By Jon Hosier

I know it’s a weird title, but it got your attention right? So for 98% of the population (Well, those who pay taxes anyway.) we try to avoid being audited. A few years back I filed by hand and mailed it in. No double check and no software to tell me I botched the form.

Life resumed its daily norms. The wonderful news came some weeks later. The envelope bore the auspicious seal of The U.S. Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service. Page one of eight somewhere in the middle the message flew out at me: “Summary of Proposed Changes.” You owe us $2,300. Plus interest. And by the way you have a month to pay. Let me just preface the rest of this article by saying I have not filed since without the use of any of the available tax preparation software out there. In any case, an error of math and overstated business expenses did me in.

If you want to join in the audit fun, by all means file by hand. The chance of messing up is higher and you even get the joy of waiting longer for a return. The best ways to get audited are generally the simplest.

Here’s the whole list:

- Claim no profits years in a row or claim a large net loss for one year

- Make your business look like a glorified hobby; very low revenues can mean no deductions (ie. selling on eBay)

- File a return by hand. Make it as sloppy as possible. In the age of eFiling, there is nothing a IRS agent likes more that a poorly formed statement.

- Go really streamlined. Leave boxes blank.

- Claim random expenses. (ie. local septic company claiming flight to Bahamas as business travel expense)

- Write it off. (It’s so much fun. Like Russian Roulette. See if they just won’t notice that obnoxious insurance premium…)

- Claim the golf, cell phones, flat screens, meals, travel and iPods. (The boys at the IRS don’t know what fun is anyways)

- File that Schedule C with more than $100k. (The rate of audit for these cases keeps increasing)

- Round everything. (This goes hand in hand with #4. Don’t even try to make stuff up.)

Bear in mind that only about 25% of those audited actually get off scott free. My advice? Use a freaking tax preparation software like TaxAct or bring your documents to H&R Block.

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A host of new, short domain names will be made available under the body responsible for domain names ending in .uk, Nominet. It plans to allow the registration of previously-banned domain names consisting of one or two characters.

The non-profit body also plans to allow people to register names consisting of terms that make up other parts of domains, such as com, gov or edu.

Nominet’s Policy Advisory Body (PAB) has recommended the changes and it has now asked users and industry to respond to the plans, which it backs.

“These recommendations and suggestions have been reviewed internally and we consider that in general where there is no longer a technical or policy reason for a restriction in our rules, then those rules should be removed,” said a Nominet statement.

via Nominet plans release of super-short domain names | Pinsent Masons LLP.

• RT @OPENForum The "Iterate Fast and Release Often" Philosophy of Entrepreneurship : Technology :: A.. http://ow.ly/1qso2l
• #Business #101 Employers Value Wellness Programs, Survey Finds:

  New market analysis by DMAA: The Care Con… http://bit.ly/bhlzNF

• #Business #101 AIS 2010 Directory of Health Plans:

  Featuring More Than 3,900 Key Executives Contacts, The … http://bit.ly/d6Fzcp

Featuring More Than 3,900 Key Executives Contacts, The all-new 7th edition of AIS’s Health Plan Directory contains every health plan and primary care preferred provider network operating in the U.S. as of year-end 2009.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) February 24, 2010 – Atlantic Information Services (AIS), publisher of industry-leading newsletters Health Plan Week, Drug Benefit News, Medicare Advantage News and The AIS Report on Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans is pleased to announce publication of AIS’s Directory of Health Plans: 2010, available in print and on CD-ROM. Now in its 7th edition, the directory contains every health plan and primary care preferred provider network operating in the U.S. as of year-end 2009.

