Know of any good "Finances" Information? Let Us Know!

General Finance Articles:

Presentation on IDENTITY THEFT & Fraud Criminals don't always need sawed-off shotguns and ski masks to make a big haul —your social security number, or a pre-approved credit card application from your trash, could be all they need.

Accounting:

Glossary of Financial Terms A handy resource for accounting and business majors.

Intermediate Accounting These detailed lecture notes require Adobe Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Word Viewer.

An Introduction to Classical Accounting Good resource for accounting theory students.

Peter Kenyon at Humboldt State University This site claims that it "exists to help you learn accounting."

Barter & Trade:

The Y2K Barter & Inventory Forum. This is an astounding collection of messages by regular folks interested in the listed topic. Just remember that everything here is someone’s opinion, ok? Read the instructions for use before attempting to participate in the forum. It ain’t complicated, but it IS necessary. Lots of great info that you may not have seen or heard before.

Tradebank Of Knoxville, Barter Organization Tradebank of Knoxville is a nation wide barter organization of businesses and professionals, Barter can help you conserve cash, Increase profit margin, and lower overhead cost. I haven’t gone past the opening page, so watch out.

Barter for Wealth Offers free trial membership. Didn’t take it, so I don’t know the real deal. Caveat emptor, eh?

Trade American Card - World Class Barter Trade American Card represents thousands of businesses that may obtain goods and services through a world class barter system.

BARTER BUYS ONLINE : Home Page THE ONLINE GUIDE TO THE BARTER INDUSTRY "Barter Buy$ Online was designed to help you master the principles of Bartering. By following our ideas you will soon be saving thousands of cash dollars annually on purchases." I always hate it when they make expansive claims like this! Still, you might check it out – just BE CAREFUL!!

The Closeout Net The CLOSEOUT NET, features closeouts, surplus, liquidation and salvage. Interesting idea. Haven’t researched it.

Basic "Business 101"

Work At Home? - Usually a scamA great, informative, and tongue-in-cheek hilarious site by someone who's been burned and doesn't want YOU to find out the hard way.

SBA Start-Up Page Now that you know better than to fall for the scams & get-rich-quick ploys, it's time to roll up your sleeves and find out what it reallytakes to start your own business - and there's no better place on the internet to get the basic start-up information than here at the Small Business Administration website. 

Business Entity Selection This page gives some tips for deciding whether a business should be organized as a partnership, C-Corporation, S-Corporation, LLC, etc.

Tax Guide for Small Business Owners The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service prepared this information as a public service. It is designed to acquaint you with certain legal issues and concerns. Looks like they lost interest in it, tho. Only three of the fifteen topics are ready to view.

Organizing A Business Plan The success of your business depends largely upon the decisions you make. A cross-country traveler wouldn't start a trip without a map, and a business owner shouldn't start a business without a sound business plan. Just as the map shows the traveler which routes to take, the business plan shows business owners where they are going and the progress made toward their projected business goal. A business plan allocates resources and measures the results of your actions. The plan helps you to create realistic goals and make logical decisions.

Budgeting & Credit

Deciding to Keep a Budget Once you have a budget with the amount you like to stick to spending each month in each category, try to keep within those totals. It doesn't hurt to put a little in savings each month too, if you can, but the first thing to do is pay off any credit card debts that you have. 

How To Start A Budget You might think that devising a budget is difficult because income as well as expenses can vary throughout the year.

Managing Your Money Money problems affect us all, no matter how much or how little we have. That's why financial planning is so important. It's hard to think about the future when pay day is a week away and the checkbook is empty. You can make your money stretch further if you learn to manage it carefully.

Money Management: Living on Less This guide includes more than 80 ideas to help you live on less. They are designed to help you meet your needs even after income has been reduced. Most of the ideas are practical, everyday things you can do to cut expenses.

"Passing the 5 "C’s" of Credit" Article for small business credit, by George M. Dawson.

"Credit In The Family Budget" Excellent article by Carole G. Bosworth on all aspects of credit use in the budget.

"Your Rights At The Credit Bureau" Excellent article on dealing with credit bureaus, by Eunice Lieurance.

"Lodging Consumer Complaints" How to deal with unfair business practices when you’ve been ripped off or otherwise abused by a merchant. Great article by Carole G. Bozworth. Insert your local info for lodging complaints, tho.

