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STRATEGIC ISSUES...ONLINE 
For week of March 27, 2006, Issue #255
 
Featured Articles:
1. Double Tax Breaks for Education Expenses
2. Tech Tip Weekly:  Freezing Row or Column Titles
3. Focus on Fraud: Man Behind Russia's Largest Fraud Scheme Pleads Guilty
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
 
1.  Double Tax Breaks for Education Expenses
 
If you have a college student in your family (or you are a college student yourself!) you should know about a one-time opportunity to receive double the normal tax credits for education expenses.
 
Last December, Congress passed a tax bill to provide more relief for the Gulf Coast region that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  Among the provisions was a special tax break for students attending colleges and universities in the area.  They may now be eligible to receive double the normal value of Hope and lifetime learning credits.
 
Many students abandoned their studies and transferred elsewhere as universities and colleges closed after the hurricane.  The double credits are intended to encourage those students to return.  But new students moving to colleges in the region are also eligible for the benefit.
 
Under this program, the 2005 Hope tax credit will be $3,000 and the 2006 credit rises to $3,300.  The lifetime learning credit will be a maximum of $4,000 for both 2005 and 2006.  To qualify for the Hope credit you must be in your first two years of higher education.  The lifetime learning credit is for courses taken to acquire or improve job skills or as part of a degree program.
 
The extra credits are available only for 2005 and 2006.  Various other limitations apply, but if you're interested please contact us.  We can provide more details and help determine whether you might benefit from this tax break.
 
2.  Tech Tip Weekly:  Freezing Row or Column Titles
 
Many MS Excel worksheets (such as budgets) are set up with row and column headings.  As you scroll through such worksheets, you can easily get lost after the row and column headings scroll out of view.  Excel provides a handy solution to alleviate this problem: freezing rows and/or columns.
 
To freeze entire rows or columns, follow these steps:
 
1.  Move the cell pointer to the cell below the row that you want to freeze and to the right of the column that you want to freeze.  Use the following steps to freeze various portions of the worksheet:
 
To freeze row 1 and column A, move the cell pointer to cell B2. 
To freeze rows only, move the cell pointer below the rows that you want to freeze in column A.
To freeze columns only, move the cell pointer to the right of the columns that you want to freeze in row 1.
 
2.  Choose Window, Freeze Panes from the menu bar.
 
MS Excel inserts dark lines to indicate the frozen rows and columns.  These frozen rows and columns remain visible as you scroll throughout the worksheet.
 
Remember: MS Excel freezes all rows above the row you select and all the columns to the left of the column you select.  Therefore, to freeze a single row and/or column, you must put your row headings in row 1 and your column heading in column A.
 
To unfreeze the frozen rows or columns, choose Window, Unfreeze Panes from the menu bar.
 
3.  Focus on Fraud:  Man Behind Russia's Largest Fraud Scheme Pleads Guilty
 
Excerpt taken from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners website:
Click here for full story:
 
Created: 22.03.3006 10:02 MSK (GMT +3), Updated 11:31 MSK
MosNews
 
Sergei Mavrodi, the founder of the MMM corporation, a massive scheme to defraud thousands of Russians of their savings, pleaded guilty on Tuesday as a Moscow court began hearings into his case, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.
 
A defense lawyer for Mavrodi said he might need at least a year to study the case.  "I can say nothing about returning deposits to investors until I familiarize myself with the case," the defendant said.
 
Under a summary procedure punishment cannot exceed two-thirds of the maximum penalty, i.e. four years.  The court denied the request.  Another request - to release Mavrodi on bail - was also rejected.
 
The MMM scheme was the largest "pyramid scheme" in the history of the country.  In the course of preliminary investigation, 10,454 people were recognized victims, but experts say the real number runs into tens of millions.
 
Rough estimates suggest that Mavrodi and his brother Vyacheslav earned some three billion rubles.  Sergei Mavrodi fled abroad in 1995.  Russian law-enforcement agencies put him on the International wanted list.  On January 31, 2003, he was detained in Moscow where he was living on a false passport.
 
4.  Compliance Calendar
 
March 31
-Employers deposit Social Security, Medicare and withheld income tax for March 25, 26, 27, and 28.
 
-Deadline for electronic filing of Forms 1098, 1099  W-2 and W2-G.
 
April 5
-Employers deposit Social Security, Medicare and withheld income tax for March 29, 30, and 31.
 
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