collaboration of the midterms process

Nakisha Thompson

I decided to work in groups while working on our midterms, that Professor de Wit asked us to do because we are as one, a community. So my group was a large group. We were to incorporate all these different relevant political topics assigned to different groups. We were to learn all about the 12 topics, which include how to get mortgages and about the employment rate, as well as health care reform, ageism and more. I worked with my group over the weekend using Google drive. Google drive is such easy to learn and very reliable as well as accuracy and everyone can be on the same page. Me and Leo had the groups we collaborate with to copy and paste a brief description of their topic, which I found a compromising from each topic to another. I noticed that all of our political topics seemed to connect one way or another. The different aspects of house loans, house mortgages, banking, the taxable income involved in mortgages lead us to what tax write offs are, and how they are beneficial, for  we must start to be our own bosses, and to become entrepreneurs so they can become successful. This is something that  is very important to contributing and feeling some sense of an independent citizen that's doesn't just look forward to the end of the years for your w-2’s or W’4s  you will be doing your business write off as well, because you will own your own business and your own house. So this information is very important to be heard and taken into head. Then we had you look into the job employment rate which is very low, so the best option is to become an entrepreneur and get that Masters degree, because if you have no degree in this world I don't know what type of employment you will have to retire on that has that pension and the 401k plan. Think about it.

Later that week our group met and went over our final drive in the library, we made corrections adding some ideas and made all the final touches to our 13 paged paper. I loved the collaboration we had with all of our big group. We wanted to get more topics to add, but by coincidence many of our groups had the same research topic, but I managed to put it all together. Thats what daraja is all about, we must look out for each other because daraja is the stairway to success and I’m not successful without my darajans, vice versa. peace. one love.

75 Possible deductions for taxes (owning your own business)

75 Possible Deductions for Taxes

instructions: ***(If you click on the items it will direct you to the links)***

Accounting fees

Advertising

Amortization

Auto expenses

Bad debts that you cannot collect

Banking fees

Board meetings

Building repairs and maintenance

Business association membership dues

Business travel

Cafeteria health-insurance plan (requires plan)

Charitable deductions made for a business purpose

Cleaning/janitorial services

Collection Expenses

Commissions to outside parties

Computers and tech supplies

Consulting fees

Continuing education for yourself to maintain licensing and improve skillsl

Conventions and trade shows

Costs of goods sold

Credit card convenience fees

Depreciation

Dining during business travel

Discounts to customers

Education and training for employees (new)

Employee wages

Entertainment for customers and clients

Equipment

Equipment repairs

Exhibits for publicity

Family members' wages

Franchise fees (new)

Freight or shipping costs

Furniture or fixtures

Gifts for customers ($25 deduction limit for each)

Group insurance (if qualifying)

Health insurance

Home office

Interest

Internet hosting and services

Investment advice and fees

Legal fees

License fees

Losses due to theft

Management fees

Materials

Maintenance

Medical expenses (with plan)

Mortgage interest on business property

Moving

Newspapers and magazines

Office supplies and expenses

Outside services

Payroll taxes for employees, including Social Security, Medicare taxes and unemployment taxes

Parking and tolls

Pension plans

Postage

Publicity

Prizes for contests

Real estate-related expenses

Rebates on sales

Rent

Research and development

Retirement plans

Royalties

Safe-deposit box

Safe

Software and online services

Storage rental

Subcontractors

Taxes

Telephone

Utilities

Website design

Workers' compensation insurance

Tax write-off Works Cited

Works Cited Page For TAx Write-offs

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219474#ixzz2jAanQue6

Wikipedia.com tax write-offs

Howstuffworks, “How do tax deductions work?money,howstuffwork.com/personalfinance/taxes

McCormally, Kevin, The most overlooked tax deductibles Klinger.com, 13, March, 2013.web

IRS, Topic 513-educated exprenses IRS.com 15.April 2013.web

10tax Benfits for the self-employed,Some Common tax deductible expensese, Investopedia.com 20.Feb.2013/web

Tax Write-off bibliography with research reflextion

Nakisha Thompson

English 4

Daraja

My topic was to research what a tax-write off actually means. I really didn't know too much about tax write-offs until I asked Professor de Wit what it meant, of course he told us to research it, matter of  fact, he assigned different political topics to research. All of the 11 topics were assigned to groups. These topics were very relevant to the issues of America today. That’s why it’s important  for us to become knowledgeable of these important aspects of the business world and the corporate world politically,  so we can become involved and pass it down to our younger generations so they can  honestly apply it to their everyday lives.

