General Article

Foreign Citizens: Resident or Non-Resident Aliens?

Foreign Citizens: Resident or Non-Resident Aliens?

Foreign citizens who earn income in the United States are subject to US income tax. But calculation of the tax depends upon whether the individual is a resident or nonresident alien. One of the important procedures for professionals with enrolled agent careers is knowing the difference.

There are two tests for determining whether a foreign citizen is a resident alien. The first analysis is the “green card test.” Any foreign citizen who possesses status under US immigration laws as a lawful permanent resident of the United States is a resident for tax purposes. The individual must not have abandoned this status or had it rescinded.

The second test requires some calculation effort. This is where training for an enrolled agent job is deployed. The “substantial presence test” considers how many days an alien was present in the United States, including the District of Columbia as well as US possessions, territories, airspace, or territorial waters.

An alien meeting the substantial presence test must have a physical presence in the US on at least 31 days during the current year plus 183 days during the current year and the preceding two years. Enrolled agent continuing education covers the unusual nuances of computing the days. All of the days present in the current year count as full days. But the calculation counts only one-third of the days present in the US during the immediately preceding year and one-sixth of the days two years ago.

There’s even more detail to this test covered in EA training. Some days are not counted at all. These are days that an alien regularly commutes to work in the US from a residence in Canada or Mexico. Regular commuting is considered to occur when it involves more than 75 percent of all workdays. Also not counted are days in the US for less than 24 hours when in transit between locations outside the US. The other days not counted are those when someone is only in the US as a crewmember of a foreign vessel or unable to leave the US due to uncontrollable circumstances, such as a medical condition.

In addition, some individuals are exempt from the substantial presence test. These aliens include officials of foreign governments, teachers or trainees with temporary visas, students with temporary visas, and professional athletes competing in charitable sports events.

Further complicating matters is that any foreign citizen in the US for less than 183 days during the current year may still receive treatment as a nonresident alien. Furthermore, some countries have treaties with the US providing special rules for determining residency.

Nonresident aliens report their US taxable income on Form 1040NR. These returns are due on April 15 for individuals who had US wages with income tax withholding. But the returns are due June 15 if there were no US wages subject to withholding.

Resident aliens follow the same tax laws as US citizens. They are taxed on income from all sources whether received from sources inside or outside the United States. Aliens with residency status that changes during the year generally have dual status for that year. The income for these individuals is taxed differently for the two periods.

Correctly determining all reportable income is a requirement of enrolled agent ethics. Foreign citizens with US income should consult tax experts. They will find that enrolled agents are among the most highly trained professionals on tax matters.

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure

Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.

General Article

GED – The Key to Better Jobs and Higher Education

GED – The Key to Better Jobs and Higher Education

There is no short-cut to better jobs and higher education. For the 39 million American adults without high school diplomas, it can be frustrating to find that opportunities are closed to them. Pam Graves had experienced this frustration first hand.

As a new mother needing a higher-paying job, Graves applied for a position at a bank. When she saw that the application asked for her education, she knew that without a high school diploma, she wouldn’t even be considered for the position. She did something understandable: she lied. Nine months later, Graves was up for a promotion, but instead, she found herself without a job, again. The bank found out that she didn’t really graduate high school, and she lost her job.

Graves knew that she’d need to get her high school diploma to move forward with her life. That’s when she found out about the GED. Instead of taking night classes to finish high school, Graves was able to earn her GED diploma. Now, Graves works as an office manager. This year, she spoke at the GED graduation ceremony for local GED graduates, who included her two youngest brothers who earned their GED this year.

Graves hopes to earn a college degree, and keep moving forward in her life. Her story shows the challenges that face American adults who never graduated high school. The GED provides the opportunity to qualify legitimately for the better jobs and higher education that allow adults to care for their families and accomplish their goals in life.

The road to success takes a commitment to get your GED, but passing the GED is an achievable goal. Many people can prepare for the exams with a few weeks of brush-up. Most adults have more of a foundation of high school skills than they think. Learners, even if they’ve been out of school for a while or had trouble in the classroom, can gain the essential skills the GED tests through a good study program. Taking Pam Graves’ example and earning your GED can be a breakthrough decision for the rest of your life.

General Article

Private Investigation – Investigating Serious Incidents

Private Investigation – Investigating Serious Incidents

Private Investigation Education: The Stages of Interrogation

Interrogation experts say that an interrogation consists of three stages: (1) establish rapport, (2) let the suspect tell the story and (3) challenge the story.

