April 15th has come and gone. However, some of us still have our lovely extensions to carry the obligations forward for a few months. Taxes can become quite complicated for people as they gain more wealth, luck, and family. We all know that our new tax laws severely affect us small business owners that make over $250,000 a year. Let’s just say that a lot of successful small business owners are now saving every receipt possible to stay south of that mark.
Having a family or dependents is another way to ease your tax gains. Children give significant deductions as they should. It is no secret that it isn’t cheap or easy to raise children. The new stimulus package also allows recent homeowners to get significant tax credits in an effort to stimulate the housing market.
I feel as if the one part of taxes that most people get killed on or forget to claim is gambling winnings. Casino winnings taxes can be significant. In addition, if you choose to defer taxes at time of payout, be aware that government knows that you have won and will call for the taxes eventually. What I didn’t know is that International visitors can receive taxes back for winnings they accumulate while in the States.
Tags: casino, International, small business, taxes, US, winnings
The American consumer wants dirt low prices. However, they also want domestic, helpful customer service. I hate to say it, but it’s not feasible with a U.S. Median wage nearing $14.00/hr. The average call from a consumer to U.S. based customer service rep costs about $7.50. Call centers in India average $2.30 a call. As a result, the next time you decide to racially punish the foreign accented person on the other side of the line, channel your anger towards yourself for being cheap.
The other option for customer service is Julie, the infamous celebrity voice from Boston. Julie Stinneford is the voice of Amtrak and handled over 18.1 million calls last year. About a third of those required no human interaction. She saved Amtrak over 100 million dollars last year. She has actually become famous with stints on “Saturday Night Live” and more.
Tags: amtrak, customer, india, julie, service, stinneford, US