Featuring 469 health plan records and 3,975 key executive contacts (in more than 16 job functions), the 2010 directory listings include: national and state-level enrollment data by company, national enrollment by type of product, company contact information, types of primary care offered, NCQA accreditation status and PBM contracted. To see a list of fields in each section, visit http://www.aishealth.com/Products/dhp.html

AIS’s Directory of Health Plans: 2010 is designed to help health plans, PBMs, pharmaceutical companies, technology firms, consultants and other health care organizations:

• Discover which health plans offer certain types of plan models, and which health plans operate in each state, so you can gauge your competitors’ strengths and identify where your opportunities for market expansion lie.
• Gain insight into the increasing diversity of health plan models as benefit designs adapt to meet marketplace demands.
• Create targeted mailing lists and develop call lists to network and generate leads for prospective new partners.
• Determine which PPO networks may best serve your benefit design offerings.
• Track shifts in branding as organizations have started to position themselves as national brands versus state or local entities, and as integrations, mergers and acquisitions change the competitive landscape.
• Develop benchmarks for determining the prevalence of certain type of plan models and create projections about which areas are likely to grow.

The CD database features additional information not found in the print version. Unique data points featured are: a new enhancement that allows users to view enrollment for large national companies in spreadsheet format at the subsidiary level; a special report allowing easy analysis of health insurers by state containing the full listing of each company operating in each state; full listings of parent organizations with corporate headquarters executives, total enrollment data and more; total physicians, and total hospitals.

For purchase information on AIS’s Health Plan Directory: 2010 and to see the full table of contents, sample page and field listings, go to http://www.aishealth.com/Products/dhp.html

New market analysis by DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance provides insight on keys to program success. Report details purchaser and program provider perspectives on industry trends, purchasing expectations, program measures, physician collaboration and other metrics.

This survey shows employers view workplace health promotion programs as key contributors to financial well-being, as well as to employee health and productivity Washington (PRWEB) March 9, 2010 — A challenging economy has not lessened the commitment of employers and other health care purchasers to population health and wellness programs, which they view as essential to their financial management strategy, a new survey shows.

DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance “Population Health Improvement: A Market Survey Report,” from DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance, also finds a trend toward population-based programs, rather than interventions focused on individuals, and shows most purchasers consider incentives, such as premium discounts, critical to program success.

The DMAA market analysis collected responses from 135 purchasers and providers of health and wellness services and explores a variety of metrics, such as intervention types, use of incentives and measures of success. The comprehensive analysis also examines market trends, including purchasing expectations, insourcing vs. outsourcing of services and use of integrated data platforms.

The survey projects that 73 percent of purchasers will offer population health improvement programs over the next 12 months and that 76 percent will do so by the end of 2011. Of those who currently purchase programs, 84 percent expect additional purchases, signaling strong purchaser commitment to population health interventions.

“This survey shows employers view workplace health promotion programs as key contributors to financial well-being, as well as to employee health and productivity,” DMAA President and CEO Tracey Moorhead says. “The continued strength of these programs in the face of a challenging economy demonstrates their value to purchasers.”

The survey report, which includes more than two dozen charts and figures of key industry data, found strong support among purchasers and providers for ensuring physician integration in health and wellness programs. Nearly all purchasers view population health improvement as supporting the physician-patient relationship, and both groups ranked physician engagement highly as a critical component of program success.

“Population health improvement programs are valuable contributors to the health care team and improve the quality and value of care,” Moorhead said.

In other findings:

When asked how they measure program value, purchasers most often cite improved program participation and reduced annual care expenses. A majority of purchasers expect to see a financial return on investment in one to two years.

The report, in electronic format, is available through the DMAA Web site. It may be purchased alone or, for a nominal additional fee, in combination with a CD-ROM copy of the association’s 2008 market analysis. Members of the media may obtain a copy of the report by contacting Carl Graziano at (202) 360-5253.

About DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance convenes all stakeholders providing services along the care continuum toward the goal of population health improvement. These care continuum services include strategies such as health and wellness promotion, disease management, and care coordination. DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance promotes the role of population health improvement in raising the quality of care, improving health outcomes and reducing preventable health care costs for individuals with chronic conditions and those at risk for developing chronic conditions. DMAA’s activities in support of these efforts include advocacy, research and the promotion of best practices in care management.

DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance represents more than 200 corporate and individual stakeholders – including wellness, disease and care management organizations, pharmaceutical manufacturers and benefit managers, health information technology innovators, biotechnology innovators, employers, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals, and researchers and academicians. Visit DMAA on the Web at http://www.dmaa.org

If you’re writing a business, self-help, or other instructional book, then it may not seem important to share information about your personal experiences. The purpose of your book is to give people strategies and tips they can use, right? Well, yes, but sharing your background is a powerful way to connect with your readers and show them how your material can help them when they apply it.

For example, if you’re writing a book about how a person can use yoga to overcome stress, you’re obviously going to include historical research about yoga, background about how stress affects a person mentally and physically, and different yoga practices a stressed-out person can incorporate into their daily life. That will be the bulk of the material in your book.

But what compels a person to write a book like that, anyways? Perhaps the author once suffered from stress and eventually found yoga as a solution. This isn’t always the case, but oftentimes an author’s desire to write a book that will help others comes from their own personal experience. They’ve been in the same situation as the reader, and they want to give those folks the resource that they so desperately needed.

Including this story, if you have one, in your book not only makes it more powerful and personal, but it also makes the book unique because it comes directly from you. Here are a few ways to include your story in your book.

1. Your Defining Moment Think back to before you ever heard about the topic of your book and what your life was like then. What situation were you in? What problem were you facing? For many people, this is a low point, but it doesn’t have to be. Your defining moment is a realization that something in your life needs to change, whether in your health or personal satisfaction or career. And most likely, it’s a situation that your ideal reader has found himself in at one time or another.

For example, if you’re writing a book about how to establish a better relationship with your teenager, then your defining moment could have been a time when you felt farther from your own child than you ever had before. Or if you’re writing about how to crate train a new puppy, your defining moment may have been a day when you came home and found your house destroyed. Or maybe your defining moment was an encounter with someone who changed the way you see the world. Whatever it was, your defining moment inspired you to take action and seek the solutions you now want to share.

1. Your First Introduction What was your first experience with the topic of your book? How were you first introduced? What was your situation before you learned about the topic? What problem were you facing? And what made you look for a solution? Let’s look again at the yoga example mentioned previously. If you were stressed out, maybe your doctor or a friend suggested you take a yoga class. Maybe you had some preconceptions about yoga before you tried it-maybe you were skeptical. Did you have this type of experience with the material you teach in your book? If so, write it down as clearly and honestly as you can. Your readers, who find themselves in a similar situation, will relate.

2. Your Steps in the Process If your relationship to your material can’t be traced back to a single, specific event, then look for a series of events or realizations that brought you to where you are today. For example, if you’ve developed a process for starting any business on a shoestring, then think about the steps you went through when you were getting your business ideas off the ground. What didn’t work? What would you have done differently? What worked better than you expected? Think about how the steps and strategies you’re writing in your book are similar to the steps you took in your own life, and write about how you connected all the dots to develop the process you’re sharing with your readers.

Sharing the Story of Your Material As you’re writing your how-to nonfiction book, think about these three different ways to incorporate your personal experiences. Doing so not only makes your book more interesting, but it also builds rapport with your readers and shows them the benefits of following your experience-earned instruction!

— — Melinda Copp helps aspiring self-help, business, and nonfiction authors write and publish books that establish expertise, attract clients and opportunities, and share their message in a compelling way. Visit http://www.writerssherpaprograms.com/writeabook.html for a free copy of her Write Your Book Quick-Start Mini E-course.

The importance of internet is growing quickly in the travel industry. More and more travelers now use internet for trip planning, destination reviews, and online bookings… If you are a tour guide with your personal website, or a simply web profile page, how can you maximize your online presence with the webpages? Rather than creating a website and leave it aside, you can efficiently use these online contents when talking with potential clients. Your webpages can be a very strong sales tool.

When clients enquire about general tour information, the ready-made content from your webpages can be forwarded to the clients directly. However, be specific. Don’t overload your travel clients with too much information. Forward them the very relevant page addressing their queries. Similarly, do not simply send them a homepage URL. You are familiar with contents of your asset (your own website). The clients are not. Do not take for granted that they can find what they are looking for. Besides, why not save their time and efforts by giving a direct link to their interest?

