by Alan L. Olsen, CPA, MBA (Tax)

Receiving that notice that you are being audited strikes fear in the hearts of most SMB owners.

For many, these tough economic times are about to get worse.  Tax professionals from across the country have noticed an increase of IRS audit and tax collection efforts. 

If these efforts were solely directed towards tax dodging off shore corporate conglomerates, it would seem absolutely fair.  Unfortunately, many regular small and medium sized business owners are being randomly selected for an IRS audit, also seem to be targets.  

Intensified audit and collection activity is likely an attempt to raise much needed funds for cash strapped local and federal governments.   This covert use of auditors and collectors to raise additional tax revenue is distinctly unfair, and should send fear into the hearts of all citizens, honest tax payer or not. 

With tax returns being watched more closely, it is best to get professional advice and pay close attention when filing.  If you are a SMB owner or manager, it is always best to work with a certified public accountant.  

The IRS is currently hiring a vast number of tax auditors and collectors. Also, reported by Reuters on 12/11/2009, the US, Japan, Germany and the UK tax authorities are creating special new units to use a wide spectrum of tactics to investigate wealthy taxpayers.  

The IRS has hired hundreds of auditors for this new unit alone.  Further, ask any CPA or tax attorney with recent dealings with an IRS auditor the following question.  Are initial IRS offers a product of informed, objective and fair reasoning?  The answer might surprise you, "rarely"; one tax attorney actually called it a "money grab".

Most US citizens take great pride in paying as little tax as legally possible, and they will pay good money for this ability.  But as the government tries to squeeze taxpayers for more than what they perceive as fair, animosity will begin to build, sometimes with catastrophic results.

To be fair, this secret tax strategy can be found in areas represented by both sides of the isle, and on the state level as well.  A recent conversation with a CPA based on the West Coast, produced the following story.  

The CPA had a client audited by a state tax agency.  The CPA was informed that his client would need to produce receipts or canceled checks to prove that the taxes in question had been paid.   Otherwise, the client would have to pay all of the taxes (again) along with accrued interest and penalties. 

The CPA went online to the state agency's official website and printed the corresponding receipts.  The client had discarded the original receipts years ago, and the bank they used had gone out of business.  Imagine the tax payer's surprise when the auditor refused to accept the receipts as proof of payment.  Frustrated, the CPA pointed out that the receipts were from their own "official" web site.   To which, the auditor asked; "How do I know they are accurate"?

Please note, most IRS auditors and collectors are wonderful and fair professionals.  But when additional tax revenue is generated from new zealous policies based on old tax laws or politically ill-advised new ones, the resulting secret tax hike is just wrong.  

Mr. Olsen is Managing Partner of Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co. LLP, A Silicon Valley CPA firm with Offices in Fremont, Palo Alto, Danville and San Francisco, CA 

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San Francisco, CA —Toktumi, Inc., the leading provider of affordable phone services for SMBs or SOHO home-based businesses, announced that the VoIP-enabled version of its calling app Line2, Version 2.0, has been approved by Apple and is now available on iTunes to new and existing customers.

Peter Sisson, Founder and CEO of Toktumi, said, "Line2 is a landmark application that will appeal to SMBs.  For the first time, you can use your iPhone the same way, with the same number, whether placing or receiving calls over Wi-Fi, 3G, or Cellular Voice networks. If you live or work in a dead cell zone, or just want to reduce your cell bill, you are going to want Line2."

Mr. Sisson adds: "In the wake of the news that Verizon Wireless plans to put a crippled version of Skype on its phones, one that will not work over Wi-Fi, Line2 catapults AT&T to the front of the pack.  The Line2 service is a huge win for AT&T's iPhone customers, and demonstrates both Apple's and AT&T's commitment to supporting next generation communications tools.  I'm absolutely thrilled at their groundbreaking approval of the VoIP-enabled version of Line2 for iPhone and believe that history has been made today."

SMB International Traveler Gets Huge Savings 
Line2's Wi-Fi capabilities allow international travelers to place and receive calls while overseas without incurring voice or data roaming charges.  Using Line2, Calls to any number back home will be free, as will calls to other Line2 users, wherever they are worldwide.  Calls to international numbers start at $0.02 per minute, whether calling from home or abroad.

Live Customer Support
Line2 is designed for SMB professionals who can't afford to miss a call. It combines the best elements of Skype and Google Voice, but adds business grade features, reliability, and live customer support.  

Auto Detection for Best Available Service Network
There is no other calling app available on the iPhone or any other mobile device with the flexibility and features offered by Line2.  Line2 detects the best available network based on customer preferences and places and receives calls over that network automatically. 

Advanced VoIP Features
Advanced VoIP calling features include call waiting, call transfer, and conferences for up to 20 people – all without burning a single cellular minute. Wi-Fi call quality is better than cellular with Line2, and Wi-Fi calls between two Line2 customers use 16-bit HD audio for crystal clear sound quality that is stunning to experience.

Line2 is literally a second line on the iPhone, so that you have two numbers on one phone, each with its own voicemail, caller ID, and contacts.  Business people can finally stop carrying around two phones, one for personal calls and one for work.  Each Line2 number integrates with Toktumi's hosted PBX platform, providing office phone features like auto-attendant ("Press 1 for..."), call screening, caller-specific call forwarding, after-hours settings, voicemail by email, and PC-based calling, all integrated with the Line2 application.  You can get just one line or set up an entire office, with all lines billed to one account and managed centrally. 

Line2 is a $0.99 download that comes with 30 days of free service.  After that, service costs just $14.95/month for unlimited US/Canada calling and access to all features.

by Sam Baumel

So what do bees, cotton, tourism and alpacas all have in common?  They are all SMBs (small to medium sized businesses) that require Internet where there is no Internet. Most of the time these SMB businesses are located in remote areas.  SMBs in rural locations often assume that they can't compete in the larger market due to a slow Internet connection. But with satellite Internet, all of these businesses are able to conduct day-to-day business, interact with current and potential customers and give their business the competitive edge they need.

Grand Canyon Resort Corporation provides a variety of tourist attractions at the Grand Canyon, including the SkyWalk.  But with a rural setting and multiple locations, dial-up would not cut it to connect all the offices to share information.  GCRC turned to satellite Internet to establish a private network to handle ticketing and information sharing across offices.

Laney Honey, located in North Liberty, Indiana, has been in the beekeeping business for over 30 years.  Linda Laney spent many hours a day waiting for her dial-up connection to process customer's orders, obtain tracking information and update the website (http://www.laneyhoney.com/).  Now, with satellite Internet, Linda has wasted less time waiting on the connection and more time growing the business. 

Producer's Gin, in Theodore, Alabama, processes and sells cotton.  The business constantly works with the USDA and this requires regular electronic communication and the transmission of electronic warehouse receipts—two tasks that had proved to be almost impossible for a company using a dial-up Internet connection.  Satellite Internet has taken the headache out of both of these tasks and allowed the cotton gin to continue running smoothly.

Harmony Ridge Farms, located in Oak Hill, Ohio, breeds and raises alpacas. Marie and Jeff Bradford raise and sell the alpacas, but needed a way to expand their customer base.  On dial-up developing and updating a website (http://www.harmonyridgefarms.com/) was impossible.  With satellite Internet, the business has grown and so has their herd.

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About HughesNet
HughesNet satellite Internet is available everywhere – even where cable Internet and DSL don't reach. HughesNet offers a suite of high-speed connectivity solutions via satellite for your home, business, enterprise or government with download speeds ranging from 1.0 Mbps to 5.0 Mbps. Visit their website: http://business.hughesnet.com

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