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STRATEGIC ISSUES...ONLINE
For week of March
6, 2006, Issue #252
Featured Articles:
1. You Can Still Contribute to
Last Year's IRA
2. Focus on Fraud: Click Fraud
Gets Smarter
3. Tech Tip Weekly: Adding Icons
to the MS Outlook Bar
4. Compliance Calendar
If you would like to have
further information on any of these articles, let us know. We
would appreciate receiving your comments and/or suggestions, anytime!
acarroll@pmcpa.com
acarroll@pmcpa.com
1. You Can Still Contribute
to Last Year's IRA
You do still have time to
make a 2005 contribution to an IRA. If you didn't reach the maximum for
last year, you have until April 17 this year to make up the difference.
It's a great opportunity to boost your tax-advantaged retirement savings
and possibly save on your 2005 taxes at the same time. Then you can
make another contribution for 2006!
Some key points to
remember:
-The maximum contribution
for 2005 was $4,000, with an extra $500 catch-up if you were age 50 or
over.
-The regular contribution
remains at $4,000 this year, with a $1,000 catch-up for those age 50 and
over.
-Your contribution to a
traditional IRA may or may not be deductible, depending on your income
and whether you were covered by a pension plan at work. Earnings grow
tax-deferred, but distributions are taxable.
-There's no upfront
deduction if you contribute to a Roth IRA. Earnings and distributions
are tax-free if you meet the time and age requirements. There are
income limitations on contributing to a Roth IRA.
-You can't contribute to a
traditional IRA if you're age 70 1/2 or older. There's no age
limitation with a Roth.
Studies show that many of us
don't save enough for our retirement. Maximizing your IRA contribution
each year can be a tax-effective way to accumulate retirement savings.
Please contact us if you
have any questions about IRA contributions or withdrawals.
2. Focus on Fraud: Click
Fraud Gets Smarter
Taken from the Association
of Certified Fraud Examiners web site:
BusinessWeek
Online
FEBRUARY 27, 2006
News Analysis
By Burt Helm
Click Fraud Gets Smarter
Internet
ad-traffic scams could be ripping off as much as $1 billion annually.
Are Web companies like Google doing enough to foil them?
Web consultant Greg Boser
has an ingenious method for sending loads of traffic to clients'
Internet sites. Last month he began using a software program known as a
clickbot to create the impression that users from around the world were
visiting sites by way of ads strategically placed alongside Google
search results. The trouble is, all the clicks are fake. And because
Google charges advertisers on a per-click basis, the extra traffic could
mean sky-high bills for Boser's clients.
But Boser's no fraudster.
He cleared the procedure with clients beforehand and plans to reimburse
any resulting charges. What's he up to? Boser wants to get to the
bottom of a blight that's creating growing concern for online
advertisers and threatens to wreak havoc across the Internet: click
fraud.
Click below for the rest of
the story. . .
3. Tech Tip Weekly: Adding
Icons to the MS Outlook Bar
After you get used to using
MS Outlook, you may want to create more icons on the MS Outlook bar.
Because each icon on the MS Outlook bar is a shortcut to a folder or
resource on your computer, you can save some time by adding a few
well-chosen icons.
1. Choose View,
Folder List.
2. Right-click a
folder for which you want to add an icon to the MS Outlook bar.
The shortcut menu appears
3. Choose Add to MS
Outlook Bar from the shortcut menu.
4. Compliance Calendar
March 8
-Employers deposit Social
Security, Medicare and withheld income tax for March 1, 2, and 3.
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