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iTech Dunya is a technology blog that specializes in tech-related topics.Our GOAL is to produce high-quality content for our millions of readers.

If You Were a Tax, What Kind of Tax Would You Be?

When I meet with business owners, I hear a lot of things. I hear about how they love their business; I hear about how they're making changes in the world; I hear about their children; and I hear about their challenges. One of those primary challenges is understanding the tax code, and the different types of taxes to which they are exposed on a monthly/quarterly/annual basis. This leads most business owners to utter these words:
"I hate taxes."
I understand. You, as a business owner, hate taxes (except when you get in your car and drive on a newly paved highway; or visit the local museum; or drop your child off at the public school you love more than life itself….but I digress). 
You hate them so much that you’ll attempt to make decisions for your business that are solely driven by this hatred.  It is my job to talk you down when you are making a rash decision, or to agree with you and help you structure the decision in the most beneficial way possible.  After all, not everything revolves around taxes.
Yes, I said that.  My position on taxes is this:  I will never advise you to spend money solely to generate a tax deduction.  Period. 
But I will also work to make sure you pay as little taxes as possible, and keep your hard-earned profits. Another Period.
Here are a few of the taxes you will have to contend with as a business owner:
  • Income tax
  • Self-employment tax
  • Payroll tax
  • Sales tax
  • Use tax
  • Property tax
  • Franchise tax (sometimes)
  • Luxury tax (if you’re playing Monopoly)

You should be focused on cash flow and tax reduction simultaneously, working to find the correct balance between the two concepts.  
Taxes and cash flow should go together, and getting tunnel vision about ONLY reducing taxes can be detrimental.  Business decisions and tax-related decisions sometimes go hand-in-hand.  I say “sometimes” because I don’t like for all business decisions to be governed by “how much in taxes can I save by doing this.”  Sometimes a decision is good even though it costs you some tax dollars.  Remember that after you pay your taxes, you get to keep what’s left.
Here is a comprehensive list of business expenses that need to be examined in light of cash and tax-focused outcomes (in no particular order):
  • Rent – at some point, you may decide that owning your own business location is better than leasing it. This decision really needs to be closely analyzed in light of cash outlay and tax ramifications.  The timeline for paying a mortgage is so different from paying a short-term lease, and while the same space may cost less with a mortgage than with a lease, it doesn’t always work out to your advantage long-term.  There’s a bunch to consider here.
  • Automobiles – this causes business owners more heartburn than anything else. There are many ways to deduct expenses related to autos….
    • Mileage
    • Actual expenses
    • Lease
    • Ownership...and the tax structure of your entity also plays into this decision.
  • Health insurance – the second most-asked question. There isn’t enough room on this page to comment on all the important aspects of health insurance, so this is the textbook “case-by-case” discussion.
  • Other insurance – the most overlooked element of your business expense make-up. Insurance is hated by most, but it’s a necessary evil.  The most overlooked and misunderstood insurance line items are:
    • Life insurance (why can't I deduct this?)
    • Disability insurance (both long-term and short-term)
    • Disability overhead insurance
    • Long-term care insurance
    • Worker’s compensation insurance
  • Equipment and Fixtures (including Automobiles) – the accounting term that hardly anyone understands. These are purchases of items used in your business that last for a while….such as desks, computers, printers, scanners, etc.  Since they last for longer than one year and cost more than your standard paper clip or box of paper, per IRS guidelines, you must spread the cost over several years.  This is called depreciation (another term that no one really understands).  The timing of these purchases is important, because not only do they impact your wallet, they impact your taxes.
Tax reduction is a great thing, but I feel that cash flow considerations are primary. The great thing about working with us is that given the opportunity to weigh in, we won't suggest tax strategy and ignore the cash flow considerations.

Jonathan Godwin
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iTech Dunya is a technology blog that specializes in tech-related topics.Our GOAL is to produce high-quality content for our millions of readers.
The Sarojin at Khao Lak, Thailand

Top 10 Most Beautiful Swimming Pools in the World

It’s summer and there’s nothing quite like taking a dip in the cool comfort of crystal clear swimming pool water.  Everyone loves that refreshing and revitalizing feeling of a nice long swim in the pool.

This month we decided to review the most beautiful swimming pools from around the world.  If you’re thinking about designing a swimming pool for your backyard, you’ll love these design ideas.   To give you an idea of what you can do with a swimming pool, here are the top ten most beautiful swimming pools in the world.

