Preface: A “robot lawyer” created by a British teenager has overturned tens of thousands of parking tickets in London and New York. The chat bot designed to help people dispute parking violations in just 30 seconds has negated 160,000 fines since launch.      

Preface: Amazing self driving Autonomous Flying car?    

Preface: Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, it sells pretty much everything – furniture, toys, clothing, jewelry, car parts, and groceries. It recently opened a test location for a physical grocery store. Jan Dawson, Chief Analyst of Jackdaw Research joins Bloomberg TV Canada’s Pat Kiernan to explain the pros and cons of Amazon’s brick and mortar grocery store. (Source: Bloomberg) Click the link to see what AmazonGo is planning. AmazonGo?

  Preface: Erica is 23. She has a beautiful, neutral face and speaks in synthesised voice. She has 20 degrees of freedom but can’t move her hands yet. Hiroshi Ishiguro is her father and the bad boy of Japanese robotics. Together they will redefine what it means to be human and reveal that the future is closer than we might think. Is this what a new earth looks like; and will any language you do not understand be beyond the comprehension of Erica?    

Preface: Peter Drucker understands life principles because he understands how individuals are fearfully and wonderfully made with eternity in mind.  Jeremiah, a leader in his own time exhorted his countrymen to look toward the future expecting success and significance with these words from his God; I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you a future ……..   Ten Principles for Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life from Peter Drucker 1. Find out who you are. “Whenever people are on the road to success,” Drucker said, “they tend to think of repositioning as something they do if they’re a failure. But I would say that you ought to reposition when you’re a success, because that’s when you can afford it.” But no one can reposition for significance, Drucker claimed, without first knowing who they are and where they belong. 2. Reposition yourself for full effectiveness and fulfillment. “Early in their careers,” Drucker said, “people tend to have a fairly limited timeframe, of four years or so. They can’t visualize what comes after that.” By the time they achieve some measure of success, however, the timeframe expands. “Suddenly they begin to think about options that are twenty, thirty, or more years ahead of them,” Drucker said. Such a long view often brings clarity where none existed before.   Ten Principles for Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life from Peter Drucker

  Preface: Norway plans to build the world’s first tunnel for ships, a 1,700-meter (5,610-feet) passageway burrowed through a piece of rocky peninsula that will allow vessels to avoid a treacherous part of sea. Construction of the Stad Ship Tunnel, which would be able to accommodate cruise and freight ships weighing up to 16,000 tons, is expected to open in 2023. It will be 36 meters (118 feet) wide and 49 meters (162 feet) tall and is estimated to cost at least $314 million. Norwegian Transportation Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen had said Wednesday that sea currents and underwater topography in this part of the country’s southwestern coast “result in particularly complex wave conditions…….”    

Preface: Automobile mileage in business is a tax deduction. What are the options and how can you apply this tax deduction?   Respectfully Calculating Expenses On Business Mileage     Businesses generally can deduct the entire cost of operating a vehicle for business purposes. Alternatively, they can use the business standard mileage rate, subject to some exceptions. The deduction is calculated by multiplying the standard mileage rate by the number of business miles traveled. Self-employed individuals also may use the standard rate, as can employees whose employers do not reimburse, or only partially reimburse, them for business miles driven.   Many taxpayers use the business standard mileage rate in particular to help simplify their recordkeeping. Using the business standard mileage rate takes the place of deducting almost all of the costs of your vehicle. The business standard mileage rate takes into account costs such as maintenance and repairs, gas and oil, depreciation, insurance, and license and registration fees.   Beginning on Jan. 1, 2017, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel like trucks) is: 53.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 54 cents for 2016 17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from 19 cents for 2016 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations   The business mileage rate decreased half a cent per mile and the medical and moving expense rates each dropped 2 cents per mile from 2016. The charitable rate is set by statute and remains unchanged.   The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.   Taxpayers always have the option of calculating…

Preface: A tax accountant has multiple roles for clients, 1. Provide tax compliant filings for the business, and 2, minimize the tax liability for the shareholders or partners. 3. Educate on what a tax compliant filing is, and how minimize the tax liabilities. This blog is untongue tied tax pertinent information for manufacturing businesses thinking about ways to reduce tax liabilities and maintain compliant tax filings.   Tax Attributes Specifically Relevant To Manufacturing Businesses   An important tax benefit for manufacturers is the domestic production activities deduction (DPAD), also known as the manufacturing deduction. The deduction is equal to nine percent of the lesser of the taxable income or qualified production activities income (QPAI). The deduction is available if a business has income from the rental, sale or other disposition of tangible personal property, buildings (but not land), computer software, and other products. The products must have been manufactured, produced, grown or extracted primarily in the United States. The deduction is also available for income from certain services, such as engineering and architecture. The deduction is reported on Form 8903, Domestic Production Activities Deduction. The DPAD tax benefit is deduction from business income, similar to say, a tax credit that is a book/tax difference, but requires no cash payments. The sole purpose of this tax benefit is to encourage manufacturing enterprises and economic vibrancy. Depreciation – the write-off of the cost of an asset – is an essential element of tax accounting for a business. Property is depreciable if it is used for business, has a useful life exceeding one year, and may wear out or lose value from natural causes. Property that appreciates in value can still be depreciated if they are subject to wear and tear. Depending on how much income is generated by the business, the general goal in taking…

  Preface: Rosalind G. Brewer is an American businesswoman who is the former President and CEO of Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. On Jan. 6, 2017, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced that she will retire from the role effective Feb. 1, 2017. She is the first woman and the first African-American to fill the role of CEO at one of Wal-Mart Stores’ divisions. As of 2016, she is listed as the 57th most powerful woman in the world — by Forbes magazine. Listen Too? A Business Leader.  

Preface: Retirement planning or tax savings? Self-employed business owners can save on tax dollars, or more appropriately, defer the tax expense with the right retirement plan for there business. Keogh or SEP for the Self-Employed Person? If you’re self-employed and contemplating setting up an easy-to-administer retirement plan, you have a few options available. You can set up a Simplified Employee Pension plan (known as a SEP), or one of two different types of Keogh plans, either a profit-sharing plan or a money-purchase plan. Which is best for you depends upon your particular circumstances. To help get you started, we’re highlighting some of the differences among the different types of plans. What’s the easiest plan to set up? There’s no question that the SEP wins hands down. A SEP can be set up easily at a bank or brokerage house, with separate accounts for each participant. A simple IRS form can be used to establish a model SEP. Setting up and administering a Keogh plan is a little more complicated, and in most cases returns have to be filed periodically. How much can you contribute and deduct? If you’re looking to make the biggest deductible contributions possible, the money purchase Keogh has the edge. You can contribute as much as 100% of your earnings, up to a maximum of $53,000 for 2016 and 2015, as adjusted for inflation. With a profit-sharing Keogh or SEP, the percentage is lower. In either event, contributions can’t be based on annual earnings over $265,000 for 2016 and 2015 ($260,000 for 2014), as adjusted for inflation. The down side of the money-purchase plan is that you must make set contributions every year. With the profit-sharing Keogh or the SEP you can vary contributions from one year to the next, depending upon how the business is doing. Do…