must be sure that your property has assessed by the local tax office for 2018. Many jurisdictions send a bill to the taxpayers several times throughout the year. If you have received a bill due in 2018, it might make sense to pay it now if you want to claim federal deletion. For instance, Iowa property taxes paid twice a year and residents of Iowa already received a bill due in early 2018, said Nicole Kaeding, the Tax Foundation economist. “Those individuals could go ahead and pay by the end of the year and it would be safe to deduct,” she said. In jurisdictions that have assessed properties but not yet sent bills, there may be a gray area. The District of Columbia, which has completed the assessment but still not billed to taxpayers, says they may qualify for the federal deduction by paying the tax before the end of this year. But it is not cleared yet the IRS will agree.

2. Beware the AMT

Make sure that you will not be eligible to pay alternative minimum tax by prepaying your property taxes. The AMT tax system is different, the system designed to prevent people using legal tax breaks to avoid paying all taxes that are mainly applicable to higher income households. If your federal tax deductions rising rapidly due to prepaying your 2018 property taxes, it would be the cause you might reach the threshold that you pay the AMT. Likewise, if you will already be paying the AMT, property taxes prepaying might be of the same opinion tiny or no lead.

3. Confirm Your State and Local Tax Bill Is High Enough

Try to define if your stubborn confess and local tax credit adjacent to the year will exceed the $10,000 cap which was added to the performance. If you have systematically paid in state and local taxes less than $10,000, you will probably yet be skillful to deduce the full amount you spend into your meet the expense of entry and local governments. Concerning individual tax issue, you should note that you may choose for 2018 to allocate the satisfying sufficient taking away, which the performance raised to $12,000 for individuals, $24,000 for married couples filing jointly and $18,000 for heads of household.

4. Speak With Your Mortgage Provider

Mortgage provider set up an escrow account for their client and many homeowners pay their property taxes through the account. The account used for paying the monthly payment to the mortgage company, which then takes care of paying the necessary taxes. If you are going through that situation and you want to prepay your property taxes, you must talk with your mortgage first to avoid paying the tax twice.

5. Talk to a Professional

Finally, most important, it is advisable to talk with your tax adviser. They will assess your current status to give you the best advice as the circumstances vary by household and will assist you to get the best solution.

What To Do If You get injured to your workplace

Muzahed I.
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0

Whenever you head off to work, you never expect to get hurt. Unfortunately, accidents can happen that could cause you to be injured at work. Injuries can happen in seconds and last a lifetime. Injuries can be life-changing, ultimately stopping you from working. Without financial help, you may find yourself unable to provide for and look after your family. If you or a loved one have been injured at work you may be entitled to workers compensation.

If you have been injured at work there are a few things that you should do.

  1. Seek Medical Help

    No matter how badly you have been injured, you should seek medical help. If you are severely injured then your supervisor or manager should call an ambulance. Always make sure your injuries are attended to before you do anything else.

    If you have been injured at work, it is important to know that some injuries may not present themselves until a few days after the initial accident. Going for a medical check-up, even if it is at your local GP, will allow your medical expert to assess you and advise what to do should you have any further symptoms.

    During your consultation with your GP or medical professional, it is important to let them know that you have been hurt at work. This will help you if you decide to claim compensation. Your Doctor will make thorough notes in your file which your lawyer will be able to review at a later stage.

  2. Seek Legal Help

    Seeking legal help after a workplace accident will help you to understand your rights during this difficult time. Some employees find their workplace to not be very helpful during an incident like this so having legal help is important.

    A legal representative will be able to assess your situation and advise whether you are eligible to claim workers compensation. While you may not want to pursue compensation, it does provide financial support during a difficult time that could see you forking our thousands on hospital and rehabilitation costs. You may find that after your accident you can no longer perform your original job or you may be designated to a role that sees you receiving lower pay. In serious cases, you may not even be able to go back to work at all.

    Compensation can help to ease the financial burden when you are trying to get your health back on track. It is important to note that strict time limits apply to workers compensation cases, therefore, speaking to a professional legal team as soon as possible is very important.