No :1 Hotel Caruso in Ravello, Italy
Hotel Caruso in Ravello, Italy

This infinity pool is perched on the edge of a mountain, 350 mt up in the sky. The pool opens into a gorgeous view of the picturesque Amalfi coast.
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No :2 Domus Civita in Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy

Domus Civita in Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy

This turquoise blue pool is hidden underground, in a cave. The cave itself is in the basement of the hotel.
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No :3 Katikees Hotel in Santorini, Greece
Katikees Hotel in Santorini, Greece

How about swimming in a pool, carved into a huge volcanic crater. This is the experience you will get at the Katikees Hotel in Santorini, Greece.
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No :4 Hotel Indigo, Hong Kong
Hotel Indigo, Hong Kong

Imagine swimming in a glass bottom swimming pool, located on the 29th floor of a building. This death defying pool is at the Hotel Indigo in Hong Kong. Did we forget to mention that the pool also offers a superb view of the city.
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No :5 The Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur, India
The Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur, India

When you are swimming in the pool at the Oberoi Udaivilas Palace hotel in Udaipur, India, you can't help, but feel a bit like a royal even if it is for a small time. Such is the ambiance of the pool at Oberoi Udaivilas. On one side of the pool is the palace and on the other, a fantastic view of Lake Pichola.
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No :6 Capella Pedregal Resort at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capella Pedregal Resort at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

If there is a pool in paradise, it will probably look like the outdoor pool at the Capella Pedregal Resort in Mexico. This pool gives an incredible view of the bay and also has a connected bar.
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No :7 Hacienda Uayamon at Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Hacienda Uayamon at Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Looking for a gothic industrial setting? The pool at the Hacienda Uayamon will surely remind you of one. Incidentally, the hotel is built on the ruins of an estate that dates back to 1700.
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No :8 Hanging Garden in Ubud, Bali
Hanging Garden in Ubud, Bali

This pool is set at the edge of a cliff. On the other side is a pristine green rainforest. Talk about living in the midst of nature.
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No :9 Four Seasons Safari Lodge at Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Four Seasons Safari Lodge at Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

This pool is probably the most exotic swimming pool on this list. The pool at the Four Seasons Safari Lodge actually overlooks a watering hole frequented by wildlife like elephants, gazelles, zebras and a host of other wildlife.
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No :10 The Sarojin at Khao Lak, Thailand
The Sarojin at Khao Lak, Thailand

Can a pool change color? This pool does. During the day, it is an austere blue. At night, it becomes fluorescent green. The pool also contains small wooden islands for relaxation.

Tom "TJ" Rossi
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iTech Dunya is a technology blog that specializes in tech-related topics.Our GOAL is to produce high-quality content for our millions of readers.
Free Video Calls? VoLTE vs Video Calling vs 3rd Party App-Video
Three years ago, a Second Standard school kid would not have known what video calling is. However, nowadays, our young Pakistani kid whose dad is working overseas asks his mother, “Ami could we please Skype with Abu, as he would be back from office by now?”

So how many of us have had a Skype call recently. Nearly every one of us knows what Skype Video Calling is; Or do we really? This question hit me last year at the launching announcements of the iPhone 6 series. When Apple told the audience their upcoming technology would incorporate VoLTE into the latest iOS, so “users enjoy seamless Video Calling facilities over LTE”. The term itself pretty much describes everything except that there are numerous technologies working side by side with the NEW SEAMLESS voice transmission. This time the tones do not drop, the voice does not repeat itself after we speak (looking at you Skype), and the call does not end until we want it to!

Are You Excited? So was I!

Here is the official word on VoLTE defined:-

VoLTE, an acronym for Voice over LTE, bases upon the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, specifies distinct profiles for control and media planes of LTE voice services. VoLTE results in voice services (control and media planes) being delivered as data flows within the LTE data bearer; meaning there is no dependency/requirement for maintaining legacy circuit-switched voice network. VoLTE has up to three times more voice and data capacity than 3G UMTS and up to six times more than 2G GSM. Furthermore, it frees up the bandwidth because VoLTE’s packets headers are smaller than those of the unoptimized VoIP/LTE are.

