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STRATEGIC ISSUES...ONLINE
For week of March
13, 2006, Issue #253
Featured
Articles:
1. The April 3
Deadline
2. Focus on
Fraud: They Just Don't Get It
3. Tech Tip
Weekly: Putting MS Word Objects in Order
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. The April
3 Deadline
For some
retirees, April 3, 2006 could be an important date. If
you have reached age 70 1/2 last year, it's the last day
to take your first required minimum distribution (RMD)
from your traditional IRAs. Miss the deadline and you
could face a 50% excise tax on the amount you should
have withdrawn.
You can't
leave money in a traditional IRA forever. (Roth IRAs
have different rules.) Once you reach age 70 1/2, you
must start making annual withdrawals. Usually those are
due by December 31 of each year. But in the first year,
the IRS gives you a break. You have until the following
April 1 to take that first distribution. This year,
April 1 falls on a Saturday, so the deadline is moved to
April 3, the next regular business day.
Some
important points to remember:
-You must
report your withdrawals on your tax return. All or part
will likely be taxable income.
-If you've
delayed your 2005 distribution until April 3, 2006,
you'll still have to make your 2006 withdrawal by the
end of this year.
-The amount
of your required distribution is based on your life
expectancy. The IRS publishes special tables to use to
figure out your withdrawal.
RMDs are an
important factor in your retirement tax planning. If
you face the April 3, 2006, deadline, please contact us
as soon as possible. We can help you calculate the size
of the distribution and the tax impacts. And even if
you have several years to retirement, it's never too
soon to start planning.
2. Focus on
Fraud: They Just Don't Get It
Excerpt taken from the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners web site:
Click here for full story:
March 7,
2006, 5:42PM
Fastow: 'I was being a hero for Enron'
By
JOHN C. ROPER
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Andrew
Fastow considered himself "a hero for Enron" for hiding
losses and bolstering earnings for the company through
partnership deals he created.
Fastow, in
his first public comments about Enron since being ousted
from the company in late 2001, testified that the
partnerships, known as LJM1 and LJM2, were designed in
part to buy deals Enron wanted to wipe off its books so
its financial statements would be stronger.
"I was being
a hero for Enron," he said several times during
testimony.
Fastow,
whose hair has gone completely gray since the company's
2001 collapse, appeared calm and with purpose as he
described the controversial partnerships.
"We were
using this to inflate our earnings," Fastow said.
Fastow
appeared eager to tell his story and became animated
when describing the intricacies of the LJM-related
deals.
But
discussions about his wife, Lea, who spent almost a year
in prison for filing a false tax return, and about his
own guilty plea brought about a flurry of emotions
Fastow struggled to maintain.
Choking back
tears, Fastow told jurors he lied to his wife, causing
her to plead guilty to a crime she did not commit.
"You
involved her in one of your deals?" asked prosecutor
John Hueston. "Yes," an emotional Fastow responded.
"And because
of your efforts, you caused her to go to jail, right?"
"Yes."
3. Tech Tip
Weekly: Putting MS Word Objects in Order
MS Word has
special Order commands for determining how multiple
objects (on one page) overlap with one another and with
text. Just right-click on the object, choose Order, and
select one of the Send or Bring commands:
-Bring to
Front: When objects are on the same layer, either the
foreground or background, moves the object in front of
all others on the layer.
-Send to
Back: When objects are on the same layer, moves the
object behind all others on the layer.
-Bring
Forward: When three or more objects are on the same
layer, either foreground or background, moves the object
higher in the stack of objects.
-Send
Backward: When three or more objects are on the same
layer, moved the object lower in the stack so that more
objects overlap the object you selected.
-Bring in
Front of Text: Moves the object from the background
layer to the foreground layer, where it appears in front
of text.
-Send Behind
Text: Moves the object from the foreground layer to the
background layer, where it appears behind text.
4.
Compliance Calendar
March 15
-Monthly
depositors deposit Social Security, Medicare and
withheld income tax for February.
-Corporations file 2005 calendar year income tax
returns. An automatic six-month is available filing
Form 7004.
S corps file
2005 calendar year returns. An automatic six-month
extension is available by filing Form 7004.
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