Go to Jeff Salisbury LWGate Home Page.From: persfin-digest <owner-persfin-digest@shore.net>
Subject: persfin-digest V4 #149
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:36:46 -0400 (EDT)
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persfin-digest Sunday, April 19 1998 Volume 04 : Number 149
IN THIS ISSUE:
ADVERTISEMENT: MCI FAX REPLY SERVICE
Public Internet Access in Thailand, India, and Egypt?
Re: IRS quarterly estimates
Re: LT Cap Gains Rate?
Re: : Zero Coupons?
Re: Cap Gain for Spouse?
Re: Continue Term Life Policy
Putting $ into an IRA - January or April?
Re: Long distance phone service - Sounds like MLM
Can someone tell what the pros and cons of REIT's are
====================================================================
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This issue is sponsored by:
Oppenheimer Software - An Official MCI Messaging Agency. Features:
MCI Fax Broadcasting Service
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:18:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: Oppenheimer Software <Connect-Sales@mcimail.com>
Subject: ADVERTISEMENT: MCI FAX REPLY SERVICE
MCI Fax Reply Service
A Flexible, Low Cost, Fax on Demand Service
Distribute Your Information When They Really Want It -
Not When You Think They Want It
New Rules/Regulations, Advertisers Deadlines, Investor
Relations, Media Information, Technical Support, Late
Changes, Newsletters, Profressional Advice, RFPs, Project
Updates, Application Forms, Schedules, Catalog Revisions,
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Tel:800-390-9379 E-Mail:Connect-Sales@mcimail.com
Fax:800-492-6862
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:30:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: The Editor <ikrakow@shore.net>
Subject: Public Internet Access in Thailand, India, and Egypt?
My son Sam is on a 2 month trip around the world. Currently, he's in
New Zealand. In New Zealand and Australia, he anticipates no problem
getting public Internet access, and I can even respond because he has an
email address at:
skrakow@hotmail.com
which lets you send and receive mail from any Web browser - i.e., as long
as you can get on the Web, you can use your email.
His problem is that he was accepted by the MD/PhD program at Temple
University (Philadelphia), and he has to communicate with them by email.
There are a number of loose ends - financial aid, rotations which are
supposed to start in June that he's supposed to schedule, and so on.
The only practical way to do it is by email. He doesn't anticipate a
problem in NZ or Australia, but he thinks he may have a problem in
Thailand, India, or Egypt getting access to a public Web or Internet site.
So if you have any information on this, as well as tips on:
1) the medical school and MD/PhD programs at Temple and Boston University
(where he also got in)
2) things to see and do in Thailand, India, or Egypt
please email Sam at:
skrakow@hotmail.com
Thanks.
Ira
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:31:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rich Carreiro <rlcarr@animato.pn.com>
Subject: Re: IRS quarterly estimates
>My income varies from quarter to quarter. If I base my quarterly estimates
>on my quarterly income, then how will the IRS know that I had quarterly
>variations when I file my yearly return? Is there some specific form for
>quarterly income figures?
Form 2210.
Rich Carreiro
rlcarr@animato.pn.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:31:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rich Carreiro <rlcarr@animato.pn.com>
Subject: Re: LT Cap Gains Rate?
>reinvest it, your cost basis increases. Well, in 1997 I sold the
>fund and ended up with a taxable loss. The loss, however, is
>considered long term, so do I really only get to deduct 20% of it,
>rather than 28%, even after paying 28% tax before??
Yes. The gain or loss on the sale of shares held more than 18 months (or 12
months is sold from 5/7/97 to 7/28/97) has an applicable tax rate of
10% or 20% (depending on your overall tax bracket), so to the extent you
have a loss on such shares, you will only lower your taxes by 20% of
the loss.
There's nothing new about that, after all. For example, income dividends
which are taxed at your highest tax rate increase basis just as much
as capital gain distributions (by the amount of the reinvestment) and yet
should there be a loss on sale, a lower rate applies to the loss.
And if you had sold at a gain, I doubt you'd be complaining about the
gain being only taxed at 20% :-)
Rich Carreiro
rlcarr@animato.pn.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:31:47 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rich Carreiro <rlcarr@animato.pn.com>
Subject: Re: : Zero Coupons?
>Why are you interested in zero coupon bonds? Are you aware that you
Well, a good reason is that reinvestment risk is eliminated. Since
zeros pay no current interest, the interest is in effect being
reinvested at the yield-to-maturity of the zero. With a regular
interest-bearing bond, you cannot say for certain what the final value
will be because that will depend on what return you got on the
reinvested interest payments.
Or put in another way, a zero allows you to today purchase a known
payment at a known future time. This can be very useful as a way to
fund known future liabilities.
>have to pay income tax on the theoretical dividend? (You have to pay
This is an important drawback of zeros. You have to calculate the
interest you "would have" received and pay tax on it (see IRS
Publication 1212). You do adjust your basis in the zero upwards by
the amount of the imputed interest, so you are not double-taxed.
And of course zeros are far more volatile than a coupon bond with the
same yield-to-maturity (equivalently, a zero of a given maturity with
a given yield-to-maturity has a longer duration than a coupon bond
with the same maturity date and the same YTM).
