On the Money

TAX TIME TIPS

Follow a nancial roadmap for navigating the ever-growing list of IRS rules to avoid a dreaded audit and preserve the most income
By Patrick Astre

meant well, but the rules were so complex and changed so much that low-income persons couldnt claim EIC without professional help they often cannot afford. Be careful with this one! Round numbers. Deductions rounded off to the nearest hundred or thousand will lead the IRS to think the taxpayer is guessing rather then determining from accurate records.

W
Patrick Astre

There are a number of highly effective hile death and taxes are inevitable, strategies that result in paying less income death doesnt worsen every time Answer all questions and boxes. Leaving tax legally without triggering audits. These Congress meets. The constant a box blank doesnt translate to no. Quesstrategies enhance retirement, estate and inpush-pull of special interests and partisan tions on various returns involving trusts, vestment planning. politics left us with an income tax system partnerships, foreign accounts, accounting that is convoluted and overly complex. methods, etc. should be answered. Dont WATCH OUT FOR The system has one saving grace: its leave them blank. AUDIT TRIGGERS semi-voluntary. For example, everyone Flexible or not, the strongest persons knows that if you own a home, you may Categorize deductions. Large deducknees may turn to Jell-O when the dreaded deduct the property taxes and mortgage tions headed Miscellaneous or with vague IRS audit notice lands in his or her mailbox. interest. But you are not required to. You wording may lead the IRS to decide you There are differing degrees and levels of could le form 1040A or 1040EZ, forego cant prove it. audits, yet they all have one thing in comdeductions and volunteer to pay more mon: They are triggered by what people put taxes. THE RIGHT TAX PREPARER in their tax returns. The IRS has something There are more opportunities in the You are responsible for your return. If called discriminate function programmed into IRC (Internal Revenue Code) than the comthere are errors triggering an examination, their computers. When the numbers on a mon deductions people conne themselves you are the one who will be audited. When return fall under certain criteria, the return to. These opportunities are not well known the IRS suspects tax preparers of incompeis agged for manual review. and are often ignored even by tax planners, accountants and attorneys. By ignoring There are diering degrees and levels of audits, yet they all have one thing in common: them, you will have They are triggered by what people put in their tax returns. volunteered to pay more taxes. An agent will determine if that return should be audited. Although the specic criteria are secret, we know that certain things will trigger audits: Ratios and unusually high deductions, and certain tax shelters and strategies. You should claim these deductions if you have incurred them, but retain documented proof such as receipts and canceled checks. Common triggers for an IRS audit include: Earned Income Credit (EIC). The EIC is a cash credit for low-income workers with dependents. In 1997, 25.6 percent of EIC were erroneous or fraudulent. Congress

tence or misconduct, it can force them to produce lists of clients who may face examination. A few years ago this happened to a mass-preparation rm in New York. Preparers would ask the client how much refund they wanted, and then they would fraudulently increase the charitable deduction to get the refund. IRS computers picked up the pattern, the rm closed and hundreds of their clients were audited. Here are some guidelines to use when choosing a preparer: Always use preparers with certications. EAs (Enrolled Agents), CPAs and Attorneys
www.gomcmag.com - MAR.12

36

GOMC

Safety First

SLIPS, TRIPS AND FALLS

These common events can cause severe injury. Their prevention should be a high priority.
By Ted J. Rulseh

H
Ted J. Rulseh

ows charm school, grace? Have a nice trip? If youve ever been on a work site, youve heard these (less than original) comments when someone happens to slip or stumble. But in reality, slips and trips in the workplace are no laughing matter. Falls from scaffolds get lots of attention. So do falls from ladders or into manholes. And rightly so the victims of these highly preventable accidents are likely to suffer serious injuries. Garden-variety slips, trips and spills cause huge numbers of workplace injuries every year, many of them serious. Its easy

are also major sources of injury. It is easy to envision such accidents as common hazards on contractors work sites. Employees must enter busy industrial buildings and outdoor sites where housekeeping and maintenance practices may be questionable. Many workplaces are in streets subject to slippery snow and ice, or on construction sites full of equipment, debris and obstacles. SLIP-SLIDING Slips happen mostly on oily, wet or frozen surfaces. Prevention largely involves good housekeeping (not under

protruding manhole risers, chunks of ice, curbings, even a loose bootlace. The University of Florida report cites a type of accident related to tripping: The step-and-fall. In one such event, the front foot lands on a surface lower than expected, such as when stepping off a curb in the dark. The person normally falls forward. Another such fall happens when a person steps forward or down and the inside or outside of the foot lands on a higher object. The ankle turns, and the person falls forward and sideways. Of course, slips and trips can be more serious if an employee happens to be carrying a machine or an armload of materials at the time. Carrying an oversized object can obstruct a persons vision and make a slip or trip more likely. STEPPING UP SAFETY It doesnt take any expensive equipment to prevent these accidents. All it takes is common sense, backed by vigilance, training and enforceable policies. Company owners, managers and supervisors should commit themselves to making prevention of slips, trips and falls a priority. Supervisors should check work sites for slipping or tripping hazards and see that they are clear before employees go to work. Employees themselves should be trained to look for these hazards when entering homes or businesses to perform services. In addition, employees should be taught proper procedures for walking and carrying, and for going up or down stairways and ladders. All workers should wear boots or shoes that suit their workplace: eld, shop, plant or ofce. Employees and supervisors also should be trained to report all slips, trips and falls, even those that dont cause injury. That is the best way to bring to light hazards that otherwise might go unnoticed. Any hazards identied should be corrected immediately. Slips, trips and falls are disruptive and painful. They may also be tragic for your employees and their families. Do what it takes to prevent them. GOMC

Slips and trips are serious enough so that health and safety agencies in the United States and worldwide make them a priority. An analysis by the University of Florida found that in one year, more than one million people suered a slip, trip or falling injury, and that more than 17,000 Americans died as a result.
to forget about these incidents because they seem trivial but they are not. GETTING SERIOUS In fact, they are serious enough so that health and safety agencies in the United States and worldwide make them a priority. An analysis by the University of Florida found that in one year, more than one million people suffered a slip, trip or falling injury, and that more than 17,000 Americans died as a result. Of the estimated 3.8 million disabling injuries each year in the workforce, 15 percent are due to slips, trips, or falls, which account for 12 to 15 percent of all Workers Compensation costs, the report stated. Those gures include falls from heights, but slips, trips and falls on the same level
38

a contractors control when visiting other properties) and proper footwear. Work shoes or boots with slip-resistant soles are a good remedy. If you dont provide them as part of your peoples work uniforms, you may want to make them a requirement for people working in the eld. Around the shop or ofce, of course, you can prevent slips by keeping oors clean, using slip-resistant nishes in chronically wet or otherwise slippery areas, and keeping driveways and sidewalks clear of snow and ice. TAKING A TRIP Accidents that involve tripping are a bit trickier. There are many tripping hazards: Extension cords or cables, hoses, loose pieces of ooring, pieces of debris, rocks,
GOMC

www.gomcmag.com - MAR.12