Knight Accounting and Technology

On a lighter note as i head into the last push of tax season, my friend shared this number trick with me and I love it!  If you start with a penny and double it every day for 30 days, how much do you think it will be worth at the end?  Take a look below, it’s pretty amazing!

Day 1: $.01
Day 2: $.02
Day 3: $.04
Day 4: $.08
Day 5: $.16
Day 6: $.32
Day 7: $.64
Day 8: $1.28
Day 9: $2.56
Day 10: $5.12
Day 11: $10.24
Day 12: $20.48
Day 13: $40.96
Day 14: $81.92
Day 15: $163.84
Day 16: $327.68
Day 17: $655.36
Day 18: $1,310.72
Day 19: $2,621.44
Day 20: $5,242.88
Day 21: $10,485.76
Day 22: $20,971.52
Day 23: $41,943.04
Day 24: $83,886.08
Day 25: $167,772.16
Day 26: $335,544.32
Day 27: $671,088.64
Day 28: $1,342,177.28
Day 29: $2,684,354.56
Day 30: $5,368,709.12

Here’s the quick & dirty of what was approved last night (based on a source from AccountingToday…the details still appear hazy, but this is as close as i can get!)

- Tax rate swill increase to pre-Bush rates on single folks making above $400,000 and married couples making above $450,000 (rates will increase from 35% to 39.6%)

- Permanent, retroactive patch to keep the alternative minimum tax from hitting the majority of the middle class.  If this hasn’t hit you before, it probably won’t hit you this year either

- Capital gains rate will increase from 15% to 20% for most taxpayers (still 15% for lower-income taxpayers)

- Medicare surcharge of 3.8% will hit those with household incomes on single folks making above $200,000 and married couples making above $250,000

- Itemized deductions phased out for on single folks making above $250,000 and married couples making above $300,000

- NO EXTENSION OF PAYROLL TAX – so everyone will start paying in 6.2% into Social Security, instead of the 4.2% that’s been withheld these past 2 years

- Estate tax to fall at 40% tax on estates over $5,000,000

- One-year extension of bonus depreciation, child tax credit, earned income tax credit, and american opportunity tax credit

Here’s a great graphic my friend found on bankrate.com (you may need to click on it to see it full sized, or else here’s a link to the original posting http://finance.yahoo.com/news/9-tax-measures-set-to-fall-over-the–fiscal-cliff–171033432.html)  Let’s keep our fingers crossed for some action in the next 14 days, but if compromise doesn’t come, there will be consequences!

“For a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”–Winston Churchill

“Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today.”–Herman Wouk

“I am proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is I could be just as proud for half of the money.”–Arthur Godfrey

“A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.”–G. Gordon Liddy

“The taxpayer: that’s someone who works for the federal government, but doesn’t have to take a civil service examination.”– Ronald Reagan

“The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government.”–Barry Goldwater

“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”–Calvin Coolidge

“This is too difficult for a mathematician. It takes a philosopher. The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”–Albert Einstein

“The difference between death and taxes is death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”–Will Rogers

“In 1790, the nation which had fought a revolution against taxation without representation discovered that some of its citizens weren’t much happier about taxation with representation.”–Lyndon B. Johnson

“Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut save you thirty cents?”–Peg Bracken

“You must pay taxes. But there’s no law that says you gotta leave a tip.”–Morgan Stanley advertisement

I’ll be teaching 3 QuickBooks classes at Colorado Mountain College in December.  If you or your staff needs to learn, improve or master QuickBooks, there’s a class or two for you!  Classes will be held from 4 – 6:50 at the CMC campus in Dillon.  Beginner class will be 12/3, Intermediate on 12/10, and Advanced on 12/17.  Call 970-468-5989…cost is $99 for the series of 3, or $40 each.  See you there!

My colleague and her team just launched a great new HR resource, the People Resource Center at www.link2prc.com.

What type of questions can our human resource experts help you with?

• New and Pending Employment Regulations
• Investigations
• Discrimination and Harassment Concerns
• Employee Handbook Policy Issues
• Reductions in Force and Lay-Offs
• Time and Attendance Issues
• Overtime Pay and Exemption Status
• Leave Management
• I-9s & Immigration
• Documentation
• Recruiting and Hiring
• Orientation
• Employee Relations
• Performance Management
• Retention and Rewards
• Discipline and Discharge
• Benefits and COBRA Issues
• Workers’ Compensation
• Unemployment Claims
• Wellness in the Workplace

People Resource Consultants are:

• Certified Human Resource Professionals or Employment Attorney’s.
• Human Resource consultants with more than 15 years of experience
  each.

