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STRATEGIC ISSUES...ONLINE
For week
of May 15, 2006, Issue #262
Featured Articles:
1. Changes to Estate and Gift
Taxes for 2006
2. Tech Tip Weekly: Securing MS
Outlook Express
3. 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. Changes to Estate and Gift
Taxes for 2006
A few tax law changes became effective in 2006 for
estate and gift taxes.
The annual exclusion for gifts made is now
$12,000, an increase of $1,000 from last year's $11,000 exclusion. The
unified credit, which can be used to reduce or eliminate estate tax, rose to
$780,800, up from $555,800.
The unified credit for estate tax purposes exempts
the first $2,000,000 of an estate from tax. For gift tax purposes, the
unified credit remains at $1,000,000.
2. Tech
Tip Weekly: Securing MS
Outlook Express
Many
viruses specifically target MS Outlook Express for two reasons: Microsoft
includes it with Windows, and it's riddled with security flaws. So if you use
MS Outlook Express, you can protect yourself by telling MS Outlook Express to
be careful. Here's how:
If you don't expect to receive attached files, choose Tools, Options. Click the Security tab, and select the Do Not Allow Attachments to Be Saved or Opened That Could Potentially Be a Virus check box. (Maybe Microsoft needs to run its check-box names through the grammar checker!) Also select the Warn Me When Other Applications Try to Send Mail as Me check box -- this setting may prevent a virus from surreptitiously spreading itself.
If you don't expect to receive attached files, choose Tools, Options. Click the Security tab, and select the Do Not Allow Attachments to Be Saved or Opened That Could Potentially Be a Virus check box. (Maybe Microsoft needs to run its check-box names through the grammar checker!) Also select the Warn Me When Other Applications Try to Send Mail as Me check box -- this setting may prevent a virus from surreptitiously spreading itself.
3. Compliance Calendar
May 17
-Employers deposit Social Security, Medicare and
withheld income tax for May 10, 11, and 12 and 16.
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