By Anonymous
March 12 2004--There are more than 4,200 people in Lowndes County, AL living in poverty according to 2000 census figures and families are being faced with the decision to pay basic bills or put food on the table. While welfare, food stamps, unemployment or social security can provide some help, the simple fact of life is that sometimes the food dollars of those on fixed incomes does not stretch far enough to reach the end of the month.
The latest census figures show that the average poverty rate in the U.S. is 12.1 percent, Alabama is at 16 percent and Fort Deposit, the largest town in Lowndes County, stands at a staggering 35.3 percent of which 42.8 percent are children and 34.2 percent are 65 and older. Fort Deposit's population based on the 2000 census is 1,270 which means 448 of those are living below the poverty level.
"The Fort Deposit United Methodist Church is launching an all-out effort to help these families in need by setting up a community food pantry," said Dan Therrien, project coordinator. Renovation work should be complete and ready for operation by mid May he said. In the meantime, a lot of money needs to be raised. "To provide just 25 pounds of food to 100 families once a month would cost $400," Therrien said.
Community Effort
"While the food pantry will be located at the Methodist church, this is a community effort and I believe the good people of Alabama and beyond are sympathetic to causes such as this and will help in any way they can with their generous donations."
Donations Welcome
Sources of regular contributors such as churches, businesses, and individuals are needed to reach this growing and continued crisis. Non-perishable goods are always welcome but financial gifts are preferred as the money can go much further. Therrien said where retail costs may go for about $1.60 per pound the church can get food from the Montgomery Food Bank for 16 cents a pound.
Checks can be made payable to the Fort Deposit United Methodist Church, in care of the Food Pantry and mailed to: Fort Deposit United Methodist Church, PO Box 398, Fort Deposit, AL 36032. To make a regular monthly contribution, you may ask your bank to do it for you. For further information contact Dan Therrien at (334)227-4600.
"For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome...." (Matt. 25:35-36)
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By Elena Fawkner
Are YOU Leaving Money on the Table?
© 2002 Elena Fawkner
For those of us in the U.S., tax time is here again. For those of you elsewhere, tax time is always around the corner. Oh joy, I hear you say. Well, if you're contemplating an online home-based business, it may be just that. Really. Here's how.
Are you ready to start making money with, say, affiliate programs or by creating your own information product, but haven't really got off the ground yet because you're stuck in the stage of thinking you have to learn everything there is to learn about internet marketing before you can start? (Which you don't, but that's a whole other article.) How much money have you spent on e-books and other information products in your quest for the holy grail? How much money are you spending on your ISP every month? How much money have you spent on what appeared to be promising online business programs only to see them bite the dust? And what about ALL that software you've bought but never used?
Well, even if you haven't made a dime yet, if you have a "genuine profit motive", start thinking outside the paradigm of the *would-be* online business owner and start thinking from the perspective of one who is *already* in business.
What does that have to do with tax? Everything.
If you have a *genuine* profit motive for what you're doing, then you're in business. If you're in business, you can deduct business-related expenses against business and (if you're a sole proprietor), personal, income. Including ISP fees, including information products, including "secret marketing site" membership fees. All of it.
See where I'm going with this?
Even fees for what turn out to be bogus programs can be deducted if you incurred them in pursuit of business profit. And while we're on the subject of being hoodwinked, let's just get that one out of the way right here. We're ALL suckered into falling for at *least* one - it's called the school of hard knocks - so don't dud yourself out of a righteous deduction just because you're feeling ever so slightly foolish for having been suckered, against your usually MUCH better judgment, into believing that what sounded too good to be true wasn't. Even though it was. Repeat after me - a deduction is a deduction is a deduction. All that's required is that you incurred the expense with the motivation to make a profit.
Now, a word of caution here. You can't deduct expenses incurred in pursuit of illegal activities so I wouldn't try and claim an investment in a pyramid or ponzi scheme on your tax return. But if all you did was fall for a sales pitch for a program that, if successful, would not have been illegal, and it was a business-related expense, go for it. So long as you had a genuine profit motive when you handed over the dough.
It gets even better. (By the way, this is all U.S. stuff we're talking here. Check your local tax laws. Many countries will have something similar to what I'm about to talk about.)
Here's where it gets interesting. If you work your business out of your home, in a room or a part of a room that you use *exclusively* and *regularly* for your business AND that area is also your principal place of business, you may qualify for the home office deduction. Even if you also work at a job outside the home.
And when I say "exclusively" I MEAN exclusively - no children using your computer for their homework or to play computer games, no personal papers in your work desk, no late-night chatrooms (or less savory online pursuits if you get my drift), no online affairs, no television in the room.
You may not be able to apply the home-office deduction against *this* year's income (as we'll see in a minute) but you will be able to apply it against profits generated in future years.
So, why all the emphasis on "genuine profit motive"? The movement towards easily-started online businesses has sprouted an industry of so-called tax experts who would have you believe that anyone can reap the benefits of home business tax breaks simply by starting a "home based business". They basically try and convince you that anyone can pretend to be running a home-based business and thus qualify. Not so. You need to be running a real business, not engaging in a hobby or a sham. What distinguishes a real business from a mere hobby? You guessed it - a profit motive.
