The Tax Preparation Blog

Archive for April, 2006

Question: Can I use the county tax assessed value of my home when filing a Ch 7 bankruptcy in California?

I consulted an attorney re: filing a chap 7 and was told it may not be a good idea based on the value of my home. They used the website Zillow.com to get the estimated value of my property. My property was given a range of $303k to $390k, with a estimate of $349k. This value would put me over the CA equity exemption amount of $75k. Is this a reliable valuation? I am hoping to avoid the trustee questioning the value and forcing me to sell my home to pay off debts. Any suggestions on where to get a value that can be used? County tax assessed value? The assessed value is considerably lower than the value found on Zillow. Appraiser? I don’t have the cash to dish out for an appraisal but would rather be safe than sorry. Also, another attorney said that the value of my home shouldn’t have changed much since I purchased a year ago and that we could use the purchase price. I get the feeling he’s misleading me. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer: A couple things for you to consider:

1) Sites like realestateabc.com and zillow.com do *NOT* give market values as estimated by an appraiser. These sites spit out comps in the area and give a ballpark estimate of what a home *might* be worth. However, federal regulations dictate that appraisals can only be done by licensed appraisers. Therefore, these sites to *not* give true market values.

2) The county assessor does *NOT* keep record of the market value of a house. They estimate assessed values…which are solely used to estimate the real estate taxes of a property. These values are not market driven. They are usually much lower than the actual market value of the property.

3) Considering that you’re in California, the price that you purchased the property may or may not be a reliable indicator of value. The housing market in California has slowed considerably. I’m not sure which area of California you’re in…some markets have continued to show some minor levels of appreciation; others may have some minor levels of price decreases. An appraiser (not an attorney) in your market would be able to best inform you what the market trends in your area have been like over the past year.

Since you’re going through a Chapter 7, you should discuss these issues with your attorney to decide what would be the best course of action in your case. An appraisal may be in order to determine the current market value of your home.

On a personal note…if I were you, I’d try to avoid filing for bankruptcy at all costs. I went through a bankruptcy 5 years ago and am *still* trying to get my credit back up to par. I’ve kept all my post-bankruptcy lines of credit clean and it has taken this long to get my credit score up to an “average” rating. It’s a huge black mark on your credit and will remain on your credit up to 10 years. I’m not sure what your personal situation is like…but if you’re looking for an easy fix to credit problems, a bankruptcy is not that easy road. If you decide to file, you should do a lot of research so you are fully aware of all the consequences that come with filing bankruptcy (denial of credit applications, outrageously high interest rates, a significant impact on your credit score, etc).

As I said, I’m 5 years post-bankruptcy and I regret my decision to file bankruptcy every single day. All I can do is suck it up and anxiously await the day that it will be removed from my credit reports (another 5 years and counting!)

AP-CNBC Poll: Most in US against legalizing pot

Most Americans still oppose legalizing marijuana but larger majorities believe pot has medical benefits and the government should allow its use for that purpose, according to an Associated Press-CNBC poll released Tuesday.

John and Ken 2009 California Tax Revolt #2

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Entries under “City”

Moving to a political epicenter like Madison can be simultaneously exciting and overwhelming for incoming University of Wisconsin freshmen. Along with state government, Madison has an active and sometimes controversial city government that often impacts the lives of UW students.

Shades Of Green Online

Similar to loan applications, getting Canadian government grants is a lengthy process. It is true that submitting grant application is easy. The difficult part is how to ensure that you can get the official subsidy and grant of the government. There are several important things that you have to know in order to quickly facilitate the submission and approval of your grant application. However, you have to take note that there are no sure guarantees of getting a favorable nod from the Canadian government. Everything will rely on the correctness of your grant application and business proposal. Most importantly, approval of government grants is also subject to the availability of official funds for a particular sector.

The first thing that you need to know when you submit grant application is the issue about eligibility. Specifically, you need to determine if your company is eligible for a government financing. What you should do is to get as much information as possible from the agency or department that will give the grant. Carefully read the provisions of the grants program about eligible companies that can apply and projects that can be approved. Usually, this information can be downloaded from a Canadian government website. So you need to research on the question of eligibility before you submit your grant application.

Availability of funding is another important element that you should investigate before you submit your grant application. The Canadian government prepares an annual budget for each department or agency. A department will allocate certain funds for grants for the given fiscal year. You can easily find out if there are still funds available by looking at the approved projects for the year. Normally, the concerned agency or department will post updates on its website if there are still slots available for funding. If no updates are given, you can simply perform simple arithmetic and determine if the earmarked funds are already taken by the approved projects.

If you think that your business is eligible for funding and there are still funds for government grants, the next thing that you should do is to carefully study the official grant application forms. Sometimes, technical mistakes or incomplete information on your application form can lead to disapproval. You should carefully read the rules and special instructions provided by the grant giving body. You must also attach all required paper work and documentations. One missing document can mean outright disapproval of your application. So you should always double check the forms and your attachments before submitting your grant application.

It is also best if you can get a professional with specific expertise on Canadian government grants. There are lots of online services available today that will help you to find government grants and loans. You can start with the Small Business Finance Centre of Canada. This is an independent research institution that can provide professional services and advice for you on how to secure Canadian government grants. Your search for government grants will be much easier if there is a professional agency that will help you.

Live: India, in real time

India is a country on the go; at any given moment in time, there is much happening in the fields of politics and governance, of finance, of development; there is constant churning in society, considerable activity in sports and in the arts… It’s almost too much to keep track of. And hence, this effort: a real-time, constantly updated look at the events that matter.

Question: What 2nd interview questions will be asked from an accounting firm which mainly deals with troubled SMEs ?

I have just gone through my first interview with an accounting firm which deals mainly with SME businesses that are in financial troubles or going to be liquidated/likely to become insolvent or got some kind of orders from tax office to be wound up or something. Their ultimate goal is to help them turnaround or get out of survival mode or avoid being wound up.

I’ve been asked 1 technical question so far, which was about how am i gonna know how well a business is doing or in trouble by looking at their BS & P&L. Something like that. And I’m waiting for my second interview now. I’m just wondering what questions are likely to be asked ? Please please be more specific please !!

Thanks for your help !!!!

Answer: Know how to interpret financial statements and what all financial ratios mean. Focus on deb and inventory reduction. Your goal would be to improve the profitability and get rid of everything the company does not need to create value for the shareholders, so focus on everything that has to do with these concepts. Also, understand the difference between sales and profitable sales (i.e. recommend to get rid of low margin products/ services or differentiate them to justify higher margins).
Also, be familiar with the industrial sectors this company deals with most of the time. If you know what they are, find profitable public companies in these sectors and read their annual reports.
This should prepare you very well for a 2nd interview. Good luck!

Crossroads stimulus money trail: Where did $44 million go? Ron Paul to investigate

Editor’s note: This is the final installment of a seven-part series that details federal stimulus funding to the Crossroads.

Rude CNN Reporter Needs Fired Tea Party interview CNN TeaParty Tax

Accountants, tax practice and the practice of law: Approaches to resolution (Working paper – Graduate School of Business, University of Texas at Austin ; 77-21) …

Novogradac & Company LLP Elevates Tony Grappone to Partner

Boston office adds third partner to bring further growth and expertise to national CPA firm’s East Coast affordable housing, community development and renewable energy consulting practices.

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