In the rapport stage the interrogator engages the suspect in innocent conversation such as asking questions about the suspect’s hobbies, interests and so forth. The objectives are to assess the suspect’s intelligence and attitude; get the suspect use to talking; and establish a relationship in which the interrogator is the dominant person.

In the second stage the suspect is encouraged to tell the story. Interruptions should be as infrequent as possible and non-threatening such as to say “Go on” or “What happened then?” The interrogator looks for obvious lies, such as comments that contradict what is already known, and other indicators that the suspect is untruthful or omitting facts. The interrogator wants to obtain as much information as possible so that there will be plenty to discuss in the third stage.

In the third stage the interrogator points out the discrepancies and gauges the suspect’s verbal and body language responses. These are called Deception Cues and can be

(1) phrases like “Honest to God” and “This is the truth”,

(2) avoiding the interrogator’s eyes,

(3) twitching,

(4) bouncing knees,

(5) drumming fingers,

(6) licking the lips,

(7) arms across the chest;

(8) picking imaginary lint from clothing,

(9) showing no emotion such as not inquiring about or expressing concern as to the victim’s condition and

(10) giving answers that are protective and show self-concern.

Another deception cue is called Cognitive Dissonance. The suspect’s mind is furiously concocting an answer but his mouth can’t keep up. Words are garbled and out of order.

The suspect may offer an explanation before a question is asked. For example, “By the way, that blood spot on the seat of my car was caused by her when she sneezed and had a nosebleed.” The blood spot may not have been detected by the police, a circumstance that would weaken the prosecution’s case and strengthen the defense. Another example is, “The stairs are very steep and that is why she fell down them.” If the private investigator has already been to the scene and taken photographs, they might reveal that the stairs are not steep at all. Showing the photos to the suspect is a way to point out an obvious lie.

If the incident involved physical violence, the interrogator will want to look for cuts, scratches and bruises inflicted by the victim.

When the interrogator reaches a point where further questions will not be helpful he or she moves to a method called Theme Development. In this method the interrogator suggests a scenario in which the suspect had little choice except to commit the offense. The theme is a story that portrays the suspect as a decent person that was confronted with unavoidable circumstance requiring a course of action. The interrogator might suggest that the victim was at fault, that the offense is not all that serious, that the average person would do the same and that people understand and be sympathetic. Theme Development offers the suspect an opportunity to make excuses that are self-exculpatory — yet incriminating.

Care must be taken not to elicit a false confession through extended interrogation, verbal abuse, inappropriate touching or misuse of the Two-Path technique by describing harsh punishment that is inevitable when the suspect does not confess as opposed to describing positive help and understanding that results from an admission. (Note: Many people believe that false confessions are rare but the advent of DNA testing shows that not to be the case.) Care must be taken to prevent the suspect from later claiming that he or she was denied use of the bathroom, not allowed to rest and not given water or food.

It can be helpful to have another private investigator present to take notes and serve as a witness. A video recording is extremely important because it can be used at a later time to verify and discover new Deception Cues, show that the interrogation was not excessively coercive (an interrogation is coercive to some extent always) and create pictorial evidence for presentation at trial.

For more information on this topic feel free to contact Jack Fay at 706 579 2559 or [email protected]

School

How to Create New Information Products

Have you ever wondered how to quickly create an information product that yields a massive return on investment?
Information products are knowledge-based products that include books, reports, articles, etc. In the Internet context, this can be e-books and some audio or video formats. They are often referred to as ‘digital goods’ of ‘knowledge-based goods’.
It can be a very profitable pursuit. If you have a very compelling or in-demand topic for an information product, it is a start of a possible money-making machine. However, finding time and motivation to create such product may prove to be difficult.
The worst mistake is making products that people will never want. You just wasted your time and effort. It is very important to carefully plan and by carefully examining the market. Market research is the first thing you should do. Understanding the trends and desires of the public will help you decide which direction to go in.
Sometimes however, trial and error is the better approach in this endeavor. Experience is still the best teacher. It can give you a better understanding of the buying public. Some products may bomb and others may surprise you. But the most important is to stay keen and observant. The more you get a feel for the inclinations of the market; the more you can create effective information products.
Considering all of these, it is essential to have a specific target of buyers in mind. Ask yourself if these people are willing to spend money for your prospective product. Then inquire into how much are they willing to spend. Can they afford high-end products? Or will low-end mass-distributed products do the trick?
Focus on your niche. It is the most critical part of the process. It will help you concentrate and focus if you have a goal in mind.
The next thing to do is to make the product. You can employ professional help with the technical stuff. If you want to produce e-books you can hire a proofreader or get help from a capable family member or a friend. You can even use ghost writers if you want to.
Upon completion of your prototype information products, you should test it before investing large amounts of money into the project. Give it to family and friends for feedback or you can provide samples for individuals that are pre-selected to test your products in a particular demographic. The feedback and reactions you get help to give you an indication to the probable success or failure of your product.
Fine tune your information product if you deem it to be necessary. Now, if you are happy with the feedback and satisfied with the product, prepare a platform in which you can sell or provide the product to the public. The trend nowadays, is through the Internet Online selling or distributing is the way to go right now.
Most likely, you already have a website with a relevant content to your product. If you don’t have one, create a site for your product. Let the site become a marketing vehicle for your information product. Technical stuff like SEO and link building for web traffic must be implemented. More visitors equates to better chances of selling the product you have created.
Creating and selling information products is a continuous process. Be vigilant about the market’s drifts and desires.

