TAX NOTES
The IRS is now offering complimentary copies of its Small Business Resource Guide (SBRG) on CD-ROM.

Small business owners and tax practitioners can order up to five copies for free on the Service’s “Small Business/Self-Employed” Web site, www.irs.gov/businesses/small/index.html, or by calling 800-829-3676.

The CD-ROM, which includes forms, instructions, publications and tax law changes for 2007, aims to help small business owners with federal tax compliance. Available on a first-come, first-served basis, it also features Web links to various government agencies and business organizations. Users may also visit the SBRG Web site at www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98229,00.html for links to newly released tax products, publications and forms that may impact the small business community.

Source: www.irs.gov.

FINANCIAL PLANNING
A recent Government Accountability Office report found that while almost 90% of men and women age 65 and older received Social Security benefits, men’s median annual income from the source was almost $3,800 higher than women’s ($12,583 vs. $8,799). Among most of the population age 65 or older, Social Security is the largest source of income, representing 53% of total income for unmarried women but only 38% for unmarried men.

When it comes to other major sources of income for those 65 and older—such as wages and salaries, pension income, and interest and dividends from assets—gender differences remain. Not only did women have less income from these sources than men ($6,141 vs. $12,000 in median pension income and $12,000 vs. $20,800 in median wages and salaries), but fewer women received income from these sources (22% vs. 43.5% for pension income and 12.7% vs. 18.3% for wages and salaries).

The report noted that certain life events, including changes in marital or employment status and long-term care needs, can significantly affect Social Security and pension benefits.

Source: GAO’s Women Face Challenges in Ensuring Financial Security in Retirement , www.gao.gov/new.items/d08105.pdf .

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
As tax season begins and workdays grow longer, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration recommends maintaining neutral working positions to reduce stress, strain and the risk of workplace injury.

On its computer workstations eTools Web site, OSHA provides the following simple ergonomic guidelines to use when setting up a computer workstation or performing computer-related tasks:

Adjust the top of the monitor to sit at or just below eye level.

Balance head and neck and keep them in line with your torso.

Keep elbows close to your body and supported.

Support your lower back and relax your shoulders.

Make adequate room for the keyboard and mouse.

Rest feet flat on the floor.

To view or print the “Ergonomic Solutions Checklist” for computer workstations, visit www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/checklist.html .

Source: www.osha.gov.

CONSUMER ALERT
The three credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—now offer credit report security freezes that are stronger and more effective in preventing identity theft than fraud alerts.

While 39 states and the District of Columbia enacted laws requiring credit bureaus to offer this service, it is now voluntarily offered in the 11 states without security freeze laws.

Security freezes block access to credit files for any reason, unless you instruct the credit bureau to unfreeze your report, which prevents applicants for credit or new accounts from being approved. In one-third of the estimated 10 million cases of identity theft each year, fraudsters use stolen personal information to open new accounts in their victim’s name, according to the Consumers Union, the not-for-profit publisher of Consumer Reports .

Fees and procedures for placing a credit freeze vary from state to state; in some areas, victims of identity theft may receive the service for free. Visit www.consumersunion.org/campaigns/learn_more/003484indiv.html for state-by-state information on security freezes.

Source: Privacy Rights Clearing House, www.privacyrights.org .

FINANCIAL PLANNING
Another year, another opportunity for tax savings—but only if you opt in.

According to the American Payroll Association’s 2007 Getting Paid in America survey, 80% of employers offer tax-advantaged payroll deduction programs, including cafeteria plans, dependent care flexible spending accounts, travel reimbursement incentive programs and health savings accounts, but only 59% of employees are enrolled.

Source: Getting Paid in America, www.nationalpayrollweek.com/documents/2007NPWSurveyResults_updated.doc .

CAREERS AND RECRUITING
A dissatisfaction disconnect between employees and management could be costing companies valuable talent.

