December 29th, 2009 | Credit Lending |
Have you ever dreamed of owning your own bank? Well now with the changes in New Zealand banking laws and the modern software applications available, what was once an impossible dream for everyone but the most powerful and rich, can now be a reality for the majority of us. And for much less money than you might think. And it can be very profitable as well.
If you can afford to buy a small franchise, then you can afford to own and run your own bank. Not only that, but you can even run the entire operation yourself all out of your home or office.
A New Zealand Offshore Finance Company (OFC) can be used to offer financial and investment services to customers worldwide. An OFC can offer virtually anything a fully licensed bank can offer. The word “bank” cannot be included in the name, however there are acceptable alternatives, such as “Bancorp” and “Bankgroup”.
A greater number of business owners and entrepreneurs are using OFC’s for loans to their clients, issuing debit and credit cards, checking and savings accounts, wire transfer services, fund management, payment processing services, hedge funds and virtually everything else that a bank can offer.
o Deposit taking & lending
o Debit and credit card services
o Issuing of financial guarantees and instruments
o Cash management services
o Current accounts
o Checking accounts
o Savings accounts
o Term deposits
o Issuing of CDs
o Wire transfer services
o Payment processing services
o Fund management
o Marketing of investments
With all of the complicated restrictions and initial financial hurdles that are required to set up a United States bank, most people shy away from the idea. However with a New Zealand OFC, there is no capital reserve amount required and it’s far less complicated than setting up an actual United States bank. A bank, for example, will often need a $1 million to $30 million reserve account before licensure. The OFC does not require this. Directors and shareholders can be of any nationality and reside anywhere as well.
“Who would have ever thought they could turn something as complicated as creating a bank into what could best be described as a simple turn-key service”, remarks Kevin Wessell, CEO of Offshore Company. “Take away the complicated restrictions, remove the multi-million dollar reserve requirement and provide all the assistance to start it up and running and you can see why so many business owners and entrepreneurs are doing this”
December 25th, 2009 | Tax |
Seeking tax advice and tax tips is never a bad idea. When it is time to file your home based businesses taxes online you want to have every weapon that is legally at your disposal. Having a list of acceptable deductions for your home business will allow you to quickly and legitimately flow through the tax season with little to no hiccups. Here are a few things to think about when beginning to file taxes online.
First, do you have a home office in the same way the IRS sees a home office? Is your home business run in one designated room in your home or are you working from the computer in your family room? If it is the later it is not considered a home office by the IRS. The room you run your business from must have no other use except working. If you do run your business from a singular room then the square footage of that room can represent the percentage of your mortgage or rent that can be deducted from your taxes. Also, the utilities that you use in your business ventures such as electricity and internet can be deducted. Typically a percentage of the total cost is deducted.
Second, what office supplies do you purchase? Even if you are not able to use the home office deduction, you can still deduct the office supplies that you purchase. Keeping well organized receipts will help you know what you can deduct and what you can not.
The third type of deduction is for office furniture. You have two choices when it comes to this deduction. One, you can deduct 100% of the cost of the furniture for that year. For that deduction, you would fill out the Section 179 deduction sheet in your tax form. In 2006, you could claim $108,000 in expenditures. If you don’t wish to claim the entire cost of your furniture that year you also have the option of depreciation, which allows you to deduct a part of the cost over a seven year period.
The other equipment such as computers, scanners, and fax machines can be deducted under the same principles as the office furniture. You would use the same Section 179 sheet to deduct these things. Any software or subscriptions used by your business can be deducted in the same way.
You can deduct any traveling you might do for your business but remember to keep accurate data of the trip mileage, tolls, or any other trip orientated expenses which includes your lodging and meal expenses. Only 50% of your meal expenses can be deducted. The IRS is a stickler for documentation, so have it readily available. You will also need to check what the gas rate was for the tax year in question and make the appropriate calculation. If you have purchased a vehicle, that too can be deducted. Just make sure to calculate the interest and depreciation for the vehicle.
There are several other deductions that you can find for a home based business. However, it is important that you make sure you follow the guidelines set forth by the IRS and they maintain documentation for everything that you are claiming.
December 25th, 2009 | Credit Lending |
There are mainly two condition why one would be willing to refinance a car loan: a) If one wants to steer clear of repossession and can’t afford the loan’s monthly payments. b) If one wants to take advantage of better market conditions and wants to lower the monthly payments by refinancing with a lower interest rate.
For both of these situations, car loan refinance seems to be the most comprehensive solution. However, refinancing won’t always be advantageous and you might even spend thousands more due to an adverse financial transaction.
When Refinance is the only way to go
If you can’t afford the monthly payments you might want to refinance your car loan in order to reduce the loan installments. A reduction can be obtained either by a reduction of the interest rate or by an extension on the loan’s length. You can also combine these two factors and get a more significant reduction.
Chances are however, that if you need to refinance, you probably have a bad credit score and poor credit history. This will prevent you from getting a low interest rate and you’ll probably have to agree to a higher interest rate. Thus, your only possibility of getting a reduction on the amount of the monthly payments is by extending the loan’s length.
Do your research and find the best offer available. There are many lenders out there and even if you have to agree to a higher interest rate, it doesn’t have to be the highest. So ask for loan quotes, compare what the lenders have to offer and choose the best deal so as to spend as little as possible.
Refinancing to save money on interests
If you just want to take advantage of better market conditions and you don’t need to reduce your monthly payments due to an inability to repay the loan, you are in better conditions to negotiate enhanced loan terms. Find a lender willing to offer you a lower interest rate and extend or shorten you repayment schedule according to your needs.
Make sure the amount you save from the reduction on the interest rate is not secretly added to your loan in the form of administrative fees, closing fees, application fees, or any other euphemistic expression. Otherwise, you won’t be saving any money and the refinance loan might end up being a useless financial transaction.
Refinancing a car loan is an overall simple financial operation but you need to be careful and pay special attention to the interest rate charged and any other costs and fees hidden in the small print. Either if you are forced to refinance or if you want to seize the benefits of better market conditions, doing your research, comparing and then deciding is the smart way to go.