 Common Types of Workplace Accidents

There are lots of different ways you can hurt yourself at work but some of the most common ways employees hurt themselves is:

–       Slips, trips and falls

–       Falling objects and equipment

–       Injuries caused by another person

–       Vehicle accidents

If you have been injured in one of these ways, ensure you follow the steps mentioned above. Seeking legal help is one of the best ways to ensure you receive the compensation that you deserve to help get your life back on track.

Why Keeping A Clean and Tidy Office Is So Important

Muzahed I.
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0
Why Keeping A Clean and Tidy Office Is So Important

A clean and tidy office is imperative for healthy and happy workers. Employees work better in an environment that is not cluttered with unnecessary rubbish. You will probably be surprised by the amount of junk that you have lying around your office. Taking the time to sort through all of your old rubbish will help improve the look of your workspace and office.

Create a checklist of areas around your office that you can check for rubbish and clean up. Below are 4 areas that you can add to your checklist.

  1. Storage Rooms

    Most offices have at least one storage room where excess equipment or stationary is kept. These rooms are often forgotten as more and more office technology, filing and odds and ends are added in. Take the time to sort through your storage room and remove anything that you know you won’t need anymore. This could include any outdated marketing material, brochures, paperwork, posters or signage etc.

    Businesses are continually evolving so remove anything that you know you won’t use in the next year. This will help keep your storage room tidy and provide plenty of room in case you need it at a later date. Don’t forget, OH&S is very important when moving items around your storage room. Think about trip hazards and if you are moving heavy items, make sure you ask a colleague to help you and lift in a safe way.

  2. IT Equipment

    Computers, monitors, printers and power cords are items that your IT department may have in abundance. IT Departments are notorious for hanging on to old, outdated technology or technology that no longer works. Conduct an audit of technology that you need and what you don’t. This will help make the process much faster and give you a clear look at exactly what you no longer need.

  3. Office Furniture

    Every office has at least one broken computer chair lying around. Review your office furniture and remove anything you no longer need. Broken chairs and desks that are looking worse for wear are no good to the look if your office and your employees. Update any items that you need to replace and remove what you no longer require.

    When checking office furniture don’t forget to check the lunch room or kitchen. This is a space that often gets overlooked during big clean ups. Old and broken office furniture take up a lot of room so taking out what you don’t need will help lift the aesthetics of your office while increasing employee productivity.

  4. Filing Cabinets

    Let’s be honest, no one likes dealing with the filing. While the filing is an important part of office life, it can add up to a lot of wasted space if left for too long. Reassess your filing and take out anything you no longer need. Shred any important or sensitive documents that can not be seen by other employees or people outside of your organisation.

    Be honest with removing documents that you no longer need and remove them to make more space for new, more important filing items. During your clean up, don’t forget to check filing cabinets themselves. If they are looking worse for wear or are no longer functioning the way they should then they need to go.

Consider a Rubbish Removal Service

Once you have done a thorough clean up of your office, it’s time to consider how you will remove your rubbish. Commercial waste removal is a much more affordable and practical option for office buildings. For many, a skip bin is just not an option. Leaving a large bin in a common area often causes trouble with neighbours and can hang around for far too long. Rubbish removal services such as Cheapest Load of Rubbish will remove your commercial rubbish in one go.

No time will be wasted as rubbish is removed efficiently and carefully be a team of experts. Before you know it, your office will be looking in tip-top shape.

The Future of Bitcoin Regulation

Muzahed I.
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0
The Future of Bitcoin Regulation

Bitcoin has changed the way that many people look at currency. While many have embraced the blockchain revolution, it has been a cause of concern for governments around the world. Among both financial institutions and related services, like financial translation agencies, figuring out how best to both control and encourage this new technology is a priority. Here’s where bitcoin regulation is headed.

A Look at Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are a form of digital value exchange where the verification of transactions and the creation of new currency are controlled using cryptography. There is no physical manifestation of the currency – it exists entirely online in the cloud.

