Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 18A
, FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Wednesday, December 2,1996
Business note
Lynne Tolley to visit
JAX Package Store
**
JAX Package store will be hosting a unique
event Friday, Dec. 4, from 6-8 p.m. Lynne Tolley,
Jack Daniel’s grand-niece, will be at JAX
Free tax-planning guide helps investors
digest latest rounds of tax-law changes
Now that you’ve had a year to
digest last year’s major tax reform
bill and its effect on your invest
ment portfolio, guess what? The
laws have changed again.
In July, President Clinton signed
legislation that clarifies aspects of
the Taxpayer Relief Act passed in
1997. How does this latest round of
changes affect your investing situa
tion?
A.O. Edwards’ annual tax-plan
ning guide, “Tax Saver,” offers
numerous investment-related, tax
saving tips that take into account
this year’s legislative changes.
“Keeping up with all the revisions
in the tax law is a daunting task for
most investors,” said Frank
Wiegand, branch manager of the
A.G. Edwards Gainesville office.
“For example, Congress signifi
cantly altered the capital-gains
holding periods last year and then
changed them again this year. Tax
Saver brings investors up to date on
these changes and provides strate
gies on how they can take advan
tage of them before year end.”
Timely tax-saving strategies
investors should consider include:
Identifying investments that
ntay be sell candidates. Investors
who’ve been waiting to sell invest
ments to take advantage of the
lower capital-gains rates offered by
the 18-month holding period creat
ed in the 1997 legislation now can
get the same advantageous rates
after holding their investments for
only 12 months. “But investors who
decide to sell a security that no
longer meets their financial goals
Summerwind holds ‘sneak preview’
Real estate agents from all over
the Atlanta area recently attended
a “Sneak Preview” Grand
Opening Celebration of South
Forsyth’s finest new community -
Summerwind. Guests toured the
beautifully decorated model and
were treated to a buffet luncheon
of “Titanic Proportions” catered
by Situations, Menus for Venues.
Free Titanic videos were given to
the first 10 agents to tour the
model and a drawing for cash and
prizes added to the festive atmos
phere of the day. Marisa Collard,
Re/Max Professionals, and
Alison Scott, ERA A-l, won the
two SSOO Grand Prizes. Kathleen
Brady, Re/Max Center; Gail
Stephens, New Homes America;
Doug Goldman, Coldwell Banker
Buckhead Brokers; and Gloria
■ Dubs, Prudential Atlanta, each
won a S2OO cash prize. Cathy
Barton, Harry Norman and Terry
Swanson, Results Realty
Services; won SIOO cash prizes.
Nathalie de Forcade, New Homes
America, and Gary Deckert,
Prudential Georgia, won SIOO
gift certificates to the Buckhead
Life Group Restaurants donated
by the New Homes Data Book.
John Chihlas, Coldwell Banker -
; French Properties won a beautiful
gourmet gift basket donated by
• Baskets By Design.
, Award-winning Touchstone
Homes (Georgia), Inc. is building
Summerwind’s 67 homes. These
elegant four- and five-bedroom,
executive-style homes feature tra
ditional two story brick exteriors,
half to one-acre lots, master
:suites with sitting areas, three-car
;side entry garages, two-story foy
ers, gourmet island kitchens and
may be customized to suit the
buyer’s lifestyle.
Community amenities include a
■Junjpr Olympic Swimming Pool,
.a cabana and two lighted tennis
courts. Summerwind's pastoral
{setting in prestigious South
Forsyth is just what today’s busy
{family is looking for. It offers all
Xhelmodern conveniences of a
icity,’’address with all the peace
Jand.'jcharm of a country setting.
’Summerwind is the perfect com
jmunity for both families on the
inove and families who would
like to move up or down.
