Avoid Penalties and Jail Term with OVDP 2012

With the aim of providing an opportunity for taxpayers who wish to make a voluntary disclosure of undisclosed foreign accounts or entities to become compliant, avoid substantial civil penalties and generally eliminate the risk of criminal prosecution, the IRS Amnesty reopened the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) in 2012. It applies to those citizens who:

 

  • Voluntarily inform the IRS of their tax violations
  • Have the only legal source of income
  • Are not under criminal investigation,  for tax evasion
  • File a correct tax return or cooperate with the IRS  
  • Make a full payment of the amount due

 

The IRS’s prior such programs were Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (2009 OVDP) and Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (2011 OVDI), both met with great success. It netted around 33,000 nonfilers in its first and second initiatives over the last few years. Though the objective of the IRS Amnesty 2012 is similar to that of its earlier initiatives i.e., to bring taxpayers that have used undisclosed foreign accounts and undisclosed foreign entities to avoid or evade tax into compliance with United States tax laws, it differs in the framework. Here is a look at some of the requirements of OVDP 2012.

 

  • Provide copies of previously filed original (and, if applicable, previously filed amended) federal income tax returns for tax years covered by the voluntary disclosure.
  • Provide complete and accurate amended federal income tax returns (for individuals, Form 1040X, or original Form 1040 if delinquent) for all tax years covered by the voluntary disclosure, with applicable schedules detailing the amount and type of previously unreported income from the account or entity.
  • Agree to cooperate with IRS offshore enforcement efforts by providing information about offshore financial institutions, offshore service providers, and other facilitators, if requested.
  • File complete and accurate original or amended offshore-related information returns or tax years covered by the voluntary disclosure.
  • Submit full payment of any Title 26 tax liabilities for the years included in the offshore disclosure period and all taxes, interest, accuracy-related penalties for underpayments related to offshore accounts and entities, and, if applicable, the failure to file and failure to pay penalties.
  • Cooperate in the voluntary disclosure process, including providing information on offshore financial accounts, institutions and facilitators, and signing agreements to extend the period of time for assessing Title 26 liabilities and FBAR penalties.

 

Taxpayers must take advantage of the IRS Overseas Voluntary Disclosure Program to effectively avoid prosecution by self-reporting their prior tax violations to the IRS.

 

Read More About: Entity Formation

 

A Quick Glance At How Entrepreneurs Can Save On Taxes

Successful entrepreneurs almost always find ways to save money and maximize their returns. Filing and paying your taxes on time is crucial as late filings and payments will always increase your tax bill due to penalties and interest. The best things to do is find a tax professional who specializes in your business’ industry. An efficient tax expert will be able to provide advice that goes  beyond preparing the regular tax returns and financial statements.

 

What one usually misses out on

 

Some commonly missed tax breaks include the Domestic Production Activities Deduction, the Small Business Healthcare Tax Credit and the Worker Opportunity Tax Credit. A few of the other lesser-known tax breaks include the disabled access credit and a tax credit for setting up and administering a small business retirement plan. Some tax breaks may exist based simply on where your business is located, because there are many states that have tax deductions and credits for qualifying taxpayers.

 

Importance of Year-Round Tax Planning

 

The number one tax saving tip is year-round tax planning. Efficient tax planning can mean the difference between paying $50,000 in taxes for 2012 or saving $50,000 in taxes. While it is highly essential to track all expenses, self-employed businessman has to spend time reviewing all of their expenses since they pay federal, state taxes, social security and Medicare.

 

 

Tax-breaks

 

  • Some deductions entrepreneurs may be able to include are business expenses, such as office supplies, business dues, business publications, accounting fees for your business, business cards, business entertainment (50% deductible), gifts (limited to $25 a person a year), postage, printing, continuing education, computers and software. These are all business expenses and with good accounting, one would not miss any of these potential deductions.

 

  • Any recently started  business should be aware that the treatment of certain initial expenses for tax purposes could make a big difference in your tax bill. Taxpayers are permitted to elect to write off $5,000 of startup expenses in the year business begins, and the rest can be deducted over a period of 180 months that begins with the month business starts.