Bitcoin is not backed by a central authority, and the transactions are anonymous. For some, the ability to make anonymous transactions is the attraction, but it is also a convenient way to transfer value across international boundaries. Also, people can use it to make digital transactions without incurring fees.

Instead of using a central bank or government to control the currency supply and to regulate transactions, the security of Bitcoin comes from the underlying encryption software. People known as “miners” generate new currency. They do this by solving mathematical problems that are based on transaction data. This verifies the transactions, and depending on the amount of computing power you dedicate to the network, the miner is rewarded with new Bitcoins.

These confirmed transactions from the miners then become part of the blockchain. This is central to the security of Bitcoin currency transactions. The blockchain is like a public ledger that records every transaction. Each set of transaction data that is processed makes up a block. The blocks are arranged chronologically on the blockchain, and each block is dependent upon the blocks that precede it. If someone were to try to alter a block to corrupt the blockchain, it would invalidate all of the blocks that come after it.

This system makes it next to impossible for a bad actor to come in and manipulate transaction data. In other words, the security of the currency is not dependent on a bank or government. Instead, it comes from the ever-growing cryptographic sequence that makes up the blockchain.

Bitcoin’s Impact

Once a person has a Bitcoin wallet, they can then engage in Bitcoin transactions. It could be used to buy goods from a vendor that accepts Bitcoin, you could buy or sell the currency at an exchange, or you could buy Bitcoin from a broker.

From the beginning, the Bitcoin software has been set to a limit of 21 million for the total number of Bitcoins that will ever be created. As of September 2017, there were just over 16.5 million Bitcoins in circulation.

The value of Bitcoin has gone up considerably since it was first created. At the time of writing, the value of one Bitcoin is trading at more than $3,800.

Bitcoin’s popularity and its growing value have led others to follow the example. Since then, other digital currencies have been invented using similar technologies and safeguards. However, it is believed that Bitcoin will remain the cryptocurrency of choice for the foreseeable future.

Regulating Bitcoin

Bitcoin transactions are performed using public keys. A user’s name is not attached to the transaction, and this has made it a popular form of currency for illicit activities. With the digital currency, money can be transferred between individuals with no traceable record being left behind. Money can move overseas without leaving a paper trail. This is the aspect of cryptocurrencies that have governments concerned.

To address issues like the use of digital currency for the purpose of money laundering, Interpol held the Digital Currencies and Money Laundering conference in Qatar. Along with conferences that involve international law enforcement and industry leaders, there have also been some governments taking steps toward placing regulation on the currency.

One of the first efforts seen in the United States came from the New York State Department of Financial Services. With their regulation, commercial operators that use Bitcoin will be required to get a BitLicense. Under the law, the operators would be required to follow anti-money laundering regulations and follow various laws that govern financial transactions.

The debate over Bitcoin regulation is a complicated one. Some believe that strict regulation is necessary, and that it is important to uncover the names of users. Others argue that some regulation may be necessary, but if the government gets too heavy handed, it could stifle the market and destroy the currency as a means of exchange. Inevitably, some form of monitoring will be implemented.

9 Essential Steps for Starting a Warehouse Business

Muzahed I.
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0
9 Essential Steps for Starting a Warehouse Business

Small businesses are becoming an increasingly important gear in the engine that moves the global economy. If we would look at the example of the United States, we would see that over a third of the U.S. working population is employed in the companies with fewer than 100 employees, and businesses with less than five employees make up 62% of all U.S. businesses.

It is interesting to observe that most of these establishments (especially the retail businesses) share one common problem – they lack the proper space to store their goods. Starting a warehouse business that could potentially solve this problem seems like a very lucrative proposition. Here is how to start a warehouse business –

Know Your Market

However, before you simply make a leap of faith and assume that your future warehouse will be successful from the get-go, you should first do a very through market research and see if the local business network is large enough to support your business, and, if it’s not, could you benefit more from moving outside the town.

