Florida Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles � Emergency Contact

The Florida Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles launched a new program that will permit you to attach an emergency contact to your drivers license number that a police officer can quickly access in an emergency.

This is a voluntary program and you must register online. 13,000 people signed up in the program�s first week. You log onto www.hsmv.state.flo.us and click on Emergency Contact Information. Sign up

Take Expenses Now To Limit Your 2006 Business Taxes

As we roll towards the end of 2006, you are probably thinking about the holidays and gifts you need to buy. Well, it is also time to give yourself a tax gift.

Take Expenses Now To Limit Your 2006 Business Taxes

Take a moment to think back to last April. Do you remember the anguish of writing a check to the Internal Revenue Service? Did it seem a bit more than it should have been? Did you have to scramble to put together the funds? If you do not recall, go check the ledger in your checkbook or your accounting system. Bring back bad memories? If you want to avoid this situation again, you need to start following the simplest of tax strategies.

A time-tested and incredibly effective tax strategy is expensing everything you possible can before the end of the year. Now, the expenses need to be legitimate, but you can do some serious positive damage to your tax bill next year if you take this step. Remember, legitimate business expenses reduce your gross profit, which results in a reduction of your tax bill.

Most small businesses have a very interesting balance sheet around the end of December each year. If you took a look at it, you would think the company was nearly bankrupt. Why? A business that plans ahead will use all available cash to pay for expenses in an effort to “buy down” their profit. A company that otherwise might show a $100,000 profit for the year suddenly shows a $10,000 profit. Of course, it may also have a bevy of new equipment, office supplies and so on.

So, what areas should you focus on? Well, every business is different, so you need to consider the nature of yours. Try to focus on expenses you know will come up in January and February of next year. This can be the most basic of things such as office supplies to more complex expenditures like new office equipment. Make a list of these items and determine what you can buy now instead of next year. Importantly, make sure you understand how much cash you will need in January so you don’t have cash flow problems if you over expense.

If you want to limit the damage of your tax bill in April, the time to act is now. Taking such action is like giving yourself a nice gift, but you have to wait till April to open it.

Richard A. Chapo is with Business Tax Recovery - providing information on IRS tax debt settlement help.

Mold

by Flood Connection

WHAT ARE MOLDS?

Molds can be found almost anywhere; they can grow on virtually any organic substance, as long as moisture and oxygen are present. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, foods, and insulation. When excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or unaddressed. It is impossible to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment. However, mold growth can be controlled indoors by controlling moisture indoors.

MOLD AND MOLD EFFECTS

Molds are usually not a problem indoors, unless mold spores land on a wet or damp spot and begin growing. Molds have the potential to cause health problems. Molds produce allergens (substances that can cause allergic reactions), irritants, and in some cases, potentially toxic substances (mycotoxins). Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Allergic responses include hay fever-type symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash (dermatitis). Allergic reactions to mold are common. They can be immediate or delayed. Molds can also cause asthma attacks in people with asthma who are allergic to mold. In addition, mold exposure can irritate the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs of both mold-allergic and non-allergic people. Symptoms other than the allergic and irritant types are not commonly reported as a result of inhaling mold. Research on mold and health effects is ongoing. For more detailed information consult a health professional. You may also wish to consult your state or local health department.

REMEDIATION

The goal of remediation is to remove or clean contaminated materials in a way that prevents the emission of fungi and dust contaminated with fungi from leaving a work area and entering an occupied or non-abatement area, while protecting the health of workers performing the abatement.

In all situations, the underlying cause of water accumulation must be rectified or fungal growth will recur. Any initial water infiltration should be stopped and cleaned immediately An immediate response (within 24 to 48 hours) and thorough clean up, drying, and/or removal of water damaged materials will prevent or limit mold growth. If the source of water is elevated humidity, relative humidity should be maintained at levels below 60% to inhibit mold growth. Emphasis should be on ensuring proper repairs of the building infrastructure, so that water damage and moisture buildup does not recur.

No state or federal statutes or regulations exist with regard to mold remediation.

Therefore, when you choose to hire a contractor (or other professional service provider) to do the cleanup, make sure the contractor has experience cleaning up mold. Check references and ask the contractor to follow the recommendations in EPA's Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings, the guidelines of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygenists (ACGTH), or other guidelines from professional or government organizations.