Rich Carreiro
rlcarr@animato.pn.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:32:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rich Carreiro <rlcarr@animato.pn.com>
Subject: Re: Cap Gain for Spouse?
[Disclaimer: this is my opinion, not advice. I am not a professional.]
>I need to know how to treat the capital gains of our investments.
>Currently, all the investments use my SS as taxpayer ID. Since we are
>filing separately and my income is much higher than hers, I think it's an
>advantage to split the gain between us. I don't remember where I read it,
>but a split is allowed and no form is needed if the recipient is your
>spouse. Is this true? If so, can I declare 50/50 between us?
The income is split in proportion to the actual ownership in the
account. If you really own 100% of the account, then all of the
income in it is reportable to you, even if it is a joint account
(warning -- rules can be *much* different in a community property
state).
Also, is there a compelling reason to file separately? Unless you
live in Ohio, you will almost definitely save money filing married
jointly vs. filing married separately if there is a big difference in
your incomes, which you say is the case.
As for forms, I don't believe anything is necessary, but since it's
all under your SSN, you'll want to show it as all reported (so the
form matching stuff the IRS does won't flag problems) to you, and then
back out the amount that properly belongs to your wife.
Finally, if long-term gains are involved, and depending on what bracket
your wife is in, it may not make a difference anyway because of the
caps on the tax rates of long-term gains.
Rich Carreiro
rlcarr@animato.pn.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:32:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: PowellFamily <PowellFamily@tri-countynet.net>
Subject: Re: Continue Term Life Policy
Elsie:
This is the way I look at insurance:
Why do you have the insurance? Is it to pay off outstanding bills so
your survivors won't have to? Is it to provide for those unable to
provide for themselves?
My husband and I working toward not having any insurance. As my
children got older and able to take care of themselves during the day,
we dropped my policy. As more and more bills get paid off, we have
lowered his policy. Additionally, when your policy comes up for
renewal, you should ALWAYS check around for a better price. Two places
on the web I can recommend are:
http://www.insure.com
http://www.americaquote.com
I'm sure you can find a better deal (unless there are health problems
involved.) You may find upon evaluation that it would be best to drop
the policy altogether. You didn't mention any debts currently
outstanding. . .
Sherri
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:33:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: Fred Schiff <fschiff@banet.net>
Subject: Putting $ into an IRA - January or April?
Is it better to put money into an IRA in January or April?
(for the year that it is now say)
Fred Schiff (fschiff@banet.net)
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:34:04 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Lloyd Colston" <colston@viagrafix.com>
Subject: Re: Long distance phone service - Sounds like MLM
>
> >I have 8.9 cents per minute on a dial-around number with no monthly
> >fee. See my link from <spam deleted>
Because the business is credible, I take offense at your phrase "spam
deleted". I personally will NOT sell or attempt to sell a product or
service that I will NOT personally use first. IMO, your conclusion
regarding quality are unfounded and baseless. Mine, on the other
hand, are based on experience as a customer of the companies I
represent.
>
> Look closely at this fellow's web site and you realize you have to submit an
> authorization form with his sales agent number on it.
And what would be wrong with that? Would the service be more or less
good if it were not marketed in this manner?
>
> To me this whole deal stinks of an MLM marketing scheme.
You are not buying the marketing plan. You are buying the phone
service. They are not the same thing.
>
> If so, I'd advise against any purchase that is based on MLM. Great MLM
> schemes of the past include Amway (sold a skin product that took off the
> skin along with the stink) and Amsoil (sell an overpriced synthetic oil that
> the never bothered to API certify, thus voiding all your power train
> warranties).
I am not a MLM fan. However, MLM does afford some degree of customer
service. For example, the AMWAY distributor does bring the product
to your door.
Do YOU look at each company's marketing plan before you decide to buy
from them or not? Is your sole decision to buy based on if the
company markets in part or in whole through network marketing? I
doubt it is because, if it was, you would eliminate WorldCom, MCI, T,
and FON. These four industry giants either directly market through
MLM or have distributors that do.
A point I would dearly love to make here is that you are buying the
SERVICE not the marketing plan. If the product/service is lousy, I
would expect you to return it to where it was purchased. If it was a
store, you go back to the store. If it was from a business person who
operates a home based business (MLM or not), you will contact him,
unless, of course, you have no interest in customer satisfaction.
Lloyd Colston Excellence is not an accident
Pryor, OK USA social worker, writer, editor
Member: International Small Business Consortium
KC5FM Home page http://www.viagrafix.com/colston/
Family ISP coming > http://globalads.com/gfn-prelaunch/kc5fm
Shopping made easy at http://www.spree.com/default.asp?x=kc5fm
Low cost Global Communications at http://ld.net/?kc5fm
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:34:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: "alkon" <alkon@hal-pc.org>
Subject: Can someone tell what the pros and cons of REIT's are
My Merryl Lynch broker called me the other day to tell me of a great
REIT program that ML has. It involves purchasing into a group of
"top notch" REIT's. He, of course, made it sound like a great
investment with little downside. I know nothing of REIT's and would
like an opinion or two. What are the risks of this kind of
investment?
Thanks, Al Kondo
------------------------------
End of persfin-digest V4 #149
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