Tag: Investment

Tax Tips To Ensure Your Security

Tax Tips To Ensure Your Security

Experts warn that that many scam artists are out there, and frequently disguise scams as services that are related to your taxes.

Here are some tax tips for fighting possible scammers this year.

Over 2 million people are filing Australian taxes the electronic way, giving criminals a rather large potential market.

Criminals will often make attempts to get your personal information through scams. Michael McKinnon, a security expert with AVG, gives these tax tips.

Be wary of any e-mail supposed claiming to be from the government. This will often be designed to look urgent, and may offer you refunds that seem too good to be true, or claim your return is invalid, and information needs to be sent again.

One of the simple yet devastating scams will have you clink on a link in an e-mail. This will take you to an unsafe website, where you could easily get your identify stolen by hackers.

At the end of the year, people should be getting ready with these tax filing tips.

Tax Tips To Ensure Your Security
Taxes (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

-Make sure your security is up to date on any devices you might be using to file taxes. This includes PCs, phones, laptops, and possibly other technology.
-Make sure you check in with the ATO every so often about new scams that might be out there. Be sure to report anything suspicious to them as well.
-Always use a secure password, consisting of both numbers and letters that will be hard for hackers to crack.

Tax season is rough enough without having to worry about someone stealing your hard earned money. Use the above tax tips to make sure your information is always safe.

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Millions In Cayman Islands Investment Funds For Romney

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has disclosed that he has millions of dollars worth of investment funds set up in the Caribbean tax haven of the Cayman Islands. Romney, who has an estimated personal wealth of $250 million, has been paying a much lower tax percentage than most U.S. citizens: approximately 15% of his yearly income. He has previously kept his tax returns private, but financial transparency is now an expectation of presidential candidates.

Romney has a minimum of twelve investment funds containing as much as $8 million which are listed on the registry of the Cayman Islands, together with another investment on the securities records which he says has a worth of between five and twenty five million dollars which is also housed in the Caymans. Offshore banking and taxation authority, Washington lawyer Jack Blum has stated that Romney’s finances are an illustration of the faults of the tax system in the United States, calling them, “a poster child”.

However, Romney campaign officials insist that he follows full U.S. tax legislation and that wherever the investment funds were based he would still be paying the same amount. They maintain that the major reason for locating the investment funds offshore in the Cayman Islands was to attract foreign investors who would pay less tax, but that Romney himself has paid full U.S. taxes on the income that he received from the investment funds.

Rebecca J. Wilkins who is an expert on tax policy said that there is an estimated loss to the treasury of $100 billion each year as a result of investment funds situated in tax havens. However, she also added that the setting up of such offshore investment funds was neither illegal nor improper.

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What are the Best Property Investment Options?

Some of the best options in the real estate and property investment markets today happen to be in rental, leasing and lease-to-own options, as there are a surplus of cheap homes all around the country, but the sales rates are still lagging behind.  This is due to a wide range of reasons, including the desire to avoid more debt, liability and expense, just to name a few.  The economy and housing markets are on the mend, although it is a slow mend, and the outcomes of these options are particularly beneficial to owners and tenants.

Lease-To-Own

The lease-to-own option, while at one time was a last-resort for most property owners, has proven one of the best ways to lock in a good price and gain a steady income from the property at the same time.  Many property holders have taken this route to cover the costs of holding a property, and today, it is very sound property investment advice.  These options have become very effective from regions in the Midwest and on the East Coast, that still have many cheap and foreclosed properties, but not many in a position to buy at the present time.  Utilizing the services of resources like Country Cottage Furniture to decorate properties for viewing with unfinished furniture NH, for example, are some of the better tactics for attracting tenants, as the first impressions are usually what determines their final decision.

Investment Companies

Property investment companies are some of the best options for investors not holding their own properties, but still wanting to take advantage of the property investment market.  These options not only allow for a broad range of investments, but also a diverse range as well, and this diversity is responsible for the added stability of these organizations.

Overseas Options

One of the most overlooked options in real estate investment today is the overseas property investment options that have been increasing steadily in popularity.  While some of the most lucrative commercial options, like Dubai, may be more than most individual investors are looking for, there are serious profits to be made in vacation homes and tourist rentals all over the world, and these are also particularly popular within the U.S. as well.

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Tax Lien Investing – Smart Move for Investors

Cash flow notes can be bought or sold and if you procure one, then the debtor will owe you the debt. Tax lien certificates, trust deeds, and home mortgages are examples. A great investment is business in tax lien certificates. Tax lien investing is attached to a property which makes it a low-risk investment. With the tax lien, the owner could never sell their property so the property would serve as your insurance that the owner will meet their commitments.

The certificate was bought at a discounted price and this is where you will get your profits. The owner may owe you the original amount but you bought it at a discounted amount. Your investments could then be placed in real estate or property inclined businesses.

Properties like houses and lots never lose their value and they could even increase over time, which makes real estate the benchmark amongst other business industries. It’s also considered the safest and most lucrative investment you could make.

You may want to pursue tax lien investing if you want to earn money through real estate investing because this would be a good strategy as foreclosure rises. The real estate rose in popularity in the 21st century where everyone, even without trying, was making real estate profits. If you bought a piece of property, you can sell or tap your equity after waiting a few months for appreciation.

Many people were comfortable taking on ARMs or adjustable state mortgages because of the real estate craze. But in the late 1990’s, nothing goes up 20-50%. The market is slowing down, so it’s time for a new strategy.

Tax lien investing is one strategy that works well in times of foreclosure rates. Real estate bills become delinquent when mortgage payments are delinquent which would cause cash flow problems for local governments. Because of this, an investor is allowed to pay the taxes and in turn, they would get the government property tax lien. The homeowner will have more time to find the money they need in order to pay the tax bill.

Investing in tax liens is profitable and safe. The interest rate fluctuations have no effect because they are set by state law. Also, you can take full ownership of the property if you don’t receive your money back plus interest.

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