"Reducing Consumer Debt" How to manage your credit budget. Good article by Ms. Lieurance.

"When Your Income Drops" Excellent series of articles by Edward J. Metzen and others begins with this one - "Don’t Panic, Take Control" Follow the internal links to other problem-specific articles.

"Sharpen Your Survival Skills" Another in the "When Your Income Drops" series, this one deals with budgeting for a smaller income. Great tips.

"Money Management: Living On Less" Great tips from Nancy Flood for reducing costs in food, entertainment, housing, transportation and more.

"Farm Family Expenses: Taking Control "Great article on this unique segment of our population by Robert O. Weagley & Cynthia E. Crawford.

Entrepreneurial:

The Business Forum "An independent informational professional resource center for the owners/managers of emerging business and entrepreneurs."

Entrenpreneur.com Online magazine covering entrepreneurship.

Entreworld.com "The entrepreneur’s search engine."

Take an Entrepreneur Quiz? Do you have the right stuff? Take this quick quiz and find out.

Workingsolo.com The information source for independent entrepreneurs and companies serving the SOHO market.

How to Start a Small Business Everything you need to know about starting your business.

Is Entrepreneurship right for you? There is no way to eliminate all the risks associated with starting a small business. However, you can improve your chances of success with good planning and preparation. A good starting place is to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as the owner and manager of a small business. Carefully consider each of the following questions.

How to write a business plan, by the SBA Use this outline as a guide. Also see Outside Business Plan Resources at the bottom of the page.

Free Shareware for starting business plans Free software to help you write your business plan, from the SBA.

nc.com This magazine offers insight for entrepreneurs on topics, including how to write a business plan, how to be successful and how to choose the right market for your product.

Business2.0  Business 2.0 is the essential tool for navigating today's relentlessly changing marketplace, particularly as it's driven by the Internet and other technologies. It discovers and reports on the smartest, most innovative business practices and the people behind them. It delivers surprising, useful insights and explains how to put them to work.

FastCompany.com More than 39,000 business leaders and impact players from around the world have joined Fast Company's readers' network, the Company of Friends. From Auckland, New Zealand, to Washington, D.C., readers have organized local discussion groups, mentoring and networking organizations, and creative problem-solving teams.

Shareware on the Internet Links for downloading shareware software. Business software is available through this link.

Technology Transfer Information Center Helps you turn federally funded research into profits.

A New Workplace at Home Resources, articles and ideas to help you start a business at home.

Business Owner's Toolkit Resources for small business support, including networking with other small businesses, financial advice, human resource advice and other small-business development advice and assistance.

EntreWorld An entrepreneur's resource site.

National Association of the Self-Employed Self-employed advocacy group.

Entrepreneurs on the Web Links to magazines, journals and various trade organizations.

Finding Work

Resumes & Interviews

"Writing & Submitting Resumes" Shawn's Internet Resume Center. Check out Shaw's hyperlinked resumes, past and present to figure out what to do and what to avoid doing. Then submit your resume to the resume bank for a fee.

"Virtual Resume" Try this site first. Advice on resume writing, cover letter writing, and even a place to post your stellar history for free.

Handling Unemployment

Adjusting to Suddenly Reduced Income This publication will help you understand what happens in the first few months after an unplanned income loss as you deal with the overlapping emotional, economic, and social effects. A major decrease in income requires that all family members recognize the grief they feel over the loss (emotional effect), reassess how money will be used within the family (economic effect), and make a conscious effort to manage the inevitable disagreement and potential conflict that might arise (social effect). Doing so will help you live with the consequences of the unplanned income change, develop new options, and move on.

Work Ethics

The Ethics Connection at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Ethical dilemmas for young people written as dialogs. Lots to think about, talk about, write about. Also, they have a very useful framework for ethical decision making, which is at: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ In fact, check out the whole website - it's loaded with goodies.

"Ethical Reasoning and the Art of Classroom Dialogue" by David H. Elkind and Freddy Sweet, Ph.D. as published in the Jan/Feb 1998 issue of NASSP's The High School Magazine.

Lesson 1 - Why Work Ethic? A brief lesson about why work ethic is so important in the information age workplace and why it will continue to be important in the future.