Know Your Competition

Another factor that will play a huge part in determining your business location, scale and orientation is definitely your competition. Researching the competition will provide you with benefits other than taking a good look at what or who you are going up against. You will be able to see how warehouse business actually works, learn about common industry pitfalls, and even scout your potential employees.

Choose Your Niche

Now that you know the number of local retailers and have mapped out your competition territory, it is time to carve out some unexploited niche for yourself. For a start, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to focus on a group of retailers with specific requirements (e.g. food suppliers or art dealers) who can’t always store their goods in general-purpose warehouses.

Find a Co-Founder

The benefits of finding an experienced co-founder are multiple. You will be able to take a necessary break from the business and clear your head, focus only on the things you are good at, and make more impactful and well-thought-through decisions. Most importantly, you will have better chances with investors and be able to get some loans that would otherwise, as a newcomer to the game, be out of your reach. Speaking of which…

Get the Money

According to Entrepreneur, the upfront costs of starting a warehouse business can be between $10,000 and $50,000. Unless you have a very deep pocket, you will have to knock at a lot of doors before you finally cut the ribbon. If you want to raise your chances of getting these funds, don’t stand in front of the investors without a great pitch and a rock-solid, fail-proof business plan.

Find the Right Employees

Employees are the heart pumping the blood through your business’s veins. Fail to find the experienced and skilled employees and you may soon experience a major heart attack. The good news is that most of the paperwork and the entire IT department can be outsourced to the third-party vendors until you get the opportunity to train new employees and develop these branches in-house.

Start with a Bang

Or in other words, make a big deal out of the launch. You can reach out to local media, invite local bigheads, and let the locals know why your business is important for the community. Let your guests familiarize with your future plans, and invite them to take part in making those plans come to life. Good media coverage will help you immediately put yourself on the map and become an important part of the local business landscape.

Reach Out to Customers

Last but not least, you should start reaching out to potential customers as soon as you make the business plan and ensure the funding. Establish a strong online presence, pull off a guerilla action, make a phone call to your potential customers, and reach out to the International Warehouse Logistics Association… At this point, there is no bad way to do marketing.

Make the Business Scalable

As we already mentioned, the best way to start any business is to make a safe bet on a small, but thriving niche. But, that shouldn’t be a long-term solution, and most certainly not your end-game. So start with the basics like forklifts, and shelving solutions, but plan ahead refrigerators, multiple sites, delivery service, and other similar upgrades. Also, you should think about transforming your warehouse into a full-blown distribution business.

As we can see, starting a warehouse business requires a lot of work and careful planning, but it’s nowhere near impossible. The small business market is thriving. Starting a small-business oriented warehouse may be your best chance at taking the piece of this cake for yourself.

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5 Ways to Make Money While Still in College

Muzahed I.
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5 Ways to Make Money While Still in College

College doesn’t come cheap these days, especially in the developed countries where people end up in serious debt in order to finish college. Many people decide to work their way through college, but often times, this is simply not possible due to the huge demands that finishing certain studies can entail. In such cases, students who take out loans end up with a ton of debt afterwards and they spend the next decade or so repaying those debts.

The good news is that the new technologies (with internet being the leader here) allow students to make money on the side while they are still in college, without taking on actual jobs that would deter them from their studies.

Today, we will be covering the five best ways in which college students can make a quick buck while still primarily being students.

Tutoring

Tutoring has traditionally been a way in which students made money while in college. Simply put, college students have a certain knowledge to impart and there are always people (usually elementary and high school students) who could use that kind of knowledge.

Nowadays, tutoring has exploded thanks to the internet and the ability to give classes to someone who is hundreds or thousands of miles away. Students do not have to leave their campus in order to give classes and they are not limited by the number of people who need tutoring in the nearby area.

Another important factor is that there are now companies and websites that make a living by putting together tutors and their prospective students. This way, people who need tutoring can always find someone with the knowledge they need and tutors can rest assured there will always be someone out there who needs their expertise.

Freelancing

Some very respectable business outlets say that we are seeing the first days of the freelancer world where fewer and fewer people have a steady employer and where professionals take on jobs and contracts instead of careers.

