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4A – Daily News – Wednesday, March 17, 2010 Commerce business Few things induce more anxiety this time of year than the looming April 15 tax return file deadline. As you begin the process this year, keep in mind that changes to the tax rules could affect your tax liability and pos- sibly make you eligible for new tax reduction opportunities. More details can be found at the Internal Revenue Service website (www.irs.gov) or by talking to your tax advisor. Here are some of the prominent changes that could affect your final 2009 tax bill: Homebuyer Tax Credit -- This has been one of the most highly publicized changes of the past year. First-time homebuyers — i.e. those who have not owned a principal residence for the three years prior to purchase — may be eligible for up to an $8,000 tax credit. (A credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of your tax bill). Generally, the purchase must have been complet- ed in 2009 to qualify for the tax credit on your 2009 return. However, the credit will continue to be available for new home purchases under written contract by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010. A special election exists to claim the 2010 purchase on your 2009 tax return. A similar credit of up to $6,500 is available for existing homeowners who purchased a replacement home. This credit applies only for purchases made after Novem- ber 6, 2009 and by the above dead- lines. To qualify, existing homeowners must have owned and used the same home as their principal residence for five consecutive years in the eight-year period prior to the purchase of a new home. Note that income and other lim- its apply to qualify for both credits. If your tax liability is less than the amount of the credit, you still qualify to receive the entire credit as a refund. Tax Credit for Post-Secondary Education -- A tax credit of up to $2,500 per student attending a four- year college is available (for taxpayers who meet income and other require- & ments). If the credit is more than your income tax liability in 2009 and 2010, 40 percent of it can be returned as a refund. To learn more about the Amer- ican Opportunity Tax Credit, visit www.irs.gov. Making Work Pay Tax Credit -- Many employees saw a slight reduction in the amount of tax withholding from their paychecks earlier in the year, an adjustment made due to the Making Work Pay Tax Credit. The credit amount is 6.2 percent of the taxpayer’s earned income up to a maximum of $400 for a single tax filer and $800 for married couples fil- ing a joint return. The credit must be claimed on your tax return. If the credit has not already been reflected in your pay- check or if you are self-employed and have not accounted for the credit, you will adjust the amount of your tax lia- bility as you complete your 2009 tax return. Income limits apply to qualify for the credit. Sales Tax Deduction for the Pur- chase of New Vehicles -- If you pur- chased a new car, motor home, light truck or motorcycle between Feb. 16, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009, the sales or excise tax amount you paid can be deducted from your income even if you do not itemize deductions (a deduction reduces your taxable income and, as a result, the amount of tax you pay). Energy Tax Credits -- Various cred- its tied to making homes more energy efficient are available. These include a tax credit valued at 30 percent of the amount paid for qualified solar water heating equipment, solar electric equipment, small wind energy proper- ty, or geothermal heat pumps installed in your U.S. residence. A similar cred- it with maximum credit limits exists for the installation of qualified fuel cell Alan Foley enterprise New rules for this year’s tax season property in your principal residence. Also, 30 percent of the cost, up to an aggregate of $1,500, is provided for energy-saving improvements such as qualified windows, outside doors, insulation, roofing, high-efficiency furnaces, water heaters, heat pumps, biomass fuel stoves, air cir- culating fans and central air conditioners in your U.S. principal residence in 2009 and 2010. Other pointers as April 15 approaches As you prepare for the tax filing deadline, here are a few things you can do today to help make the process easier: • Gather your records – if you haven’t already, you should be receiving statements from banks, investment firms and mortgage companies with tax information. Keep it filed in one safe place. Make sure you receive W-2s or 1099s (reporting income received) from employers or firms you may have contracted with. • Determine your most efficient way to complete a return – there are numerous software programs avail- able, many of which are accessible online, to complete the job. Or make sure you have your accountant or tax preparer in place and ready to deliver a timely return. • Take more time if you need it, but let the IRS know – you can receive an automatic six-month extension by fil- ing form 4868 with the IRS by the April 15 deadline to avoid interest and potential penalties. You must make payment for any tax that may be due by April 15. ___ Alan Foley is a financial advisor and business financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial, 2150 Main St., Ste. 8, and can be reached at 528- 1328. Medical group offers new service Lassen Medical Group in Red Bluff and Cottonwood now offers Language Line Services to provide clear communication between non-English-speaking patients and staff. The exchange of accu- rate information is essential in providing the best health- care possible. With this ser- vice, the group has access to 6,809 languages spoken in the world today – Spanish, American Sign Language, Mandarin, Hindi, Polish, Swahili, Farsi, Italian, Hmong, Italian, Finnish and Luganda, to name a few. Bringing the Red Cross to Corning • New Members – The Corning Chamber of Commerce welcomes these new members: Ander- son’s Air Care, 384-2678 and Olive City Insurance Agency, 1610 Solano St. in Corning, 