Lesson 2 - What is Work Ethic? A lesson that defines work ethic and includes information about important worker characteristics that employers are seeking.

Lesson 3 - Interpersonal Skills Examines the role of interpersonal skills as an aspect of work ethic, emphasizes its importance in the workplace, and helps learners to develop strategies for improving interpersonal skills.

Lesson 4 - Initiative Explains initiative as a part of work ethic, helps learners to evaluate their own initiative, and encourages them to use initiative in appropriate and productive ways.

Lesson 5 - Being Dependable Emphasizes the importance of being dependable and helps learners to identify areas for improving personal dependability.

Lesson 6 - Other Employability Skills Other employability skills related to work ethic are considered in this lesson along with activities to prepare people for success in the information age workplace.

Character Counts Coalition seeking to promote character in young people. Promoting trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

Management & Leadership

Interpersonal Skills

Lesson 3 - Interpersonal Skills Examines the role of interpersonal skills as an aspect of work ethic, emphasizes its importance in the workplace, and helps learners to develop strategies for improving interpersonal skills.

Tax Court Survival



Tax Court Cases



IRS ABUSE

IRS ABUSE OF TAXPAYERS' FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS DEFEATED The Ninth Circuit rendered a decision on November 7, 1996 which was a great victory for the constitutional law in that the Appeals Court ruled:
[1] There is no general "tax-crime" exception to the Fifth Amendment. Troescher's Fifth Amendment claims were not defeated simply because he feared prosecution for tax crimes.
[2] Ninth Circuit case law is clear that the Fifth Amendment may be validly invoked when the taxpayer fears prosecution for tax crimes.

IRS COMMITS FRAUD, APPEALS COURT RULES.  Link to NY Times Article  Link to Jubilee Article

Woman who questioned Gore now faces IRS inquiry Brought up Broaddrick rape accusation against Clinton. 

"IRS Abuse Reports" Do you believe that no harm can come to you and your loved ones from the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS)? Any such belief will change after reading the following IRS Abuse Reports. Those reports are from law-abiding, hard-working taxpayers like you -- honest taxpayers who suddenly found themselves being methodically, cruelly, criminally destroyed by an out-of-control bureaucracy. Indeed, the IRS is a juggernaut, not for tax collection, but for power expansion through fear and destruction.

IRS Stolen Property Sales. Want to buy something the IRS stole… I mean, seized, from hard working but (in some cases) non-taxpaying folks? This site is also a good place to see just how bad things are getting.

“Hello, I’m with the IRS and I'm here to help you.”That’s one of three biggest lies we learn in life. It's sad that it happens on a daily level at the Internal Revenue Service. Many law-abiding citizens seek tax guidance from the IRS, only to find this government agency not liable for the advice it gives. During Senate hearings held last year, many people came forward to testify on their frightening experiences with the Internal Revenue Service. The names were changed to keep them from being audited again.

IRS Abuse Report: The IRS has created Hell and Havoc for us for over 2 years now, using trumped up, concocted, evidence as to how we understated our expenses for the years 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996

THE POWER TO DESTROY Tax fighter loses home to IRS - Armed federal agents make author, wife homeless

Has the IRS gone right back to old abuses of power? [August 7, 1998] Months after the congressional hearings into IRS abuses and after explicit IRS promises to reform itself, it appears the IRS may be right back to its old tricks with an even greater vengeance. Recently, a tiny non-profit Internet library and archive called FACTNet received a call from a Washington ally warning that FACTNet and its directors would likely be audited. The ally said a source at a federal government office had informed them that the IRS was planning retaliatory audits after FACTNet loudly criticized the IRS's ultra-secret tax deal with Scientology - a deal in which the service was seemingly intimidated into giving the world's most dangerous cult $1 billion in tax exemptions.

Tax Groups & Unconventional Aid

Fight Back! A new website with some good info, similar to Mr. Schiff's site. Still being produced, but worth a visit.

Mr. Schiff The Granddaddy of all anti-income tax guru's.

Tax-Freedom.Com This site is a collection of snippets from a once "free" site full of information that has now gone commercial. It still provides a great deal of information that may lead you to research areas for further study, and is thus listed as a reference starting point. Beware the drivel, however.

Jame’s Shackelford’s Tax Freedom Page.