While this can still be debated, the fact is that there is now more opportunity for students to freelance than ever before, working only when they feel like it and taking on jobs that they know they can handle without jeopardizing their studies.

From writing to web design and everywhere in between, students can now freelance and make money from the comfort of their dorm room. Some people have managed to turn freelancing into a career, but this is best left for after graduation.

Paid Surveys

If you are looking for a truly easy way to make some money, paid surveys are a great place to start. You find a reputable paid surveys company and you apply with them. Then, when they need the input from someone who fits your demographic, they send you the survey to fill out and you, well, fill it out. In exchange, you get paid for your time.

The important thing here is to remember that this will not get you rich any time soon, but you can make a quick buck here and there, depending on how much time you have. That being said, they are not time-consuming and you can fill them out when you have the time.

Moreover, the majority of the best such websites have prize drawings where any one of their survey partners can get a (usually) large prize.

Trading

The trading we are talking about here involves the stock market and the various financial markets such as the penny stocks, Forex or even binary options trading.

There used to be a time when you had to have a broker at your beck and call or when you had to be present in person in order to make a trade of some kind. Nowadays, all of this is done online and there is really no shortage of options here.

It should be noted that you will need an initial investment and that this can be a risky way to make money. That being said, it is also the most lucrative option of the ones we talked about today. If you are thinking about doing some online trading, please do your homework and do not rush into anything.

Transcription

While there is software that can transcribe spoken word into written text, there are still many companies that use actual people to do this. In fact, transcribing has become one of the growing online industries and there is always need for new people who will be ready to transcribe for money.

There are a number of industries that require a lot of transcription being done, with the legal and the medical industries leading the way. In any case, it is not exactly demanding work and on websites like SpeakWrite and FastChart there is always work for budding young transcribers.

Closing Word

The important thing to remember is that there is definitely no shortage of ways in which students can make money online these days. This can help them repay their student loans and lead a better lifestyle while studying.

Perfect color for your office decor

Muzahed I.
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Perfect color for your office decor

Designing an office is a complicated endeavor. It’s should be a place of business, functional and easy to navigate. On the other hand, it’s also a statement about your company and the way you want to be perceived by your clients and customers. There is also one more thing to have in mind – office setup, and colors in particular,is more than just an aesthetic choice. It can seriously affect productivity and interpersonal relations in the office, depending on the mood you set.

Stimulating blue

Blue is a color often associated with increased productivity. It is true blue surroundings can be stimulating for certain jobs, but there is no right or universal answer because different lines of work require different types of attention. If you work with number or data entry and you need to be focused on specific and somewhat repetitive task during the day – blue may be the choice for you. Naturally, painting the entire office in one color won’t work on an aesthetic level. Splashes of orange will help break the monotony a bit. There’s some great office furniture in orange, which provide contrast to blue walls.

Physical work

Working a physically demanding job takes a different kind of concentration. There usually isn’t muchphysical work in an office, but the mail room, as well as the storage related activities, can be pretty hard, especially in a large company. Those areas should be painted bright red.  However, when you’re going for red you must pay special attention to the lighting. With the wrong lights, red offices can seem claustrophobic and suffocating. Small amounts of red can also be used in an executive office because it attracts attention. A sculpture or a painting will do.

Monochromatic and modern

Modern offices, especially those in the IT industry take their cue from an industrial design. This creates a unique aesthetic, inseparable from functionality. It usually features height adjustable standing desks and chairs designed for long hours in front of a computer monitor. These offices seldom include doors or wall, creating a sense of equality. Colors can come into play only through small details or artwork. Yellow works best with triggering creativity, especially for those who feel burnt out or stuck in a rut.

Projecting power

Some offices are supposed to feel open and accessible to everyone – others should have quite the opposite effect. Executive offices need to project a feeling of power and control. This can obviously be done in a tasteful and subtle manner, depending on the image the whole company is trying to create. Hardwood dark furniture and leather are a traditional way to do. This sort of office, usually have a space for a few personal touches as well – bookshelves and a well-stocked bar are the always popular. On the other hand, a similar effect can be accomplished with a completely opposite–clear white tones also suggest strength. It largely depends on a personal style and a line of business a company is in.

