Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8A
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, November 17,2002
Four tips for
cutting taxes
No matter what your finan
cial goals, you should always
be looking to cut your tax bill.
It’s the fastest way to put
money in your pocket and.
enhance your«financial situa
tion.
With that in mind, here are
four tax-saving tips you can
use right now.
• Tax Tip 1: Eliminate con
sumer interest. This is the
interest that you pay on credit
cards, personal loans, and
other consumer loans. It is
also the interest that eats away
at your financial foundation
the way sail destroys a car’s
exterior.
It’s not unusual to have to
pay 18 percent or more in
interest on a credit card. If you
owe a few thousand dollars at
that lofty rate, you could have
that financial noose around
your neck for years.
Consumer interest may not
have been a bad idea when it
was tax-deductible, but it isn’t
anymore.
Get rid of it as quickly as
possible.
The way to true financial
health is to build wealth
through investing and you
can’t do that if you’re busy
paying high interest to some
one else.
• Tax Tip 2: Try to increase
your capital gains. If you pay
taxes at 28 percent or more,
you know how painful it is to
see such a large portion of
your earnings go to the gov
ernment and dividend
income is taxed at that same
rate.
Maybe it’s time you started
Billy Howell honored
as ‘Best of the Best’
The Consumer Research
Group has nominated Billy
Howell Ford, Lincoln, Mer
cury dealership in Cumming
for its quarterly “Best of the
Best” award honoring dealer
ships that excel in customer
service.
Each quarter, CRG’s nat
ional network of field audi
tors mystery shoppers
cast their votes for the Best
of the Best in customer serv
ice by electing their choice
for the exclusive National
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BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
investing in securities that can
generate long-term capital
gains instead.
The tax rate on such gains
is 20 percent. You can earn
long-term capital gains by
selling a security at a profit,
provided you’ve held it for
more than one year.
A mutual fund that has cre
ated capital gains through
profitable sales within its port
folio also distributes capital
gains to its shareholders at
least once a year.
• Tax Tip 3: Consider
swaps. A swap is selling one
security for less than you paid
for it and buying a comparable
security.
The purpose is to create a
loss arid, therefore, secure a
tax deduction while remaining
in a similar investment. The
IRS will not allow you to take
a deduction on a swap if you
acquire a “substantially identi
cal” security within 30 days
before or after the sale.
If you believe a depressed
holding has favorable upside
potential, you can sell the
security and wait 31 days
before repurchasing it. But
remember, the issue may
increase in price while you
wait to buy it back.
• Tax Tip 4: Save today for
tomorrow. If you work for
yourself—even if you just
moonlight—you can establish
a Keogh or Simplified
Employee Pension Plan.
These are retirement plans
that allow you to make tax
deductible contributions,
which lower your income
taxes. Moreover, all of your
“Shopper’s Choice” award.
Nominees must have been
anonymously evaluated and
excelled in the principle cate
gories that go to make up the
Customer Service Exper
ience.
“This is a tribute to each
and every member of our
team who continually strives
to maintain the level of cus
tomer service you would rec
ommend to a friend,” said
See BEST, Page 9A
STOCK MARKET UPDATE
earnings grow tax-deferred for
as long as they remain in the
plan.
If you’re ineligible to con
tribute to a Keogh or SEP,
consider putting money into
an Individual Retirement
Account. If you don’t have a
retirement plan, or if you earn
less than $40,000 annually
(for a married couple filing
jointly; $25,000 for individu
als), you can write off your
contributions.
Even if you can’t deduct
your contributions, all earn
ings grow tax-deferred. And
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any contributions not tax
deductible when made are
proportionately nontaxable
When withdrawn in retire
ment. If you have more that
five years to retirement, you
may want to consider a Roth
IRA. Funded with after-tax
dollars, the Roth IRA allows
for tax-free withdrawals in
retirement, as long as you
begin withdrawals after age
591A and have had the
account in place for at least
five years.
Before using any tax-sav
ing strategy, talk with your
financial advisor and your tax
planner. They may be able to
suggest other prudent methods
that can cut your tax bill and
help you keep more of what
you earn.
This column is produced by
the Financial Planning
Association, the membership
organization for the financial
planning community, and is
provided by John M. Weaver
Sr., vice president-investment
officer of Wachovia Securities,
member NYSE and SIPC, and
a broker/dealer member in
good standing of the FPA.
Board
OKs new
zoning
request
By Phillip Hermann
Business Editor
The Forsyth County Board
of Commissioners has app
roved the rezoning needed for
construction of a 217-house
subdivision in north Forsyth
County in an area that has been
targeted for construction of
thousands of new homes in the
future.
The board on Monday night
approved the rezoning applica
tion by Ball Ground residents
Joseph and Cindy Martino to
pave the way for development
of the new community on the
south side of Hwy. 369 near
Seabolt Drive.
The site is only miles south
from four other large residen
tial developments proposed for
the area that, when completed
over a 20-year span, would add
more than 3,500 new houses.
Those projects include:
• The James S. Mashburn
Trust’s preliminary site plan to
build 1,598 houses on 1,066
acres on the east and west
sides of Mount Tabor Road
north of Hwy. 369 and near
Nicholson and Old Federal
roads.
On Nov. 12, the board
approved rezoning the tract
and included more than 40
conditions.
• Fox Creek Properties
application to rezone more
than 704 acres on the west side
of Nicholson Road near Old
See ZONING, Page 9A