A rate adjustment used for economic or business data that attempts to remove the seasonal variations in the data. Most data will be affected by the time of the year. Adjusting for the seasonality in data means more accurate relative comparisons can be drawn from month to month all year. |||The SAAR is calculated by dividing the unadjusted annual rate for the month by its seasonality factor and creating an adjusted annual rate for the month. These adjustments are more often used when economic data is released to the public. The ice cream industry tends to have a large level of seasonality as it will sell more ice cream in the summer than in the winter. By using seasonally adjusted sale rates, the sales in the summer can be accurately compared to the sales in the winter.
A type of income, normally tax-free, that may trigger the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for taxpayers. Tax preference items include private-activity municipal-bond interest, the qualifying exclusion for small business stock and excess intangible drilling costs for oil and gas, if this amount exceeds 40% of AMT income. Tax preference items are added to the amount of AMT income in the tax formula. Like the AMT itself, tax preference items are designed to prevent high-income taxpayers from being able to avoid too much income tax via participation in certain activities. For example, investors who own private-activity bonds issued after August or September of 1986 must declare all income received from these bonds, minus investment expenses. This rule thereby prevents taxpayers from shielding all of their investment income in this type of bond issue.
A retirement plan that may be established by employers, including self-employed individuals. The employer is allowed a tax deduction for contributions made to the SIMPLE. The employer makes either matching or non-elective contributions to each eligible employee's SIMPLE IRA and employees may make salary deferral contributions. |||The employer has two alternatives when it comes to making contributions. The first is to match the amounts that each employee makes toward his or her own elective-deferral contribution up to 3% of the employee's annual compensation. The second alternative is for the employer to make a flat 2% nonelective contribution to all qualified employees, regardless of whether the employee makes any contributions.Contributions to SIMPLE IRAs are immediately 100% vested, and the IRA owner directs the investments.
An investor who either provides capital to startup ventures or supports small companies that wish to expand but do not have access to public funding. Venture capitalists usually expect higher returns for the additional risks taken.
These are items, in the context of IRA withdrawls, that constitute penalty free withdrawls for an IRA owner who uses the assets to purchase a first home. These include the following items: - Costs of buying, building, or rebuilding a home. - Any usual or reasonable settlement, financing, or other closing costs.
Logical analysis of a financial situation or plan from a tax perspective, to align financial goals with tax efficiency planning. The purpose of tax planning is to discover how to accomplish all of the other elements of a financial plan in the most tax-efficient manner possible. Tax planning thus allows the other elements of a financial plan to interact more effectively by minimizing tax liability. Tax planning encompasses many different aspects, including the timing of both income and purchases and other expenditures, selection of investments and types of retirement plans, as well as filing status and common deductions. However, while tax planning is an important element in any financial plan, it is important to not let the "tax" tail wag the financial "dog." This can ultimately be counterproductive, as virtually all courses of financial action will have some tax consequences, and they should not be avoided solely on this basis.
An act passed by U.S. Congress in 2002 to protect investors from the possibility of fraudulent accounting activities by corporations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) mandated strict reforms to improve financial disclosures from corporations and prevent accounting fraud. SOX was enacted in response to the accounting scandals in the early 2000s. Scandals such as Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom shook investor confidence in financial statements and required an overhaul of regulatory standards. |||The rules and enforcement policies outlined by the SOX Act amend or supplement existing legislation dealing with security regulations. The two key provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are: 1. Section 302: A mandate that requires senior management to certify the accuracy of the reported financial statement 2. Section 404: A requirement that management and auditors establish internal controls and reporting methods on the adequacy of those controls. Section 404 had very costly implications for publicly traded companies as it is expensive to establish and maintain the required internal controls.
The segment of the judicial system primarily charged with handling such matters as wills, estates, conservatorships and guardianships, as well as the commitment of mentally ill persons to institutions designed to help them. In addition, the court may also deal with similar situations involving minors, although typically through a juvenile division. When wills are contested (for whatever reason), the probate court is responsible for ruling on the authenticity of the document and the mental stability of the person who signed it. The court also decides who is to receive what portion of the decedent’s assets based on the instructions in the will or, barring that, other laws in place.