Relaxation

Natural colors such as green, brown and dark yellow have the most relaxing effect. If your office is big enough and the work demanding enough, you should have a break room, painted in these colors. But, if you can afford it – real nature is an even better option. Peaceful garden, with a few benches, tables or even a place for meditation can be a great addition to a busy office. Some companies even grow their own food. It’s both a healthy choice and a great way to relax during the breaks.

Personal touches

All of these ideas don’t mean that your offices should be boring or painted in a single color. Every office is also a personal space, defined by the person who uses it. Personal items, pictures, and other memorabilia are a welcome addition even if they clash with the original intents of the designers. A company is a living organism and offices should reflect that fact, even if that means that they’re a bit messy.

Choosing the right colors for your office depends on what do you want to achieve with it – what kind of behavior you want to stimulate. But, it’s about more than that. The offices should look like the business you want to create in them.

Employee Gifts That Won’t Break Your Bank

Muzahed I.
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0
Employee Gifts That Won’t Break Your Bank

Work motivation can surely be triggered and maintained in hundreds of different ways. Some of them are material and tangible items, while some others include flexible work hours and different family-related perks. If you lack original ways of showing your employees you appreciate their work efforts and results, lie back, relax and enjoy reading the following ideas.

Flexible hours

Letting your most successful employees organize their work time in accordance with their preferences is one of the best rewards. Still, you need to establish some clear rules when they can use that option. For instance, you can inform them that everyone who’s been with you for a year is eligible to start working flexible hours. Read why Sir Richard Branson gives advantage to this kind of work here.

On the other hand, this liberal approach to work organization can have a limited duration, too. For example, an employee who closes a business deal successfully is allowed to work that way for a week.

Car accessories

You always need something for your car, so using various car accessories as gifts to express gratefulness and respect to people working for you is a smart move. For instance, air fresheners are always a useful thing. In addition, a trunk organizer can help a worker keep their trunk in order, especially if they have children. As for the children, SMB owners can give each of their workers a child safety seat as a gift when they get a baby. Of course, this will work better for smaller businesses. It could be too expensive to give such valuable presents when it comes to companies with hundreds or thousands of employees.

Office equipment

A well-equipped and decorated office always adds to work motivation. When your most successful employees are given new computer equipment or when they’re transferred to larger offices, they will know how to return the “favor”. For instance, the most prominent employees need to be supplied with state-of-the-art monitors and latest computer components, like graphics cards or cutting-edge speakers, to enjoy their work process.

Apart from the computer equipment, refreshing offices with new rugs or plants is a great idea. Finally, don’t neglect the desk and the chair, since the employees’ health depends on those items.

Traveling

The most logical thing you can do for your most successful employees is giving them more free days. A piece brought by Entrepreneur.com proves that more time off actually contributes to higher productivity. Therefore, let them choose in advance what days they would like to travel, so that they can plan the trips with their partners or families. Nevertheless, giving them extra days off and perhaps a coupon for a family dinner on that journey will do. You shouldn’t pay for the entire travels for one single reason – your company might not always be able to do that, which could trigger dissatisfaction of other workers. So, keep the travel rewarding system within a rational range.

Gift Cads

A great way to make sure your employees will love the gift you got them is to treat them to actual money. Since it would be crass to actually hand someone a big wad of cash, going with a nice gift card is always a smooth move. This will be a prepaid gift card that they will be able to use at a store of their liking and get the thing they need or want the most.

Paying respects daily

Words don’t cost a thing and they can be equally efficient means of showing appreciation to your employees as material presents. When you address your staff members with respect every time you meet them and establish civilized and supportive communication, it will soon become the trademark of the entire enterprise. Also, simple respect-expressing things, like notes with inspiring quotes attached to the office door at the beginning of every new work day, will keep your workers motivated.