• For information, contact
I 4 4
Package Store in Cumming to personally auto
graph any purchase of Jack Daniel Single Barrell
that was specially produced for JAX at the
Lynchburg, Tenn, distillery. Take advantage of
this rare opportunity to meet a legacy of the one
and only Jack Daniel and purchase one of the
finest spirits ever produced in the South.
should still specifically identify
which shares they want to sell to
avoid having the Internal Revenue
Service decide for them, which can
result in a higher tax liability,”
Wiegand said.
Becoming familiar with the
“wash sale” rule. The wash sale
rule states that you may not use
capital losses to offset gains or
income if you sell a security at a
loss and purchase the same or “sub
stantially identical” security within
30 calendar days before or after the
sale date establishing the loss. To
avoid a wash sale rule violation,
you can:
• “Double up” your position in the
security at least 31 days before you
intend to sell your original position.
• Plan your repurchase outside the
61-day wash sale period.
• Repurchase a security that is not
considered “substantially identi
cal.”
Gifting securities to children or
grandchildren. An attractive tax
strategy is to gift securities to a
child or grandchild to take advan
tage of the 10 percent long-term
capital gains tax rate that applies to
taxpayers in the 15 percent tax
bracket. However, the age of the
child and your investment strategy,
coupled with the tax consequences,
could diminish the potential value
of gifting securities to your chil
dren.
Taking advantage of retirement
accounts. The Roth IRA created
under last year’s tax law offers the
opportunity to achieve tax-deferred
growth of investment earnings and
Barbara Stevens or Sharon Jones
at (678) 947-9445 or (770) 495-
0509.
Complete
Chiropractic
Examination
(reg. $180.00) J Now
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X-RAY
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CONSULTATION
For Relief of:
TMJ • Strew • Muacte 9pmu»
Sinus« Headaches » Fatigue
Offer expires 12/31/98
FOR AN APPOINTMENT CALL
(770) 781 9050
Any further treatment* shall be
agreed upon in writing and signed
by both partie*.
563 Lakeland Plaza
Cumming, GA 30130
4.. taßpanm . // /■>
DMo gardens
PREMIUM CHRISTMAS TREES
$19.99
White Pines 6-9 ft. Premium Quality Fraser Firs start at $29.99
You can pay more at a tree lot for a lower grade tree, or get a premium grade
Fraser from Lelani’s beautifully shaped with NO gaps of holes, & pay less!
Also see the most Beautiful Wreaths & Garlands from the
Pacific Northwest & gorgeous Poinsettias in a variety of colors.
Hours: Open Monday-Saturday at 9, Sunday at 11. Every night til 9!
(706) 265-3510 1 MILE EAST OF DAWSONVILLE ON HWY 53
to make tax-free withdrawals of
assets at retirement or earlier for
special purposes. If you are mar
ried, you and your spouse can each
contribute up to $2,000 in earned
income to your respective IRAs
based on the eligibility require
ments determined by your adjusted
gross income. “In addition, more
individuals can deduct contribu
tions than ever before to their tradi
tional IRAs and have more access
to their IRA balances without
incurring a penalty tax,” Wiegand
said.
Reducing your estate tax bur
den through gifting. Current tax
law allows you to gift SIO,OOO in
cash or property per person per cal
endar year (or you and your spouse
can give $20,000 with no gift tax
consequences). For 1998, anyone
with assets currently valued at
$625,000 (as compared to
$600,000 in 1997) may want to
consider implementing estate plan
ning strategies now.
To receive a free copy of Tax
Saver, which offers a complete list
of tax-saving strategies available to
investors this year and a calendar of
in.portant tax deadlines, call the
A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.
Gainesville office at (404) 532-
6361. You can also obtain a free
copy of Tax Saver through the
firm’s Web site at www.agedwards.com.
[ * Where Buying
( nckP t c Direct Can Save y ° u
Thousands!
"Direct to the Public"
Peachtree Caskets Direct, Inc.
—. 2850 Holcomb Bridge Rd. #l3O,
Alpharetta, GA (3.3 miles east of 400)
vyP/V (770) 95-CASKET
yd|(9s2-2753) IV<? have urns too
VI II 1994 FTC LAW: Funeral home must accept our casket
Jeevana K. Krishna, M.D.