According to the Global Strategic Rewards study by Watson Wyatt, a global consulting firm, and WorldatWork, an international association of human resource professionals, the U.S. has the highest median turnover rate, at 11%.

But efforts to retain top-performing employees may be undercut by misunderstandings of employee priorities. When ranking reasons to leave their current company, employees cited stress as No. 1—not even a top five reason employers gave for why their workers would leave.

Reason for Leaving Current Company

Source: 2007/2008 Global Strategic Rewards study, Watson Wyatt, www.watsonwyatt.com, and WorldatWork, www.worldatwork.org .

Households filing tax returns in 1996 that moved to a different income quintile by 2005. 

Source: Income Mobility in the U.S. From 1996 to 2005, www.treasury.gov.

BUSINESS TRENDS
As the demand for business travel services is predicted to outweigh capacity this year, expect rates for airfares, hotel and car rentals, and corporate meetings and events to continue to climb.

According to American Express’ annual Global Business Travel Forecast , North American business travelers should see airfares increase as much as 5% for domestic/short-haul flights and 5% to 10% for international/long-haul flights; hotel rates and car rental costs are forecasted to grow 4% to 8% and 2% to 4%, respectively.

What’s driving up these prices? For airfares, factors include increasingly sophisticated airline pricing technology as well as premium pricing for in-demand seats. In the hotel sector, demand continues to exceed supply in key markets, possibly pushing rates up by 14% in key U.S. cities.

To handle these increasing costs, American Express Business Travel suggests changing travel behavior in key areas, including:

Lowering use of refundable airfares.

Optimizing use of advance purchase fares.

Narrowly defining when first and business class fares can be used.

Driving online bookings.

Improving use of preferred suppliers, especially hotels.

Source: American Express’ 2008 Global Business Travel Forecast,  www.americanexpress.com .

CAREERS AND RECRUITING
With two-thirds of job seekers reporting that interviewers influence their decision to accept or decline job offers, untrained and aloof interviewers may be a company’s own worst enemy.

In a Development Dimensions International and Monster survey of 3,725 job seekers, respondents identified several annoying interviewer behaviors, including:

Acting like he or she has no time to talk to me (70%)

Withholding information about position (57%)

Turning interview into cross-examination (51%)

Showing up late (48%)

Appearing unprepared for interview (47%)

Asking questions unrelated to job skills (43%)

“The interview is not only a crucial assessment touch point in the recruiting process, it’s an important marketing and branding opportunity,” said Neal Bruce, vice president of alliances for Monster, in a statement. “Amidst today’s war for talent, successful interviewers will quickly determine the marketing messages that resonate with each individual candidate and reinforce those messages.”

Source: The Selection Forecast 2006–2007 , Development Dimensions International, www.ddiworld.com , and Monster, www.monster.com .

BUSINESS TIPS
In a recent CCH survey, accounting firms associated several benefits with having formal knowledge management programs, such as an increase in efficiency (76%), productivity (63%) and revenue (62%) and an improvement in client service (69%). These firms were also more likely to follow other management best practices, including:

Using a database for knowledge sharing

Conducting regularly scheduled training on knowledge management systems

Deploying supporting technology to further knowledge initiatives

The survey found, however, that only 36% of firms have established these programs. In them, firms are compiling specialized subject area information and legislative and regulatory knowledge in a centralized repository. Though not as common, these repositories are also used to analyze growth opportunities and gather industry intelligence.

For a white paper on the survey, which also explores intelligent business building blocks and best practices for transforming a firm’s practice, visit http://cchgroup.com/businesssurvey.

Source: The 2007 CCH Intelligent Business Survey, www.cch.com.

ON THE RECORD
“We believe that overly detailed, lengthy disclosures on plan fees and costs may impair, rather than enhance, participants’ ability to make informed decisions regarding their participant-directed plan investments.”

— Treasury Benefits Tax Counsel W. Thomas Reeder,
at the House Ways and Means Committee’s hearing
on retirement plan fees and expenses, Oct. 30.

Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, www.treasury.gov.