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WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, an amendment authored by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) to protect real estate sellers from identity theft was adopted by the Ways and Means Committee.
Thompson's provision changes the tax code to better protect people's Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) or Social Security Numbers (SSN) during real estate transactions.
The National Association of Realtors has endorsed this critical change to the tax code.
"Privacy has become a growing concern for people involved in real estate transactions," said Thompson. "The current law gives too many people access to sellers' personal information. This change makes sure that information is protected."
Thompson's amendment updates the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), a tax law enacted long before identity theft was a prevalent problem.
FIRPTA places sales of U.S. property under heightened scrutiny if the seller is from overseas, to ensure sellers pay all appropriate taxes to the U.S. government.
U.S. sellers can avoid this additional scrutiny by providing the buyer with their SSN or TIN. Fears of identity theft are making sellers reluctant to provide this personal information, causing transactions to fall apart or buyers to assume liability should the seller fail to pay certain taxes.
"Mr. Thompson has shown great leadership on an issue of growing importance," said Linda Goold, Tax Counsel of National Association of Realtors.
"The National Association of Realtors has identified transactions in different parts of the country where sellers have canceled the sale of their property simply because they don't want to give their Social Security number to a stranger,” said Goold. “Everyone wins under Mr. Thompson's proposal. It assures that the IRS will continue to receive important information, that seller's privacy is protected and buyers are not at risk of losing the opportunity to purchase a home solely because of a seller's legitimate privacy concerns."
"Congressman Thompson's amendment is the FIRPTA fix that's needed to help protect home sellers from concerns about identity theft," said Colleen Badagliacco, President of California Association of Realtors. "By enabling settlement providers to securely collect the information, this amendment also effectively protects home buyers from being held liable for someone else's due on sale taxes."
Ted Loring Jr., President of Consolidated Management, a Eureka, California-based property management company, said ID theft concerns have become so serious that some sellers won't provide a tax identification or Social Security number to the buyer.
"That leaves the buyer on the hook, liable for any taxes due on the sale that haven't been collected from the seller,” Loring explained. “Allowing the seller to give his or her tax id to a trusted party, like the escrow company, takes everyone off the hook. The seller's identify is protected; and the buyer doesn't run the risk of being billed for someone else's tax liability."
"This is an important solution to a big problem that affects people nationwide," said Thompson. "We were debating a bill to better protect taxpayers from fraudulent and predatory behavior, and my amendment was a perfect addition. Congress is a key player in the fight against identity theft, and today we expanded the tools taxpayers can use to protect themselves."
Thompson's amendment was included by the Ways and Means Committee in the Taxpayer Protection Act, HR 1677.
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HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE – The March 15 mixer for the Middletown Area Business Association, hosted by Jeff Barone of KIMCO Development, set a new attendance record.
Barone said more than 80 people showed up for the mixer, which was held at the Coyote Valley Professional Plaza in Hidden Valley Lake.
The food, refreshments (including wine) and door prizes were impressive. The live Irish music in honor of St. Patrick's Day provided by the Don Coffin Band added to the ambiance of the evening. FolkS from as far south as Santa Rosa and as far north as Upper Lake made the trek to Hidden Valley Lake for this amazing business mixer.
There are two more mixers scheduled by MABA in preparation for Middletown's biggest event of the year – "Middletown Days," June 16-17 (Father's Day weekend).
There is a mixer at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19, at Star Gardens Nursery in Middletown; another mixer is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, at the Greenview Restaurant in Hidden Valley Lake.
The mixer at Star Gardens is extra-special in that last year that mixer marked the debut of the Aero Airport Shuttle and Charter Service. So, this year's mixer marks their one-year anniversary. The Aero Shuttle was recently chosen as the "Star of Lake County" for best new business.
According to Lee Turner, whose Greenview Restaurant will shortly be featuring a new menu, his May 17 mixer will feature live western music. The last time the Greenview Restaurant hosted a MABA Mixer, they put on an outdoor luau – complete with a Hawaiian music and a dancer.
Neither one of these mixers should be missed. Attendance is free at all MABA mixers, which are open to the public.
But, that is not all. These mixers are a tremendous benefit to the community. They present a unique opportunity to spread one's business message. Anyone who has experienced MABA's door-prize procedure at the end of the first hour knows this.
However, it is important to get an idea as to how many people plan to attend in advance to help with the planning. If you would like to attend a MABA mixer, contact Lamar Morgan at 709-8605 and leave a call-back phone number, if necessary. A special Evite invitation needs to be sent to you through which you can RSVP.
Help in making a MABA mixer a success is always welcome. So, when you call, do not hesitate to ask how you might be able to help.
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SACRAMENTO – State Sen. Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa), who chairs the Senate Select Committee on California’s Wine Industry, introduced a bill earlier this year that would boost family-owned wineries as well as nonprofit groups by expanding the types of organizations allowed to conduct tasting events.
Existing law, established in 2003 by then-Assemblywoman Wiggins, allows wine orders to be taken at tasting events held by eight types of nonprofit organizations, including labor, agricultural, religious, charitable, educational, business, trade and veteran's groups.
But winegrowers are only permitted to accept orders for wine at such events; all sales transactions must be completed at the winegrowers’ premises.
Wiggins’ bill, SB 108, would expand the list of nonprofit entities allowed to conduct benefit tastings where wine orders can be placed to include civic groups, social organizations and voluntary employees' beneficiary associations.
The vast majority of California’s 800-plus commercial wineries are small operations producing less than 5,000 cases of wine a year. Wiggins said her bill seeks to address a compelling issue among smaller wineries that produce too little wine to attract the attention of distributors.
“For many of the smaller producers, sales are typically limited to tasting rooms, restaurants and, where allowed, direct shipments to consumers,” Wiggins said. “By expanding the categories of not-for-profit groups allowed to hold benefit tastings where wine orders can be placed, we’ll help boost consumer access to California wines, raise awareness of an industry that is very important to our state, and create new opportunities for organizations looking to attract support.”
Wiggins said that since she introduced her previous bill more than three years ago, she has been approached by representatives of several organizations who inquired about being included in the law.
“Many wineries are located off the beaten path and thus do not receive many visitors to their tasting rooms – if they even have tasting rooms,” Wiggins said. “I believe my bill will help boost attendance at fundraising events for nonprofits, enable consumers to order wines that they might not otherwise have access to, and help winegrowers and producers build brand awareness and loyalty.”
SB 108 is similar to a bill introduced last year by former Sen. Wesley Chesbro, which was eventually amended to address the proposed gaming compact between the Schwarzenegger Administration and the Yurok Tribe.
As the senator for California’s huge 2nd District, Wiggins represents the counties of Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma. Visit her Web site at
www.dist02.casen.govoffice.com.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Open Market Committee decided Wednesday to keep its target for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 percent.
Recent indicators have been mixed and the adjustment in the housing sector is ongoing. Nevertheless, the economy seems likely to continue to expand at a moderate pace over coming quarters.
Recent readings on core inflation have been somewhat elevated. Although inflation pressures seem likely to moderate over time, the high level of resource utilization has the potential to sustain those pressures.
In these circumstances, the Committee's predominant policy concern remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected. Future policy adjustments will depend on the evolution of the outlook for both inflation and economic growth, as implied by incoming information.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; Timothy F. Geithner, Vice Chairman; Thomas M. Hoenig; Donald L. Kohn; Randall S. Kroszner; Cathy E. Minehan; Frederic S. Mishkin; Michael H. Moskow; William Poole; and Kevin M. Warsh.
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