Family Practice • Board Certified
is pleased to announce
the opening of her office of
Family Practice
Healthcare for adults and children
1 st Time Office Visit ■-
Applies to common ailments such as colds, sore throat.
hypertension, etc. . B. B
Please mention this ad.
S B OO FLU SHOTS
Mon., Wed. & FRIDAY, 9-12
1230 Bald Ridge Marina Road
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Office: (770) 781 -6393
Office Hour* by Appointment Accepting New Patients
Walk-Ins Welcome
BUSINESS
Retirement plan security inspection
Given recent events in the
news, many employees have
begun wondering what would
happen to their 401(k) dollars if
their company were to go into
bankruptcy, out-of-business or
was merged or acquired by
another firm. This is a question
that few employees think about
when making contributions to
their company retirement plan.
Yet, in the economic environ
ment of today where corporate
closings and restructuring are
not uncommon, it makes sense to
know what level of safety exists.
Plan officials called fiduciaries
and trustees manage retirement
plans exclusively for the benefit
of participants. A fiduciary is
any person who exercises any
discretionary authority or control
over the management of the plan
or its assets, or any person who
is paid to give investment advice
regarding plan assets. A trustee
has the responsibility of collect
ing and holding plan assets in
trust for the participants.
It is important to know that
there are laws specifically
designed to protect the interests
of qualified retirement plan par-
ChemTurf/Russell donates landscaping
In a six-hour marathon, a team
of employees from Chem-
Turf/Russell and Companies
under the direction of company
President Bill Russell has just
completed a small miracle. Using
heavy equipment, they leveled
ground, installed Bermuda sod
lawns, planted shrub beds and put
in four trees. And as a finishing
touch, they added groups of flow
ering plants. This was not for the
entrance to an office park or a
ticipants and their beneficiaries.
The Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA)
was passed in 1974 to specifical
ly protect the retirement plan
assets of qualified retirement
plan participants. For defined
contribution plans - such as
401(k)s - the Department of
Labor (DOL) and the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) also
oversee various rules and regula
tions.
Under the various rules of
ERISA, benefits under a 401(k)
plan are protected from creditors
if a company goes bankrupt. No
matter how much a struggling
company may need access to
funds, they cannot use plan
assets for such purposes as buy
ing equipment, paying rent or
paying creditors. Your retirement
dollars are held “in trust” for
your benefit - not for the benefit
of your company.
Participants are always 100
percent vested in their own con
tributions to a 401(k) plan.
While it usually takes several
years to become fully vested in
any employer contributions, if a
qualified plan is terminated, the
subdivision, but for something
entirely different.
Local churches recently donated
two older houses to Creative
Enterprises in Lawrenceville, an
agency which assists severely dis
abled adults to become work
ready. These houses were moved
to the Creative Enterprises site to
be used as learning facilities for a
day rehabilitation program.
Moving the houses and installing
new bathrooms and handicap
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....
employees immediately become
100 percent vested. IRS approval
must be received before any
qualified plan can be terminated.
Once approval for a termination
is obtained from the IRS, the full
amounts of plan assets are dis
tributed to plan participants.
If you would like to know more
about ERISA, or if you require
more general information regard
ing qualified retirement plans,
such as a 401(k) plan, contact
your financial advisor. After all.
the more you know about your
retirement plan, the more secure
you are likely to be upon retire
ment.
Luke Haymond and Mike
Antonio are Financial Planners
with Robert Thomas Securities,
Cumming. For additional infor
mation, you may contact their
office at (770) 844-0020.
accessible entryways took a big
slice out of the budget. Said
Leigh Couch, director of Creative
Enterprises, “When we had done
all the necessary work, there was
nothing left over for landscap
ing.”
At this point the Gwinnett
Foundation stepped in Joe
Estafen, executive director of the
community foundation said that
See MIRACLE, Page 19A