TaxGate – one of the better income tax sites. Be prepared to enter the web of intrigue! Bring some aspirin and stick it out.

Uncertainties of the Income Tax — Brief by Larry Becraft. You might be able to use this in your tax case. See the following 2 letters, also. Letter 1& Letter 2

"Citizenship & Tax Links" links provided to assist people in their investigation of the issue of sovereign citizenship and other related topics such as the federal income tax and  limited federal jurisdiction. Some interesting case reports.

Federal Jurisdiction — Brief by attorney Larry Becraft.

"The Complete Social Security Act" Nowhere better to get it than here. Up to date as of January 1997. Note the mysterious absence of "Exclusion, Exemption and Withdrawal" from the indexes as it applies to opting out of SSA. Hmmm.

"1937 Supreme Court Rulings on Constitutionality of SSA"

Excellent alternative tax site.

The Business Forum "An independent informational professional resource center for the owners/managers of emerging business and entrepreneurs."

Entrenpreneur.com Online magazine covering entrepreneurship.

Entreworld.com "The entrepreneur’s search engine."

Take an Entrepreneur Quiz? Do you have the right stuff? Take this quick quiz and find out.

Workingsolo.com The information source for independent entrepreneurs and companies serving the SOHO market.

How to Start a Small Business Everything you need to know about starting your business.

Is Entrepreneurship right for you? There is no way to eliminate all the risks associated with starting a small business. However, you can improve your chances of success with good planning and preparation. A good starting place is to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as the owner and manager of a small business. Carefully consider each of the following questions.

How to write a business plan, by the SBA Use this outline as a guide. Also see Outside Business Plan Resources at the bottom of the page.

Free Shareware for starting business plans Free software to help you write your business plan, from the SBA.

nc.com This magazine offers insight for entrepreneurs on topics, including how to write a business plan, how to be successful and how to choose the right market for your product.

Business2.0 Business 2.0 is the essential tool for navigating today's relentlessly changing marketplace, particularly as it's driven by the Internet and other technologies. It discovers and reports on the smartest, most innovative business practices and the people behind them. It delivers surprising, useful insights and explains how to put them to work.

FastCompany.com More than 39,000 business leaders and impact players from around the world have joined Fast Company's readers' network, the Company of Friends. From Auckland, New Zealand, to Washington, D.C., readers have organized local discussion groups, mentoring and networking organizations, and creative problem-solving teams.

Shareware on the Internet Links for downloading shareware software. Business software is available through this link.

Technology Transfer Information Center Helps you turn federally funded research into profits.

A New Workplace at Home Resources, articles and ideas to help you start a business at home.

Business Owner's Toolkit Resources for small business support, including networking with other small businesses, financial advice, human resource advice and other small-business development advice and assistance.

EntreWorld An entrepreneur's resource site.

National Association of the Self-Employed Self-employed advocacy group.

Entrepreneurs on the Web Links to magazines, journals and various trade organizations.

IRS Documents

Tax Practice Forms Menu Better than the stuff the IRS will supply you – and easier to access!

Tax Laws, Rules, Cases, and Other Reference Materials. Essential info!

Articles about Tax Practice and Procedure Awesome site, excellent info – dig deep!

"IRS Forms & Publications" Download official forms & publications here. Unfortunately, a good many of them require Adobe Reader to view these .pdf format files. Fortunately, the Reader is free.

"Title 26: Internal Revenue Code" Hypertext conversion of the Code. Remember that the "law" comes from the CFR and the Code is really only a guide. Still, a good reference.

U.S. Tax Code On-Line Yes, someone has taken the time to put the entire tax code on-line. Only problem is, this version is four years old!

Taxes - Conventional Help

"IRS Bulletins" The Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) is the authoritative instrument of the IRS for announcing all substantive ruling necessary to promote a uniform application of tax law. Keep up with the newest changes in procedure and official rulings! This section brings you Treasury Decisions, Executive Orders, Tax Conventions, legislation, court decisions, and other interesting information in a series of weekly publications.

IRS Problem Resolution Program - Help for Problem Situations - information from the IRS for those having problems within the system.

