You can take mileage from your employer if you travel for work (but not for commuting). If you aren't reimbursed for mileage or expenses, then you can take them as a deduction on your schedule A. I think that as an independent contractor, you probably can take your commute as mileage for expense purposes - but you'll want to check with your tax man.
If you incorporate, you can avoid FICA, but you still need to pay yourself a "fair wage" - you can't pay yourself $1/month and take the rest of what you make as dividend income. It's a good deal - especially if your making more than what you would be making by working as an employee somewhere - but not a 100% effective tax shelter.
Any money that escapes the grasp of the IRS is free money:)
Still - don't let that drive your business decisions. Don't buy a new car every 3 years because you avoid taxes if your old one is good enough. More people get into trouble by attempting to spend money to minimize taxes than those who end up having to send a check to the IRS.
On the same token, and assuming Social Security will continue to be viable in the next 30 to 60 years (big leap o' faith there!), minimizing your income for self employement taxes might hurt you later on when your social security benefits are calculated.
Waiting times are mostly only a problem on non-critical procedures such as knee and hip replacements. Sure, it's an inconvenience, but you aren't likely to die if your knee doesn't get replaced quick enough.
Not to quibble too much, but if your knee or hip needs replacing (and from what I understand, those surgeries really suck), you'll lose quite a bit of quality of life until it gets done.
For a self-employed person, however, medical insurance is only deductible against income tax, not self-employment tax (FICA).
The way around that is to "hire" your significant other (assuming you have one handy), and offer them family coverage insurance as a benefit. Then it is a wage expense instead of a self employed insurance deal.
No one in their right mind would buy a "consumer level" machine from Dell - you have a lot more control over the configuration from their small business site - which is where these machines have been available in the past.
At least part of the problem in my workplace is that there are dozens of different webapps (which is a problem in and of itself), each of which has a different login/pass combination. It is simply impossible to not write them down.
The Federal Reserve System is finally moving from their old DOS based Fedline system to a web based one. The old system was secure - a stand alone machine on its own dial-up connection. Users required 2 passwords - 1 for the system and 1 for "host communications". They changed frequently, but didn't suck too much.
Fedline on the web, however, takes this to another level. Each "application" that you access on the web has its own password, beyond the password you need to access the initial site. It's always fun to tell the operations people that we can now do this on the web, but here are your 8 additional passwords - I think that I'm going to have a user revolt because of it someday
Kind of makes one want to drop the FRB apps and use a simpler system through a correspondent bank...
Soliciting business from places that are highly regulated (banking, medicine) as far as privacy is concerned. Mention things like Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) and HIPAA and how vulnerable those businesses are.
That's not really using it as the credit card - that's just using it as a method to bill something to your room - like you can do with a meal at almost any hotel.
1. Person shows up at the voting center with their ID.
This will never fly because of #1. And #1 alone would likely eliminate a whole lot of fraud.
I think that Georgia is attempting to require an ID for voting and it is being fought tooth and nail by various public interest groups (or perhaps "public interest" groups).
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If you incorporate, you can avoid FICA, but you still need to pay yourself a "fair wage" - you can't pay yourself $1/month and take the rest of what you make as dividend income. It's a good deal - especially if your making more than what you would be making by working as an employee somewhere - but not a 100% effective tax shelter.
Try at least 30% (15% FICA + 15% Income Tax) + whatever state taxes you might be required to cough up quarterly.
You need a better bank. Or just have your customer wire you the funds.
Any money that escapes the grasp of the IRS is free money :)
Still - don't let that drive your business decisions. Don't buy a new car every 3 years because you avoid taxes if your old one is good enough. More people get into trouble by attempting to spend money to minimize taxes than those who end up having to send a check to the IRS.
On the same token, and assuming Social Security will continue to be viable in the next 30 to 60 years (big leap o' faith there!), minimizing your income for self employement taxes might hurt you later on when your social security benefits are calculated.
The 401K is nice (as an employee) because it lets you save much more than what you normally could in an IRA or a Roth IRA each year.
As a contractor (that's self employed), there are other retirement options that let you stick away as much or more than an IRA - see your tax guy!
Not to quibble too much, but if your knee or hip needs replacing (and from what I understand, those surgeries really suck), you'll lose quite a bit of quality of life until it gets done.
The way around that is to "hire" your significant other (assuming you have one handy), and offer them family coverage insurance as a benefit. Then it is a wage expense instead of a self employed insurance deal.
No one in their right mind would buy a "consumer level" machine from Dell - you have a lot more control over the configuration from their small business site - which is where these machines have been available in the past.
Never give Congress any suggestions with the words "actively intervene" and "screw it up" in the same sentence - they'll likely take you up on it.
The Federal Reserve System is finally moving from their old DOS based Fedline system to a web based one. The old system was secure - a stand alone machine on its own dial-up connection. Users required 2 passwords - 1 for the system and 1 for "host communications". They changed frequently, but didn't suck too much.
Fedline on the web, however, takes this to another level. Each "application" that you access on the web has its own password, beyond the password you need to access the initial site. It's always fun to tell the operations people that we can now do this on the web, but here are your 8 additional passwords - I think that I'm going to have a user revolt because of it someday
Kind of makes one want to drop the FRB apps and use a simpler system through a correspondent bank...
If it's remote controlled, it's not autonomous - and wouldn't really qualify as a robot. Just as a real expensive gunsight.
The drones are expensive remote controlled airplanes - they don't really qualify as a robot.
Not really. A rock is cheap, but is not a very efficient way of killing people.
A bow & arrow is more efficient than a rock, and more expensive to produce.
Same for the rifle, the machine gun, ...
I think that "expensive, cool, and/or more efficient ways to kill people" would be more correct.
If Dawn of the Dead is any good guide, then propane tanks and flares make a good plan "B"
And a point & click interface!
Soliciting business from places that are highly regulated (banking, medicine) as far as privacy is concerned. Mention things like Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) and HIPAA and how vulnerable those businesses are.
Hurricane 80085
Go State :)
Absolutely! And it doesn't have any of the Reg E protections that you would have with a credit or debit card either!
That's not really using it as the credit card - that's just using it as a method to bill something to your room - like you can do with a meal at almost any hotel.
I also see no reason not to make it free, but I don't live in Georgia and have no say in it.
If the ID was free and easy to get, would there still be objections?
It also makes fraud easier.
This will never fly because of #1. And #1 alone would likely eliminate a whole lot of fraud.
I think that Georgia is attempting to require an ID for voting and it is being fought tooth and nail by various public interest groups (or perhaps "public interest" groups).