 

  • It could be a good idea to install a medical reimbursement plan to cover co-pays, and deductibles. The business gets to deduct these costs in full and the owner/employee does not have to report the payments as income.

 

  • The business gets a tax deduction for salary, if their children are hired and the children may not have to pay any tax on the income.

 

  • Another tip is to hold board meetings at vacation destinations. As long as 51% of the trip is business, the travel cost is deductible.

 

As every situation is different and tax law is not “one size fits all,” these are just a few examples of how an entrepreneur can reduce their taxes. Partner with a reputed tax expert who can provide assistance in other areas like foreign bank accountoverseas voluntary disclosure, etc.

 

Read More About : FBARIRS Amnesty

 

Importance of Professional Translation Services

Majority of people are of the opinion that an innovative translation technique is all about conveying data regarding a product, software or technology from one zone to the other. Thus when Nintendo develops a DS3, then translation and localization technology is important for having that information disseminated globally and the product to be sold in the world market. Similarly, when a new iPhone application is developed by Joe Schmoe, the mobile application software localization would boost the mass dissemination and monetization of the new application and result in profits.


However, the above mentioned aspects are not the only reasons as to why professional translation services are important. By translating content be it product information or website content one can spread and share ideas, thoughts, knowledge and even learn from others globally, that otherwise becomes difficult, keeping in mind the language barrier. Localization and translation are the medium that helps to communicate perceptions from one place to the other, keeping the regional language and its cultural implications accurate and unchanged. Hence, in today’s competitive and evolving world without a proper language translation technology organization would exist in silos, and find it difficult to interact globally.


Keeping all these aspects in mind, companies specializing in professional translation services have come up with advanced online translation solutions that caters to the diverse consumer demands. These companies also have their own customer translation network that includes:


* A collaborative translation platform

* Customers

* Translation marketplace

* Partner network

* Development community translation


The collaborative translation platform offered by these companies provides enterprise business consumers with new and multiple ways to involve their global communities and offering trusted, quick translation to grow and expand business in a cost-efficient manner. This is done by making use of new age translation network methodologies, community collaboration and workflow management. Furthermore, the partner network includes open source technologies, service providers and other short listed companies to cater to the unique translation needs of end users. The translation marketplace is a comprehensive, in-platform professional translation staffing and workflow system that helps in the rapid completion of a project within a set timeline.


It has been observed that the corporate website is the first point of reference that creates a long-lasting impression. Therefore, it is essential to keep it free of errors, factually and grammatically correct. In order to attain the same in an optimum way companies need to invest in professional translation services.


Related links: translation software and tools, automated language translation

Advanced Reverse Logistics Management Solutions for Effective Returns Processing

Supply Chain Management is concerned not only with the flow of raw materials and finished goods, but scope extends beyond this to include reverse flow of unsold finished goods, parts and packaging materials from the point of consumption at customer’s end back to the organization. In today’s competitive business environment reverse logistics management is of great importance as it tracks from where and why goods are being returned.

If you understand why returns occur it helps identify opportunities for improving supply chain processes and decision-making. The goal is to identify why returns are happening and work to reduce their volume.Common obstacles most companies encounter are tracking goods as they travel through the returns process and complying with government regulations. Companies have come to realize that that they can save greatly by paying greater attention to reverse logistics issues as well as building stronger relationships with key customers. With the growing importance in rules and regulation regarding disposal of hazardous materials etc. reverse logistics is moving up on the logistics priority list.

A vital step in ensuring effective returns processing, is choosing a returns management solution that manages the entire process of returns logistics in an efficient manner. The solution should be efficient enough to get the products back into the testing field in minimal time. Reverse logistics management has become a strategic asset that can reduce costs and deliver a high degree of functionality.

There are a lot of benefits of partnering with a supply based management solution provider. A solution provider can deal with issues pertaining to advance replacements, customer collections, and swaps. The solution provider can also facilitate the management of returns exceptions, and be able to link financial transactions and offer easy ways and means to aid returns receipts and reporting. With a consistent logistics management system the entire retail supply chain can be optimized to reduce costs and leverage efficiency.