My researching on tax write-offs gave me understanding that tax deductions mean the same thing. As i mentioned earlier, when tax deductions came to mind, I only thought of donating to a charity and getting extra money when it came to tax season. I leaned by navigating the internet and typing “What is a tax write-off?” first I read the actual definition which read:  A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses required to produce the income -Wikipedia. I learned that there were different types of tax deductions found in different aspects like tax income, and banking, accounting and more. I decided to think what is it about tax deductions that I really think will be relevant to my life. I decided to look into the possibilities and expectations of one day owning my own business, self employed and maybe an entrepreneur. Because at the end of the day who doesn't want to work for themselves and become their own boss?  Well I do, so I researched what tax deductions can be beneficial to me starting my own business our foundation. according to MARK J. KOHLER of Entreprenuer.com  quotes “With a small-business venture in your life and on your tax return, you may be able to convert some personal expenses to business expenses, as long as you have the proper business purpose for that expense.”  Owning your own business may seem like your everyday life may be tax deductible if your life consist of your company and your business. I prepared a page on my blog that has 75 items you can deduct if owning your own business, that my fellow darajans can look at to gain more knowledge of Tax Deductions. These items have the links accessible for my fellow darajans to further investigate, there as so many tax deductible items that you can profit from in the long run. for instance if a person in the United States has a taxable income of $50,000 per year, a $100 telephone for business use would lower the taxable income to $49,900. If that person is in a 25% tax bracket, the tax due would be lowered by $25. Thus the net cost of the telephone is $75 instead of $100. By doing this research I learned that there are many ways to profit from your business when having your own, is more profitable that working for someone else.

Bill O'Reilly vs. Tavis Smiley and Cornell West

  Nakisha Thompson

English 4 Daraja

10.8.13 de Wit

Bill Vs. Tavis

  According to Bill O’Reilly on his opinion about poverty, is to be a social problem. Cornell and Travis differ from this matter saying that its not a social issue, its an economic issue. Bill O'Reilly believes that the war on poverty is a personal option, meaning that people that are in poverty choose to be this way due to addiction and not want more for themselves. He states “people that are in poverty is because it’s a personal problem.”  If that’s so, then this population that he is referring to is not all minority. The new poverty consists of whites and middle class as well.

          Poverty is a political issue according to Tavis Smiley and Cornell West. I believe this, because poverty was only an issue when it hit the working middle class families, which are mostly whites. Poverty has always been a problem that has been overlooked for many years, and it’s sad to say that now its become a “Political” and an “Economic” issue. It hit the working middle class families when the great recession hit, which lead a lot of people to become unemployed.

Jobs were cut, and the unemployment rate continues to rise.  “There are nearly 150 million persistently poor and near poor people in America who are not responsible for the damage done by the recession. Yet they pay the price” (169). O’Reilly says that Poverty solely consists of the 15% that are poor and the 9% that are poor and have a personal addiction. This addiction can be of substance abuse, shopping, or spending money on unnecessary things that you cannot afford. Tavis and Smiley continue to argue that this poverty tour was not because of people that have an addiction, its because it has now hit the middle-class families, who have no addiction at all. Now that the new poor are the ones that we would never imagine to be, republicans like Bill O’Reilly believe that poverty is social, not political. Poverty is a political issue that can be portrayed as a social issue due to the 9% of Americans that are addicts, but the other percentage is over looked.