Ready-made packages

In addition to polite communication and encouraging messages, prepare special gratification packages containing thank-you notes and flowers, drinks or chocolates, so that you can give them to your employees immediately when they complete their projects. Those on-the-spot presents will have a more powerful effect, which will increase both their loyalty to your business, as well as their satisfaction with their skills and work achievements.

Training and retaining productive, reliable and loyal staff is a strenuous task these days. The labor market is so fluctuating that employees decide to change the company overnight. Because of that, employers need to engage all their ideas and powers to keep their best workers pleased and contented with their positions. Giving them special gifts and treatments is definitely one of the most efficient ways to achieve that goal.

McDonald’s to move tax base away from EU after Luxembourg scandal

Muzahed I.
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0
McDonald’s to move tax base away from EU after Luxembourg scandal

Brexit be damned, McDonald’s Corp recently announced that it would move its international tax base from Luxembourg to the UK after the EU scrutinized the tax arrangements McDonald’s had in Luxembourg. The deals in place seemed to produce a number of unfair tax breaks for the fast food giant.

“Tiny states in the Bloc try to get these big companies to come by offering them big breaks on taxes”, Joe Garza of law firm Garza & Harris sheds some insight on the subject. “The intent is to bring jobs and money into the country.”

McDonald’s already fought a potential order to pay $500 million in back taxes, saying that they’ve paid an appropriate amount of taxes already, making it look like the EU’s claims are unfounded. However, it was found that the famous fast food chain had earned $1.8 billion in profits since 2009, but only paid an average tax rate of 1.49 percent. These so-called “sweetheart deals” are popping up more and more as the EU continues its investigation in the small country.

“They’re (McDonald’s) just one of many companies that moved their primary tax residence to the UK”, Garza continued. “It was in 2012 that Britain really relaxed their stance on their taxation of companies’ foreign subsidiaries. They have a corporate tax rate of only 20% and no withholding taxes on dividends.”

“Companies registered can play it smart and be altogether exempt from taxes. They can move their profits out of the country and not pay a single cent.”

The fast food giant has a different story however and touched on various reasons why the move to England is beneficial for everyone. A statement by McDonald’s said, “We are aligning our corporate structure with the way we do business, which is no longer in geographies, but in segments that group together countries with common market and growth characteristics.” Mentioned also was the fact that the UK is working on McDonald’s connections to other markets and that “this change has a clear business rationale in matching our corporate structure to our new functional structure.”

The promise of 5,000 new jobs is probably the biggest draw for the country’s citizens, though it’ll be a miracle if they’ll get anything close to this number. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Theresa May stated,”We welcome continued investment from companies around the world into the UK, particularly where that’s securing growth and increasing jobs.” She sounds confident.

No matter what side you’re on, the move is happening and it’s a big one. Whether it’ll pay off for all parties involved, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Is America Going Cashless?

Anand Rajendran
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Is America Going Cashless?

The generation is fast moving and everything around us is done within a snap of fingers. Technology has taken over our lives; we are surrounded by it. It is hard to think about a life where technology did not exist, maybe in a life of a monk. Everything is getting digitized and people are mostly buying things online as they are cost effective and time saving.

Most of us use debit or credit cards for transactions in our day to day life. But, they are few situations where we need to buy things with cash. It is always better to have some cash with us in case of an emergency. The technology is helping us in every way to go cashless, but still people are not opening up to that idea. They are comfortable in using cash for their daily expenses.

Plastic money transactions

The banks are providing the account holders with a debit or credit card which is plastic money. Business people have upgraded the system of business transactions with the help of these. This makes things easier to work with, as we can just swipe the card and our payment is done. That is seamless and hassle free for the consumer and the vendor as well.

Internet Banking

People are now days shopping online and prefer making the payment through online banking. But, there are a few who are skeptical about internet banking, as there are privacy issues. It is a fact that the banks have designed the complete system with encryption and security. The hackers might get into the system as they are good at it and fetch the information to make some money.