Look for integrated reverse logistics management solutions that can effectively refurbishes a vast array of products in minimal time and gets them back into the field tested and up to standards.  With solutions that are scalable and web-enables, enterprises can achieve positive results also ensuring returns management. An effective solution can streamline a multi-channel returns management authorization process. Invest in a robust reverse management logistics solution that allows you to remarket complete systems, achieve partial or full recycling, and transform your old assets into valuable investments.

Why Companies Should Implement SM Analytics Tools?

One of the common concerns of new age business scenario is that can B2B derive anything meaningful with social media analytics or is it only well suited for companies that sell their products to individual customers.  One of the most important aspects of social media analytics tool today with regards to B2B companies is their capacity of analyzing their internal data or selected consumer interactions associated with the buying intent. For instance, a certain client wants to assess social media conversations for the recruitment process. The strategy ideally needs to be twofold that would highlight the analysis based on a specific demographic and recent graduates. The other would lead to finding out certain demographics on internship programs.


Today there are companies that use the predictive nature of social media analytics tools in order to categorize and assess customers according to their loyalty and affinity and also for the ones having an existing transaction association with the company. Keeping in mind the varied objectives that companies have behind using social media analytic, service providers have come up with advanced analytics applications that offers valuable, actionable insights that help to make essential enhancements to their business. The actionable insights are all offered instantly to help clients arrive at smarter operational decisions and create automated business procedures. These applications offer valuable actionable intelligence with which companies can:


* Evaluate data instantly from various mobile, social and web platforms to enable game developers and social commerce organizations to continuously enhance consumer acquisition, engagement and social game monetization campaigns.

* Modernize the capacity top track broad data discover meaningful data and close the gap with automated real time action.

* Keep a track of user behavior in real time and attain instant feedback on what is working for a campaign and what is not

* Make use of visualization interface that enable companies to understand business performance to arrive at smart operating decisions.


When an organization focuses on advanced analytics in their business, regardless of B2B or B2B space, their objective and need are the same. Both these approaches need to give emphasis on tying social media listening to a business priority and assure that the feedback is there for all business areas. The application of advanced social media analytics is not a marketing function within a B2B organization but has the potential to bring unexpected advantages to the overall business. This is the reason why most companies are resorting to social media analytics tools today.

Make Informed Business decisions with Social Media Analytics Tools

With customers nowadays spending a considerable amount of their time in sharing their thoughts, perceptions and opinions about different brands, products and services on social networking sites and with more and more people valuing their friends’ opinions rather than that of marketers, enterprises need to be on their toes to convert customers into brand advocates. Though most marketers are active on the social networking sites, their roles are limited to sharing new posts and interacting with customers. However, in today’s highly competitive business environment, mere presence and interaction in the social networking sites alone cannot guarantee success, enterprises need to engage their audience and must do effective engagement tracking to see positive results.


With more than half of the world population already on social networking sites, enterprises need to make their presence felt. This cannot be achieved through just interaction. Interaction helps to get hold of customers’ opinions, perceptions, likes, and dislikes but without actionable insights, these interactions would be meaningless. Enterprises need to capitalize on social media data by acting on the intelligence amassed from these online conversations and take informed business decisions. Hence, enterprises must use best of breed social media analytics tools that provide advanced analytics.


Enterprises today need actionable intelligence to adjust the position of their brands, products and services in near real time so that they can have the much-needed edge over their competitors. Actionable intelligence is any information immediately available that helps to understand, improve and execute effective online marketing initiatives. Thus, advanced analytics is a staple in business life, but what is required is an effective tool that provides actionable insights to inform what is working and then help plan an effective strategy accordingly. The following are some of the benefits of using a best of breed social media analytics tool.


* Analyze data in real-time from across social, mobile and web platforms to allow game developers and social commerce companies to continuously improve customer acquisition, engagement and monetization campaigns.

* Modernize ability to capture broad data, uncover meaningful insights, and close the loop with automated action – all in near real time.

* Track user behaviors in real-time and get immediate feedback on what is working vs. what isn’t so that one can optimize on the fly.

* Use visualization interface that helps to truly understand business performance to make faster, smarter operating decisions.


Thus, good social media analytics tools help to modernize analytics by going beyond simple metrics and yesterday’s measurements, and thereby allowing enterprises to focus on a broad array of data and mine the vast treasure trove of social media to understand which events, content and user segments drive the most revenue.