HR professionals are available by phone or email to answer questions, provide advice and consult on all areas of HR management.

Call  877-218-3390 or email prc@symmetryconsult.com with your questions, and let them know that Knight Accounting & Technology sent you!

Knight Accounting & Technology is proud to announce the 2012 Women’s Small Business Conference.  I have wiggled my way onto the organizing committee, and we have a GREAT lineup of keynote speakers (Sasha Galbraith and Corey Ciocchettti, 2 of the smartest people I’ve ever met!), education seminars, one-on-one counseling and networking opportunities.  If you are starting a small business, running a small business, want to learn about WOSB or other women-owned priority government contracting status…this is the place to be!

Thursday, August 9th – Keystone, CO    See the flyer attached (or email me at cpa@cpamichele.com if you want a copy): Keystone Women’s Conference Flyer 2012

To register, go to www.coloradosbdc.org.  Event is being held at the beautiful Keystone Lodge, 21966 US Highway 6, Keystone, CO 80435.  Conference is from 7:30am – 5:00pm, networking from 5:00 – 6:30.

Cost is $35 before 7/23/12, $50 after that date.  The cost includes breakfast, lunch and a book from one of our speakers…well worth it!

Check out slide 12 of 14…last year I was in the Wall Street Journal, now I’m quoted on CNN Money!  I may not have aspirations to see my name in lights, but I can’t get enough of seeing it in print!

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/pf/taxes/1203/gallery.wacky-tax-deductions/12.html

There is a great webinar on February 28 to help small business and non-profit executive directors understand the difference.  It’s worth your time, so please read on!

Employee or independent contractor? That’s the million-dollar question-literally-facing many employers these days:

• Classifying workers as contractors can be very tricky – especially since the IRS, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Title VII, and state-level regulations all define “contractors” in different ways.
• U.S. Labor and Treasury regulators just announced a huge new enforcement campaign, hiring more inspectors and giving grants to states to pursue employers that misclassify contractors.
• If you incorrectly designate an employee as a contractor (even if it’s an honest mistake), you’ll face costly penalties and back-tax claims.

Learn the latest strategies for correctly classifying and managing independent contractors with this webinar recording, as our expert speaker explains how to avoid the biggest mistakes employers make with contractors,.

Plus, you’ll learn:

• The most current federal and state tests used to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor
• The safest ways to correct contractor misclassifications (without triggering a legal claim in the process)
• What steps you should follow to sever your relationship with any contractor
• Best practices for dealing with special contractor issues such as workers’ compensation claims and the use of temporary employees 

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (PST)
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (MST)
12:30 to 1:30 p.m. (CST)
1:30 to 2:30 p.m. (EST)

 How Do Webinars Work?

A webinar is remarkably cost-effective and convenient. You participate from your office, using your computer with an Internet connection and speakers. You have no travel costs and no out-of-office time. Plus, for one low price, you can get as many people in your office to participate as you can fit around a speakerphone and a computer screen. Because the conference is live, you can ask the speakers questions – either on the phone or via the webinar interface.

You will receive access instructions via e-mail three days before the event and the morning of the event. Your conference materials will be included in these emails for you to view, print, and download prior to the event. They are also available on the webinar interface when you log in.

 The cost of the webinar is $25. If you are unable to join the webinar on January 24^th, you may purchase recordings of the webinar for $100. To enroll in the class email webinars@symmetryconsult.com. Include a contact name and phone number. Someone will contact you to get payment information.

About your Speaker:

Karolynn Humberd St-Pierre is a top HR Consultant, Author of “The Small Business Human Resource Bible”, Small Business Advisor and business owner who knows how to help the small business remain compliant with state and federal employment guidelines.  

In 2009 Ms. St-Pierre founded Symmetry Consulting, LLC – www.symmetryconsult.com.  Symmetry Consulting partners with their clients so they can focus on their bottom line and growing their business while Symmetry manages the sometimes confusing HR functions and labor law compliance tasks. 

Prior to founding Symmetry Consulting, LLC, Ms. St-Pierre spent 15 years working for some the largest human resource consulting companies providing advice to Fortune 500 companies including:  Microsoft, Coors, Target and Ford.

My colleague, Karolynn St-Pierre, is a phenominal HR expert and is starting a series of webinars tomorrow.  Her first webinar is about How to Hire & Fire Employees, followed by Employee vs. Contractor, Performance Review Blues, Comepsnation Strategies, Benefits, Management Employees, and Documentation in future months.  If you have employees in your business, I highly recommend that you take advantage of these training sessions.

Visit her website for more details and to sign up: http://www.symmetryconsult.com/webinars.html