Education World

Motivate Me, I’m Yours!

Have you lamented recently about how work for its own sake was once its own reward but wonder what happened to that way of thinking?
Was your childhood like mine in that you were expected to learn and enjoy the marvelous experience of gaining knowledge? Why is it that we have more ways to obtain information today than ever before, yet our students are far less knowledgeable than their counterparts of twenty five years or thirty years ago?
Where did the thirst for general knowledge go? It used to be so enjoyable to talk with someone who had a good general knowledge, as we used to say. We tried hard to know a little bit about a lot of things. If you did you could be counted upon to be scintillating at parties and could mix with any social class without embarrassing yourself.
Is information overload responsible for the lack of interest in our world and other cultures, food, and a myriad of other topics or do we just not care because we see little chance to use these nuggets of knowledge in today’s world?
Where did the study of etiquette go? To see some diners wrestle their food into submission using primitive table manners seems such a waste of grace and élan. It is so sad to see many who have never tasted some vegetables, indeed, they can not even recognize most of them unless they have seen them on a burger or a pizza. The proud turnip or beet is looked at with suspicion, as is anything that fries are not made out of.
Weren’t family dinners around the table wonderful? All the family chatting as we enjoyed our meat and two veg dinners, with a small dessert for “afters”. Do you remember roast potatoes that were hand prepared from scratch, yorkshire pudding and rick beef gravy on a Sunday. Somehow, a pizza with everything doesn’t cut the mustard. When our lives were so interwoven with good food, our relationships seemed to be tastier too.
When TV dinners first came in, we worried about the decline of the family and our health. What would we have thought if we had foreseen the microwave and pot noodles as being our source of nutrition after a hard day at school or the office. They don’t seem to supply that satisfied, pleasantly full feeling of not that long ago.
As well as exams on knowledge that we need to obtain the best employment in this world, perhaps exams should also be set on the types and growing seasons of root vegetables. As well as setting time aside to work out at the gym, perhaps we need to set aside 30 minutes to eat at the table as a family and discuss our day. Rather than fall out of bed at the last moment, perhaps it would benefit us to wake twenty minutes earlier and have a short devotional to our higher power, or meditation to dwell on the beauties of this world and all the good things in our life.
We have so many things to be thankful for as we stand around the water cooler…sorry, the microwave. Where did our motivation to hold onto some of the old ways of doing things go? June Steed

Websites For Education

Baby Sitting 101

Being a nanny is not easy, just like any other job it involves you having the right skills to do this. You do not need to enjoy staying with babies in order for you to be a good nanny. Below are some qualities you must have in order to be a good nanny.
First you should not be easy distracted with unnecessary issues. A baby needs constant monitoring since they are very fragile so you should ensure you constantly monitor the baby and even assist the mother who is covering.
Since both of them are fragile at this stage in this life you need to ensure that you constantly monitor them and ensure that they are of good health.
Secondly, you need to ensure you are tolerant in your place of work. Being a nanny involves being confined in a house for a long time and that requires tolerance so that you cannot be too objective.
Thirdly, you should have all the relevant necessary knowledge and skills of taking care of the baby, since the mother is weak at this time, you are the only one who the child depends on and so you should have the necessary knowledge and skills in which you can manage the baby all this time.
You should also be able to work at full-time basis or part-time basis, some parents may prefer you come a t specific times and leave at specific times where they can be able to manage.
While others may require you stay with them full time since they cannot be able to manage with the babies hence you will be employed fulltime.
Being in a house as a nanny is not an easy task. Just like any job, but it can be a bit easy if you have the necessary skills.