Successfully Innovating with Idea Management Solutions

Without innovations and advanced technology, today’s fast paced life would probably come to a standstill. While every organization looks for ideas to improve their product and services, the highly competitive environment of cutthroat competition makes innovation the key to stay ahead. Innovation is the process of developing better solutions and methods of conducting business. Having a culture of innovation helps companies stay ahead of the competition. Innovative business organizations place great emphasis on being able to take advantage of new opportunities - identifying changes in the business environment and, after evaluating market research information, allocating resources to capitalize on these opportunities.


The strategic growth requires a constant flow of good ideas to fill the pipeline. ‘Customer-based innovation’  finds new and more profound ways to engage with customers and develop deeper relationships with them. Driven by a desire to build a deeper relationship with the customer, innovation continues to be on the minds of global businesses as a way to stay ahead of the curve or simply to survive. Innovation is the best way to drive growth in your organization.


For instance the premium brand, Surf Excel, was re-launched with a major new innovation. The new formulation continued to offer the best stain removal, but with 50% less effort behind rinsing and water consumption. This has resulted in an increase of sales of the brand, in a segment which had been declining. The price of Surf Excel sachets was made even more attractive to widen the user base of premium brands. The heritage brand, Surf, has been migrated to the Surf Excel franchise.


A key differentiator of innovation from other initiatives is the aspect of “newness,” expressed in a new product, a new technology, a new insight into customer requirements, or simply a new way of applying an existing technique in a new situation. Reign Supreme Bar has undergone a fundamental transformation. HLL’s innovative technology eliminates insoluble fillers in detergent bars, delivering superior whiteness, and since its re-launch Rin Supreme Bar has registered good growth.


Idea management and innovation has acquired a greater dimension over the years aiming to foster a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing that helps a company to enhance its brand value and loyalty. Even though most companies understand the need to innovate, they are usually unable to take the necessary steps to foster a culture of innovation. With idea management solutions, businesses can address issues like people management, competitive pricing, and introduction of new products thus staying ahead in today’s market.


Read More About: idea management system, innovative management solutions, innovation products

Manage Innovations and Ideas with Idea Management Solutions

Most economists consider manufacturing as a wealth-producing sector of an economy. This holds true, because it is the manufacturing sector that helps to develop a sustainable economic environment, promote domestic and foreign investment, and enhance a country’s balance of payments. Moreover, the manufacturing sector creates a significant number of job opportunities not only within the sector but also within other sectors such as logistics, financial services, customer support, education and training, information systems, real estate, infrastructure development and maintenance, and health care. Hence, manufacturing companies play a very important role in a country’s long-term prosperity.


The manufacturing sector is the harbinger of innovation. Managing innovation with dexterity is its greatest plus point. However, the economic recession hit the sector hard leading to a drop in orders, job losses, and factory closures. Today the global manufacturing sector is slowly recovering from this economic downturn. However, the spirit of innovativeness inherent in the manufacturing sector was buried in the pressing concerns of the manufacturing companies.


The fact of the matter is challenges are common in any sector and therefore should not be allowed to come in the path of innovation. Instead, enterprises must invest in innovative management solutions to cultivate the innovation culture among the workforce. Take the case of  Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which adopted an innovative production process called the Integrated Design and Manufacturing (IDAM) for the development of its multi-utility vehicle (MUV), Scorpio. The IDAM team consisted of cross-functional teams including suppliers, who catered to every aspect of product development, from design and testing to vendor development and marketing. Thus with a team of 120 people and an investment of $120 million (just one-fifth of what a world major would have spent on a similar-sized project), M&M developed a successful product that captured a major share of the MUV market in India.


The interesting piece of information highlights the fact that to maximize profit what is required is not huge investments but innovative ideas. Hence, enterprises must deploy an idea management system to launch, monitor, manage, and screen innovations and ideas. Here is a look at some of the benefits of deploying idea management software:


* New competitive products and services

* Process improvements

* Improved collaboration and decision making across teams

* Competitive advantage

* Identify hidden talent and new areas of growth

* Enhanced Brand Value and Brand Loyalty


Idea management solutions, thus, help enterprises to involve the entire ecosystem in the production process and ensure that a superior and viable product reaches the market.


