Tax Article - Moneylines: News Briefs for Businesses and Individuals

Many companies still ill-prepared for technological disasters.

How ready is your company for the loss of its mission-critical data? Of the 189 tech-savvy businesses with more than 1,000 employees surveyed by technology researchers Forrester Research Inc. last year, 27% didn’t have a backup data center. And of those that did, 48% had a center located within 50 miles of their primary locations — close enough to be affected by any major natural disaster. Look into your company’s backup measures and make sure they, for one, exist and, beyond that, aren’t subject to the same threats as your main office.

IRS adjusts allowable living expense standards.

Let’s think worst-case scenario: You owe a massive tax bill and can’t pay it. Can the IRS claim your last few pennies? Not quite. The agency uses its allowable living standards, also referred to as collection financial standards, to calculate a taxpayer’s ability to pay his or her delinquent tax liability. Late last year, the IRS redesigned these standards to, among other things, expand the number of household categories for housing and utilities and include a new category for out-of-pocket health care expenses.

Your workers may not be retiring as soon as you think.

Like many business owners, you may be worrying about the day when all of those baby boomers start retiring in droves. Well, it may be a bit further off than anticipated. Only one in three of the almost 500 full- or part-time employees surveyed by accounting and finance staffers Robert Half Management said they planned to quit work entirely. If you have key workers whose knowledge and experience you’d rather not lose, perhaps start thinking now of flexible work options you might offer them.

Got an IRA?

Don’t forget that the early bird gets the worm! It’s the early part of the year, which makes it a great time to contribute to your traditional or Roth IRA. Why? Because doing so allows more time for tax-deferred (or tax-free, in the case of a Roth IRA) growth. Also, don’t forget that you can make 2007 IRA contributions as late as April 15 of this year.

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