Taxpayer Advocate. (big grin) The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate administers the IRS' Problem Resolution Program (PRP) and is responsible for representing the taxpayers' point-of-view within the Service. Through annual reports to Congress, the Taxpayer Advocate identifies the most significant problems taxpayers are experiencing and what the IRS is doing to correct them. The Taxpayer Advocate is also responsible for recommending systems improvements and legislative proposals to improve services and reduce burden for taxpayers. Keep in mind that this is the IRS, and not an outside (independent) agency.

IRS Reform



Tax Reform

Citizens for an Alternative Tax System National Web Site CATS is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to advancing legislation to replace federal income taxes and the IRS with a national retail sales tax. The site itself is a virtual "CATS Cradle" of links upon links, and it really is hard to find anything really concrete without messing around for an hour or so. Couldn’t find an easy explanation for rates, etc., but the CATS Library has some neat stuff in it.

TAX FOUNDATION TAX BITES Excellent site! Gives info on : Tax Freedom Day (when you start earning for YOURSELF), Relief Act of ’97, ’97 tax burdens by State, Typical family burden, Reform Analysis, Social Security Analysis, State Tax Rates & tax Distribution Comparisons, tax burden by income class, FY99 Budget Analysis, Fed. Tax & Expenditure ratio by State, Excise Tax Analysis, Where your tax dollar goes, and more. Wow.

NCPA: Economic Effects of a Flat Tax Why the Flat Tax Is Efficient, from the National Center for Policy Analysis. Because there is only one tax rate, because the only exemption is a personal allowance and because all income is taxed only once, the flat tax removes distortions of the current tax system that prevent resources from being allocated to their highest valued use.

Browne for President - Release - Flat Tax of 0%NEWS FROM THE BROWNE FOR PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - On Tax Day, Browne Proposes a Flat Tax of 0%. "I favor a flat tax -- so long as the flat rate is 0%," said Libertarian Presidential candidate Harry Browne today, commemorating Tax Day, April 15th. I just had to add this one! What a quote! Boy, do I like this guy!

Investing & Investments

Investment Basics...For The Beginner.Investing is a complex and ever-changing field. Consequently, most of us, even those involved in the investment field, occasionally are confused. This publication defines the difference between saving and investing, considers some financial requirements you need to meet before you start to invest, helps you define just what type of investor you are, gives advice on choosing an investment adviser, and offers some investment tips for beginning investors.

Investment Alternatives...For The Beginner. This publication discusses risks associated with investing, and then gives a brief introduction to 21 investment alternatives. The alternatives are classified into seven types of investments.

The Dismal Scientist is the web's authoritative site for economic information. It offers comprehensive and timely economic data and analysis, at the metro, state, and national level by recognized economists. The site is geared more towards small business owners and students; people who want to use economics but aren't economists themselves. They try to keep everything fairly non-technical and widely applicable.

Taxes - What You Pay For

Laws That Impact Our Lives. Laws enforced through the government's role as regulator and protector have a daily impact on our lives.

Corporate Welfare Info Headquarters Great page lists many more links to articles on more than just "corporate" pork.

Citizens Against Government Waste: HomepageCAGW is nationally recognized as thesource of information on government waste. CAGW representatives appear frequently on television, radio talk shows, and in print. CAGW produces numerous publications highlighting wasteful government spending. GovernmentWasteWatch is the group's quarterly newspaper, which is distributed to members of CAGW, Congress, and members of the media nationwide. The annual Congressional Pig Book Summary is CAGW's famous exposé of the most glaring and irresponsible pork-barrel projects in the 13 annual appropriations bills and their sponsors. CAGW's lobbying arm, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, tabulates its annual Congressional Ratings, evaluating how each member of Congress measures up on key tax and spending votes.

WasteWire - Keep track of how Washington wastes your money.

Government Waste Watch:The Newspaper of Citizens Against Government Waste.  Released quarterly, it provides detailed articles of waste in our nation's capitol.  (must have Adobe Acrobat to view)

Taxes - What You Pay

Taxes by State From retirement living.com.

The best and worst states for taxes We pay Uncle Sam the same no matter where we live, but property, gasoline, tobacco, sales and state income taxes are all over the map.

The State Government Tax Collections (STC) report provides a summary of taxes collected by state for up to 25 tax categories.  These tables and data files present the details on tax collections by type of tax imposed and collected by state governments.

 

Still working on it...