Read More About: Management Idea, Idea Management Services, innovation products

Protect Your Brand & Make Counterfeit Detection Easy With the Right Solution

Although counterfeit sales represent a  small percent (5-7%) of world merchandise trade today, the damage these sales do to rightful brand owners goes well beyond revenues and profits. Your brand is your enterprise’s identity and any compromise with the brand’s image and reputation can result in brand erosion and loss of reputation. Global brand management is not an easy task for manufacturers with e-commerce assisting the growth of counterfeiting. Firstly enterprises need to be aware that their products are being counterfeited and then take the right proactive measures and strategies to tackle the same.


Your brand and reputation certainly needs protection from counterfeiting. When products are counterfeited or sold in the gray market, it affects the brand reputation of the company negatively. Often such companies lose significant market share because they are unable to find a solution that can protect their brand reputation effectively. The top management of these enterprises needs to realize the importance of brand reputation management, how it can impact short and long term revenue goals, and, as a result, allocate resources to solve the problem.


Organizations and brand owners need to adopt their own proven best practices to successfully beat this menace. They can take the necessary steps to execute the right technology in order to safeguard the firm against potential exposure to threats. Implementing new brand monitoring solutions can successfully  protect them from revenue loss, increased liability risks and brand erosion and  help combat possible frauds & counterfeits. Although every business is aware of the need to implement effective measures that produce convincing and compelling results, it is the right solution that makes all the difference. With the right solution brand protection and counterfeit detection can be an easy task.


Reputed service providers specializing in brand protection solutions have introduced efficient brand anti-counterfeiting solutions that prioritizes violators and identifies the syndicates and the most sophisticated violators who are doing the most damage to a company’s brand reputation. Investing in an advanced anti-fraud solution helps detect counterfeits and applies human intelligence to ensure complete data integrity and thereafter prioritizes suspects as per their threat relevance.


The use of the right solution, makes it easier for companies to target their enforcement efforts in the right places and reduce the amount of counterfeits on the market. Therefore, shorten the process of finding where counterfeits are being sold online and be successful at counterfeit detection and protect your company’s revenues, brand and customers with a sound anti-counterfeiting solution


Read More About: enterprise risk management

Secure Your Brand from Gray Market Sales

Most of us have seen great deals online, available at incredible prices on various online shopping sites. When shopping online for a product, most consumers get lured by the attractive discounts that an eCommerce site or a seller offers. This is more so, if the brand is well known for its quality and high price. However, it is essential to know that not all products, such as cameras, mobiles, cosmetics, and other high-tech products sold at a discount are original products. In fact, the source or channels through which they sell it to the mass at large can be unauthentic.

 

Over the past few years with the advent of online shopping there has been an increase in the percentage of scams, frauds and gray market sales, more so for the unsuspecting buyers. Gray market sales, indicates an individual or a website selling goods through certain distribution channels that are not authorized or intended by the original manufacturer.


For instance, a leading camera brand manufactures two versions of the same camera model. One version is sold in the United States and the other outside United States, such as Germany, Japan and so on. The price range might differ in these two markets. Gray market sales take place when a seller purchases the product from a market where it is less expensive and then imports it to the other market and sells it at a price that is profitable to him, but below the normal market price. There are times, when the original camera or product parts are replaced with duplicate ones that automatically make the product, a poor second.


In order to put an end to it, global enterprises resorted to online brand monitoring solutions that were manual, semi-automated and very time consuming. This did not help in combating gray market sales. Therefore, what enterprises require is a solution that would automatically search and detect violators in real-time and offer unmatched visibility. Modern online fraud detection solutions come with multiple enforcement features that include, cease and desist or DCMA letters. Other features are:


* Enhanced anti-counterfeiting software solution

* Advanced search capacities that scan the internet on a daily basis

* Application of human intelligence to ensure data integrity

* Suspect prioritization depending on client specifications


Detecting fraudulent practices online along with combating gray market sales can be a cumbersome and confusing process. Therefore, it is essential to invest in apt anti-counterfeiting and online anti-fraud solution for effective results.


Read More About: Enterprise Risk Management, brand management