One easy way of using your webpage is to include the URL in your E-mail signature. It makes your E-business card more professional. People would like to know more about yourself and the guiding services before they confirm the booking. A web page is easily accessible for them to get some information.

Include testimonial pages when talking with potential clients. The reviews and testimonials from past clients help to build up trust. Webpage with testimonials can be a very strong sales tool. Do not hesitate to show your testimonials, either on your own website or from other travel review websites.

Use the social media. Everyone is talking about twitter, facebook, google buzz these days. Social media is a method of inbound marketing. You can use it to connect with clients. You can also use these social media sites to promote your webpages. For instance, add the URL to your twitter profile, share links with your facebook friends, buzz your unique sightseeing tours. Make your website alive with social media presence.

Promote your profile webpage on other websites, forums and blogs. Blogging is a good way to keep your website up-to-date. Search engines like google value new contents and updated website. If you use third-party blog platform like wordpress, you can use the blog to introduce contents on your website. E.g. link to the relevant sightseeing tour for more details. If you are not an active blogger, try reading industry blogs written by other people and joining the comment discussion. Do add value and your thoughts in the comment rather than a mere link promotion. Similar with forums, join the discussion or share new promotions on your webpages. Some forums allow URLs in user signature. Add your webpage in the signature as well.

Your webpages shall not be a dead presence. It is a good platform to promote tour guide services and various sightseeing tours http://www.ourexplorer.com/ Proactively use it to receive more visitors and get new client bookings.

OurExplorer http://www.ourexplorer.com/ connects local-insight-seeking travelers with professional tourist guides. The website helps to achieve authentic travel experience with an efficient online booking and rating system. OurExplorer launched in 2008 with tourist guides covering 130 countries worldwide.

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• #Business #101 Tax Terms You Should Know Before Filing:

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• #Business #101 How to Develop the Writing Habit—Even if You Don’t Have Time to Write:

  Writing takes time,… http://bit.ly/9f7SGI

Writing takes time, which isn’t easy to find.

I know, because although I write for a living, I still don’t always spend enough time on the writing that I most want to do. Work, kids, vacuuming all get in the way. And for those people who aren’t writers by trade, but need or want to write for professional or business reasons, then you may need a little help developing your writing habit.

The following simple steps can help you write more often and with better results.

1. Write Every Day Developing a habit means doing something regularly. Therefore you should do your best to find time to write every day. It doesn’t have to be a long period of time, even fifteen minutes will do if that’s all you can spare. The key is to practice every day!

2. Set Manageable Writing Goals Books are written one sentence at a time, so don’t fall into the trap of only sitting down to write when you have several hours at a time to devote to your work. Even if you only have time to put down a paragraph, that’s progress.

3. Don’t Stress About Writing When you over-think your writing projects, they can seem bigger and more important . . . and much more intimidating than they really should be. Just sit down and write; don’t make a big deal out of it. The true beauty of a manuscript doesn’t appear until a few revisions, anyways. Just put your words on paper.

4. When You’re Writing, Write Without Your Inner Critic Another part of letting loose and approaching writing with confidence is allowing yourself to write terrible sentences and paragraphs just to put something on the page and get through blocks. Don’t rework sentences until you’ve completed an entire draft-it will only slow you down and make writing more difficult.

5. Get Feedback on Your Writing At some point, you have to start sharing what you’re working on with people who can provide encouragement and insight into how to improve. Try to aim for a balance of supporters, like best friends and parents, with professional opinions, which won’t always be as easy to swallow as a big cheer from mom.

Anyone who wants to write can do it. Discipline is the key, and catching the writing habit doesn’t hurt, either. With these tips, you can write better and faster than you ever imagined.