We do not want to have any kind of privacy breach in our account. That is the main reason we stick to using cash or swiping the card. At least we will be aware of the fact that our account is safe. We need to trust that there will be no consequences if at all there is an online transaction. Everything in our account will be known to us and the bank and there is no way a third person would get to know about it.

80% of the world’s population still depends, on cash

The fact is that, only 20 percent of the population is transacting in electronic and online modes. Most of us still prefer to pay in cash rather than paying in a cashless mode. It is not helping the economy to grow, as we need to make a huge amount of investment. With the rising cost of living, every one of us is trying to save some money.

Transit and maintenance of cash had always been a tedious task and upscale as well for the government. Most of the countries are finding it hard to keep pace with this growing economy. To overcome this, they have decided to go the cashless way. Go beyond using plastic money and online transactions. They want every one of us to go cashless wherever we go.

Will the cash stay?

Maybe the world is moving fast and people are adapting to the changes. In a few years to come, it will be cashless economy. Cashless transactions will definitely give us the exact transactions done by an individual. It will be a big step to stop money laundering and thefts, if everyone starts to go cashless. So, the big question is, will the cash stay in the future?

Mobile payments

An easy way to pay our bills is making mobile payments using the apps on our smart phones. The bills can be paid by scanning the bar code available at the stores. But, we need to recharge the app with money; only then the payment will get processed. There is a considerably an increase in mobile payments has made things easier.

The online payment apps have handled around $7.5 billion in 2015 and $20 billion in 2016 so far. The impact on people of using these apps for making payments online has increased tremendously. This is a big lead towards a future where people make cashless payments. This shows that, they have found these services to be safe and secure. Unfortunately this is just 0.17% of the population in the US; let’s hope that this will increase in the days to come.

A cashless community

Cutting out on cash, will make people provide services at a lower cost. The people of finance funding firms are working with the government to make “Go cashless” prominent. They want the community to make electronic payments and it is not accessible to all. Digitization of money has brought a lot of safety and security concerns for the public.

It may seem that all these are for the betterment of the mankind. But, we can say that somewhere between we can find loopholes in the system. Fraudulent cases are getting registered with the law authorities, though with strong security systems. We can anticipate that the future generation will be cashless. But for now, until and unless these online transactions are fool proof, people are willing to stick to the cash payment.

Are we ready for this change?

Already, it is in progress, but the major part of the population is still happy with using cash. The older generation is still in the era of buying commodities with the help of cash. It is a fact that the technology evolution has not made a big impact on them. They are adapting to the changes which they feel to be feasible enough for them.

We need to know how this complete electronic money transaction is happening. The bankers are mediators for us to get our money transacted from us to the seller. A four way connection also happens here, the bank, online payment apps, seller and us. So, will we be able to understand this complex kind of transactions and adapt to it?

America is yet to “Go Cashless” on a full scale

Sweden has already made a mark in being a cashless country; they are existing in the future. The astonishing fact is that only 2% of the transaction is made by cash. In Denmark only essential services use the cash transactions and the rest are in online mode. The Danish government has made a proposal on going cashless and use electronic money.

China has made an amazing progress in converting its citizens on using mobile wallets. There is a list of countries which is adapting to this change and is glad about it. Digital transactions keep the business more transparent, as everything can be tracked. But, there is a downfall to this whole system, if there is a system failure. The transaction, which we make could a successful one, or it may get failed.

Technology plays a major role in this economy; we should be sure about the facts of going cashless. To make transactions with the use of cards, people need to have the equipments. The network should be working properly to have the purchase done seamlessly. People who have a smart phone can easily use their mobile wallet to make payments. The government has to make arrangements in such a way that digital transactions are accessible by all, even to the ones who do not have smart phones or plastic money.

America is still in its initial stages of this big revolution, though other countries are already into it. It may appear that it has a long way to go to match up with it’s the other countries. Virtual transactions will become a norm in a decade from now. At this point we may think that we are day dreaming of a world with no cash and only digital money. The fact is that the dreams are going to be turned into a reality and we will be living in a world by going cashless.

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