Believe me when I tell you, if you're planning on taking business deductions, you'd better be able to prove to the IRS that you have a genuine profit motive. How do you do that? By keeping proper books and records. By keeping business and personal expenses separate. By keeping business and personal income separate. By running a genuine business, in other words.
Here's how it works.
Let's say you have a spare room in your house that you use exclusively as a home office. Over the past 12 months, you've bought a computer, desk, chair, printer and fax machine. You've decided that you want to start a home- based online business on the side while you continue to work in your job. You spend several hours a day researching ideas for your new business and you spend a small fortune on your high-speed internet connection, and various information products relevant to your area of interest.
Because you're running a business, one of the first things you're going to want to do is get a system for your business records set up.
Keep a record of all expenses as they're incurred so that when tax time comes around, everything is at your fingertips. I use Excel spreadsheets for this - one spreadsheet for every expense category. Here are the categories I use (use whatever categories make sense for your business though):
Advertising and promotion Software* * Usually has to be depreciated over several years unless it's software that needs to be updated frequently such as anti-virus software.
** You can either depreciate these items over time or you can write off 100% during the year of acquisition up to a maximum of around $20,000.
*** If you only have one phone, you'll need to apportion expenses between personal and business. On the other hand, if you have a second line exclusively for you business, you can write off 100% of expenses for the second line.
Every time I pay a business expense, I enter the details in the appropriate spreadsheet. Very easy.
Then, when the time comes to file your tax return, you just need to prepare a Schedule C (for individual taxpayers). If your business makes a loss (i.e., the expenses you pay out are more than the revenue you bring in from your business), that loss is deducted from your income from all sources, thereby reducing your taxes.
But, best of all, if you qualify for the home office deduction, you can take a proportionate share of your mortgage or rent payments and your utilities and apply them as a deduction against your business profits, but only to the point where the profit from your business equals zero. In other words, the home office deduction cannot be used to create a loss situation. But even if you can't deduct it this year (because your business has already made a loss), it's not lost. You can carry it forward to future years to be applied against future profits.
So, as you can see, even if you're only in the information- gathering/learning stage of your business, if you have a profit motive you're nonetheless in business and you can and should be writing off your business expenses even if you're yet to start generating revenues.
Make sure you keep proper records and substantiate all expenses though. The IRS is, of course, well aware of the potential for abuse of home business tax deductions and will be paying close attention. That's fine though. If you have a profit motive, you ARE running a business and you're *entitled* to take any legitimate deductions that are available to you. To do anything less is to leave money on the table.
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Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical business ideas, opportunities and solutions for the work-from-home entrepreneur. http://www.ahbbo.com
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By Anonymous
LAS VEGAS, NV– Worldwide table soccer competition has finally arrived. On Thanksgiving Day weekend professional and amateur table soccer (“foosball”) competitors will have the chance to compete and qualify for worldwide competition at the first ever Indoor Outdoor Sports Extravaganza in Las Vegas, Nevada.
America’s largest and most prestigious table soccer competition in over twenty years will be held at the luxurious Rio Suites Hotel on, November 28th - 30th, 2003. Competitors from across America are encouraged to book reservations soon.
“Table soccer has arrived, big time,” said Warrior Table Soccer President Brendan Flaherty, “This event kicks off a new era in table soccer gamesmanship,”
The Rio table soccer event will offer a whopping $200,000 purse and give “foosers” the ability to qualify for $1 million worldwide competition and the world championships.
“When it comes to the growth potential of this legitimate and mainstream sport, the sky is limit,” said two-time world champion and table soccer ambassador, Johnny Lott.
“By kicking off a world wide tour that will include players from Bangkok to the Berlin Wall, and by offering a $1 million purse, our message is clear: foosball is alive and kicking, foosball is here to stay and Foosball is well on its way to Olympic Dreams,” said Lott, who is known for inventing the “moving wall pass.”
Warrior Golf is also proud to sponsor the Outdoor Golf event to benefit the NFL Alumni/NFL Coaches association. Players will golf in “fivesomes” side by side with an NFL legend right there on the links. The golf event will be played on the exclusive Rio Secco and Revere golf courses. The Rio Secco Golf Club, set among the rolling foothills of the Black Mountain Range provides a world –class golf experience. Created by legendary PGA Tour player Billy Casper, it presents a blend of beauty and challenge unlike any other in southern Nevada.
•
Who:
All Interested Table Soccer Competitors and Golfers
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What:
Indoor Outdoor Sports Extravaganza (Table Soccer Competition & Charity Golf Event)
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Where:
The Rio Hotel, 3700 West Flamingo, Las Vegas, NV (888) 746-7482
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When: Thanksgiving Day Weekend, November 28, 29, & 30th 2003
For detailed information on the host hotel and the Warrior table soccer event please go to www.warriortablesoccer.com or contact bmf79@warriorcustomgolf.com
. For detailed information on the host hotel and the golf event please go to www.ugottagolf.com
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