© Copyright 2009 Melinda Copp

— Melinda Copp helps aspiring self-help, business, and nonfiction authors write and publish books that establish expertise, attract clients and opportunities, and share their message in a compelling way. Visit http://www.writerssherpaprograms.com/writeabook.html for a free copy of her Write Your Book Quick-Start Mini E- course.

By Darcie Duttweiler

Filing your taxes can be a big pain. While online tax software, such as TurboTax and H&R Block, can help you file your taxes with ease, it can still be helpful to learn key tax terms before sitting down to file. The most important tax phrases you need to know are explained below in easy-to-understand language.

AGI

The Adjusted Gross Income is the income you receive over the course of the tax year, including wages, interest, dividends and capital gains, minus some key items, such as contributions to an IRA, business expenses, moving costs and alimony payments. Your AGI from last year is needed to e-file your tax return. If you used online tax software to file last year, you can import your AGI from last year’s tax return to your current return.

AMT

The Alternative Minimum Tax was originally designed in 1969 to tax only the 150 wealthiest Americans. However, because the AMT was not indexed for inflation, plenty of taxpayers pay it today.

The AMT uses a different set of rules to calculate taxable income after allowed deductions. Preferential deductions are added back, and then the AMT exemption is subtracted to get the AMT taxable income. The AMTI is then taxed at the current rate to get tentative minimum tax. If TMT is higher than your regular tax liability for the year, the regular tax and the amount by which the TMT exceeds the regular tax are both paid.

Unfortunately, the only way you can tell if you owe the tax are by filling out the forms, essentially doing your taxes a second time. A temporary fix for 2009 tax returns sets the AMT exemption at $46,700 for single filers and $70,950 for joint filers.

Deduction

Deductions are expenses the IRS allows you to subtract from your AGI to compute your taxable income. Typically the lower your income is, the lower your tax bill will be. For example, if a single filer has income of $38,000 and $8,000 in deductions, then he would pay taxes on only $30,000. Some standard deductions include student loan interest, moving expenses, deductible IRA contributions and alimony payments.

1. Standard deduction: This is a fixed dollar amount that is available to all taxpayers to subtract from their income. The amounts change each year because of inflation. The current standard deduction levels are listed on each of the three individual tax forms. Most taxpayers use this deduction method because it eliminates the need to itemize deductions such as medical expenses, charitable contributions and local taxes.

2. Itemized deductions: These deductions include medical expenses, other taxes (state, local and property), mortgage interest, charitable contributions, casualty and theft losses, unreimbursed employee expenses and miscellaneous deductions such as gambling losses. Itemized deductions must meet IRS limits before they can be claimed.

EIN

Your employer has a nine-digit Employer Identification Number, and this number is important in making online tax filing easy. With this number you can import your employment tax information directly onto online tax software.

EITC

The Earned Income Tax Credit is designed to give low income workers a chance to lower their taxes or claim a refund. To get the credit, your income cannot exceed $13,440 if you are single and have no children. You would be eligible for a $457 credit.

However, the more children you have, the more valuable the EITC becomes. The credit increases from $3,043 (one child) to $5,657 (three kids or more). But you cannot earn more than $43,279 if you are single and $48,279 if married and filing jointly with three or more qualifying kids.

Exemption

An exemption is the amount the IRS lets you subtract from your income to reflect all the dependents, such as a spouse or child, who depend on your income. The IRS allows a set amount for each exemption, and this total is subtracted from your AGI to come up with the final (and lower) amount used to determine your taxes. Your personal exemption amount is in addition to any deductions, standard or itemized, that you claim.

Taxable Income

This is your overall income reduced by all allowable adjustments, deductions and exemptions. Your taxable income is the final amount of income you use to figure out how much you owe the government.

Withholding

Withholding enables taxes to be taken out of your wages as you earn it and before you receive your paycheck. These withheld taxes are deposited in an IRS account, and you are credited for the amount when you file your return.

Now you’re on your way to e-filing your taxes! Learn more about tax software companies, read reviews and find the best online tax service that fits your needs at http://www.Tax-Compare.com.

Darcie Duttweiler is a copywriter at ChooseWhat.com.

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