824-9900. • Spotlight – Three Rivers Chapter of the Amer- ican Red Cross is a humanitarian, volunteer-led, non-profit organization that is dedicated to partner- ing with local communities in disaster response and health services. It wants to partner with the Recre- ation Department, city leaders and residents of Corning to ensure that Red Cross services are accessible to those who need them. It wants to train the leaders and residents of Corning in the following skills: To establish a loca- tion with regularly scheduled training year round for community members in the life-saving skills of CPR and First Aid. Emergency Response services of food, clothing and emergency shelter to victims of house fires, localized floods, winter storms and other disasters. Emergency Response to larger dis- asters that require Emergency Evacuation Shelter and Mass Care. Emergency Messaging to those in the armed forces. There will be a Recreation Commission meeting at 7:30 p.m. April 7 at the City Hall at 794 Third St. in Corning and you are invited. Help support your local Recreation Services and bring the Red Cross to Corning. For more information, visit www.three- rivers.redcross.org. or call Chico at 891-0811 or Redding at 244-8000. • St. Patrick’s Day Mixer – 5:30 p.m., Thursday, March 18, Spring Mountain Apartments and Round Table Pizza will be hosting a St. Patrick’s Day Mixer at the Spring Mountain Apartment’s club house, 240 Edith Ave. There is parking in the back of the complex. There will be appetizers provided by Round Table Pizza with the opportunity to taste its new pasta and flat bread. Tickets will be sold for non-alcoholic drinks and drawings for prizes. So come out and join us. • Soup and Song – 6 p.m., Friday, March 19, The El Camino United Methodist Church, 8345 Hwy 99W, is having a Soup and Song Fest with music by The Jammers. Everyone is invited. The church will offer a free Easter Egg hunt on Saturday April 3 at 11 a.m., for ages 4 and younger, 5-8 and 9-12. • Business Expo – The expo is coming up March 27 and the chamber would like to help promote our members’ businesses and organizations. We are asking that you bring your promotional items to the chamber office in the next two weeks. We will pass them out to the hundreds of people who attend. If you would like to have your own booth, there may still be space available. If you would like more information you may call directly to the Orland Chamber of Commerce at 865-2311. • Heritage Shopping Plaza – A great incentive is provided to local business owners: free rent for the first six months, only 50 cents a sq. ft. for second six months and only 90 cents per sq. ft. for the sec- ond year. Owner financing for tenant improvement on approval of credit. For more details, call Harry Finefrock, ReMax Top Properties at 586-0293. ——— This column is prepared and submitted by the Corning Chamber of Commerce. Fed holds rates at record lows WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Tuesday repeated its pledge to hold interest rates at record lows to foster the economic recovery and ease high unemployment. But the Fed’s assessment of the econo- my at its meeting Tuesday was a bit more upbeat. It said the job market is stabilizing. That was an improvement from its January statement, when it said the deterioration in the labor market was abating. It also said business spending on equip- ment and software has risen significantly, also an upgrade from its last assessment. Still, the Fed cautioned that spending by consumers could be dampened by high unemployment, sluggish wage growth, lower wealth and tight credit. And it noted weakness in the commercial real-estate and home-building markets. ‘‘The Fed painted the economy in a slightly brighter shade,’’ said Stuart Hoff- man, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. ‘‘It’s been painted black for so long. Now, it is a lighter shade of gray.’’ The Fed held its target range for its bank lending rate at zero to 0.25 percent, where it’s been since December 2008. In response, commercial banks’ prime lend- ing rate, used to peg rates on certain credit cards and consumer loans, has remained about 3.25 percent — its lowest in decades. Super-low rates benefit borrowers who qualify for loans and are willing to take on more debt. But they hurt savers. Low rates are especially hard on people living on fixed incomes who are earning scant returns on their savings. The Fed’s pledge to keep record-low rates for an ‘‘extended period’’ relieved investors. The Dow Jones industrial aver- age finished the day up nearly 44 points. Before the announcement, it had posted a gain in the single digits. Prices for Treasurys rose slightly. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell to 3.66 percent from 3.68 percent just before the announcement. The Fed made no changes to a program to drive down mortgage rates and bolster the housing market, even as a government report Tuesday showed housing construc- tion tumbling in February. Under that program, the Fed is sched- uled to end purchases of $1.25 trillion worth of mortgage-securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at the end of this month. Some analysts fear that once the program ends, mortgage rates could rise. That could weaken the recovery in housing and the overall economy. The Fed has left the door open to extending the program if the economy weakens. ‘‘The Fed is keeping its powder dry in the event that mortgage markets are unable to pick up the slack left by the Fed’s absence,’’ said Brian Bethune, an econo- mist at IHS Global Insight. Hoffman thinks 30-year fixed mortgage rates, hovering around 5 percent, could rise to around 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent after the Fed program ends. That increase also would reflect stronger demand for mort- gages as people rush to take advantage of a homebuyer tax credit that expires at the end of April. The average rate on 30-year fixed mort- gages dipped to 4.95 percent last week, from 4.97 percent a week earlier, according to mortgage finance company Freddie Mac.