The Power Is Now Media Inc.

Many government organizations have turned to social media as a tool to disseminate important information to the people. The latest organization to have joined the bandwagon is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS joined several social media channels to help people find out what they need to do to file their tax returns.  ·          IRS2Go – Free mobile app that gives your refund status, tax news updates, IRS YouTube videos and lets you request for tax records ·          You Tube- Dozens of video tax tips on a variety of topics ·          Twitter - Tweets from @IRSnews provide tax-related announcements and daily tax tips, tweets from @IRStaxpros offer news and guidance for tax professionals, the Taxpayer Advocate Service sends tweets from @YourVoiceAtIRS and @RecruitmentIRS provides updates for job seekers ·          Podcasts - Short audio recordings that offer one tax-related topic per podcast. ·          Tumblr - Users can access IRS tax tips, videos and

Real estate professionals love getting real estate designations because designations validate their level of expertise in a particular subject matter.   I know real estate agents with more designations than they can put on their business card.  But the IRS  designation is not a designation you want to get or put on your business card.   I am an expert on the IRS and will be the first to admit that I do not like dealing with them.  But threatening them or presenting myself in a way that could be perceived as dangerous is something that I would never do.  Yet it happens enough that the IRS has designations for people who are perceived as a threat.  Do you have the IRS Designation?   I hope not! Since front-line employees of the IRS may be exposed to many difficult, threatening and dangerous situations when dealing with taxpayers and their representatives, it is their priority to take care of the safety of their employees. The IRS has programs that help protect their front-line emplo

“It is no coincidence that America’s great success in the past century came as women steadily increased their participation in every aspect of society.” The first woman to Chair the Federal Reserve Janet L. Yellen could not have said it better at her speech at the Women’s History Month Reception at the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. What started as a day to commemorate women in 1911 turned out to become a week of celebration in 1980. By 1987, Congress acted to make that week into a full month. Just a few years before International Women’s Day was declared, women gained their right to vote which marked the start of a century of progress for women. Those ideals continue to be so influential in the world that it became the principle of equality for all, most especially women. Ms. Yellen recalled how women’s increasing participation in the workforce became a major factor in sustaining growing family incomes. Using the talents and efforts of women in the workplace has certainly made us

I have been slowly, but steadily coming to the conclusion that poetry is an art form that is quickly losing its flavor. Little interest is shown to poetry as it can be very hard to understand the message behind a compilation of complicated words and phrases. Luckily, a day has been designated for poetry to gain a few hours in the spotlight.  I love poetry and I am coming out with my own poetry book very soon. Proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999, March 21 was designated as the day for cultural organizations, schools, libraries and publishers all over the world to celebrate the art of poetry. The day is meant to support poetry by returning the oral tradition of poetry recitals, restore a dialogue between poetry and other arts and promote the teaching of poetry. However, offering a day to commemorate a dying form of art is not enough. Marc Bain of Newsweek cited a study claiming that the number of people reading poetry has decreased at approximately half over the past 16 years. With suc

How is it possible that any tax payer would purposely leave any money with the Internal Revenue Service.  I have never had the privilege of the IRS owing me money.    I am always writing a check.   The IRS is not a saving account contrary to how many people manage their tax liabilities. But that is another blog for another day.   The IRS owes nearly 918,000 taxpayers who did not file their federal income tax returns in 2010.  The refunds total  nearly $760 million dollars which still can be collected by taxpayers until April 15, 2014.  Time is running out. Students and part-time workers are typically the ones who fail to file their income tax returns because they had too little income required to file a tax.   Workers who had their taxes withheld from their wages, can still be claimed without any penalties.  They just need to file their federal income tax returns. The law states that taxpayers have a three-year window of opportunity to claim a refund.  When the refund is not claim

On May 1, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Melvin Luther “Mel” Watt to be the next head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).  The position matters to homeowners and prospective homeowners, as the head of the FHFA oversees the operations of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The future of these Government Sponsored Entities is uncertain in spite of their current revenue and profitability.   Mr. Watt was finally confirmed on December 10, 2013, after much debate in congress, and immediately took action on one of his first objectives as the new FHFA director, and stopped a series of planned loan fee hikes that would have ultimately made the cost of borrowing more expensive for homeowners.  What a great start as the leader of the FHFA. Leaders should always make their first move bold and decisive.  It sets the tone and send a message about the type of leader you are going to be - a leader of action and results.  I can&#

As real estate professionals it is imperative that we understand why consumer credit is so significant  to our economy.  Consumer credit involves the amount of debt that is incurred by people for the purpose of purchasing a good or services. Credit allows customers to spend for larger items that cannot simply be bought with cash such as cars, appliances, furniture and other bulky durable goods. Spending for tuition and vacations also affect the availability and cost of credit. This means that credit availability is directly related to consumer spending which accounts to nearly 70% of our gross domestic output (GDP), or the total output of the economy of the U.S. One of the best sources for monitoring the changes in consumer credit is the Federal Reserve Consumer Credit Report. Also known as the G.19 monthly release, this report tracks overall consumer credit outstanding according to the prevailing terms as well as by lender type. Knowing this type of data offers a valuable source

I have a home based business. All home based business owners should understand what the IRS is up to lately in their attempt to help us. The Internal Revenue Service released a statement reminding home-based business owners to claim their home office deductions using the new simplified option. Capped at $1,500 per year based on $5 a square foot for up to 300 square feet, this new optional deduction will reduce the paperwork and record keeping burden of small businesses. The new option is available starting with the 2013 return taxpayers are filing today. Instead of filling out a 43-line form complete with complex calculations of allocated expenses, carryover of unused deductions and depreciation, taxpayers will only need to complete a short worksheet in the tax instruction and enter the result of their return. In 2012, 3.3 million taxpayers claimed home office deductions which totaled to nearly $10 billion. April 15 is tax time again but the simplified option to claim home office

On March 31 to April 2 in Washington D.C, the federal bank regulatory agencies, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund will be hosting the 2014 National Interagency Community Reinvestment Conference. The conference is set to offer participants all over the country the chance to learn about the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and its regulations. The Community Reinvestment Act was created to encourage financial institutions to help meet the credit needs of the community by providing safe and sound lending practices. Enacted by the Congress in 1977, the regulation was revised in 1995 and updated in August of 2005. The act requires that each lending institution should be evaluated by appropriate Federal financial supervisory agencies. A bank’s performance is then taken into consideration when applying for new deposit facilities or when it plans to merge or acquire another institution.

Is anybody taking note of many firsts that are happening in the Obama Administration?  Notwithstanding the fact that President Obama is the first African American President.  Our President continues to tear down the walls of gender, race and sexual orientation throughout the government and is making historic changes.  Janet Yellen is another example of this type of historic change.  The Federal Reserve has a woman as the Chair for the first time in history of the Federal reserve.  This is a big deal and it represents major change at the Federal Reserve.  I am not sure if the male dominated congress is really ready for Mrs. Yellen in spite of her confirmation.    Her speech clearly conveys her goals and intentions in leading the Fed through the serious challenges we face as nation.  There are many questions that will be answered over the next few weeks that will give us an indication of what type of a chairwoman she will be.  Will a woman's approach be the difference we need at