Therefore, it is THREE TIMES as powerful as normal 3G and SIX TIMES better than our Pakistani ex-2G-networks. Remember the Nokia Smartphone series, which had “Video Calling Options” using 3G networks? Moreover, do you know why the 2014/2015 Android Smartphone Vendors dropped the native video calling options in the latest handsets? The Video Calls used to utilize our 3G circuit-switch network (like regular voice calls) do and be heavy on both the cellular networks and the phone bills side by side. So came in SKYPE like a genie in the bottle!

The particular Genie we now know as Skype is an application that utilizes our Internet DATA Bundles instead of the native CSN. Other applications added the same functionality that includes the latest entree WhatsApp too. With this separate utilization, the cellular network stays at rest, and the user does not have to get heavy on the bills either. However, things still seemed out of place when calls dropped, voices ECHOed, and that “Pure Listening Experience” was not purely achievable. Therefore, the VoLTE jumped in! This technology brings to us all the goodies of being reasonable and packet-data based while adding the benefits of clear sound and lively experiences!

There is no doubt the technology will take its time to get used to it. However, once implemented everywhere, we will love every second of it since it will be reasonable and yet let us achieve much faster internet speeds! Until then, I prefer Facebook for video calls as it gives me the best calling experience until now. So what are you using for video calls?
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iTech Dunya is a technology blog that specializes in tech-related topics.Our GOAL is to produce high-quality content for our millions of readers.
The new Truth Machine app alerts you when a colleague, vendor or friend is lying to you. Analyzing both audio and video images from a face-to-face conversation or video chat, it identifies potential deceit. The app's founders claim that the app can detect 99% of all lies.

I'm lying.


This app doesn't exist, yet. But for the sake of this article, let's assume it will exist in the next few years. Let's imagine that you - and everyone else - will be able to detect all lies.

So when your boss tells you, "Great job!" you will instantly know if he is lying.

When a vendor swears to you that she is offering you the lowest possible price, you will know when that is not true.

Even worse, if your significant other claims to be working late at the office, you will know when that statement is false.

My intention isn't to make predictions about the pace of technological change. It's simply to challenge myself - and you - to consider the possibility that lying may soon become nearly impossible.

Even if you are skeptical about the pace of technological development, I urge you to set that skepticism aside for a minute and consider this:

What if lying becomes futile?


Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting, points out that you don't need an app to spot deception. Our faces, voices and actions offer many clues whether or not we are telling the truth. With focus and practice, anyone can learn to detect lies.

For example, Meyer's web site points out that:

From frowns to smiles, we typically reveal true feelings evenly on both sides of the face. Just like a picture hanging perfectly plumb on a wall, one’s face looks its most natural when balanced. Six of the seven core emotions are displayed genuinely with symmetrical expressions on the face. What this means is that if a colleague shows signs of surprise on just one side of her face, chances are she already knew what you just told her.

I'm just taking this one step further, and speculating about what would happen if liespotting techniques were automated.

In many LinkedIn articles, the comments are an interesting follow on to the post; in this one, your comments are front and center. Rather than try to answer this question myself, I'd like to suggest that it will be far more enlightening to solicit all your ideas, from a wide cross-section of countries, industries and ages.

If, as I hope, this article generates a lively discussion, I will publish a second piece that highlights the most insightful comments.

Here are some questions you might want to address:


  • How will relationships change when tactful white lies are no longer possible? What if, when your spouse asks if s/he looks fat, you have no choice but to be honest?
  • Will complete honesty make business relationships more or less compassionate? 
  • How will each of us need to alter our thoughts and actions when we get 100% accurate feedback?
  • What would the transition be like, as such an app was first announced, then available, then widely adopted? How would you feel about a person who refused to talk with you while you had the app running?
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iTech Dunya is a technology blog that specializes in tech-related topics.Our GOAL is to produce high-quality content for our millions of readers.
The sustainability of the producers, distributors and vendors, of prepaid goods and services, will become increasingly more difficult as long as the focus is on the individual parts and not the system as a whole.

The Systems Theory, as a broad concept, is ancient – understanding systems and their inter-related parts. In 1926 Jan Smuts, a prime minister of South Africa and an academic coined the term “holism” in his book Holism and Evolution. Smuts (1926) was the first to acknowledge that the “whole is greater than the sum of the parts”.

However corporate tendency still remains that organisations develop a strategy focusing only on its relationship with its primary stakeholders – those they need to make money or those they need to save money, i.e. a total profit driven strategy. This approach ignores the need to keep its ecosystem sustainable.

The Competition Commission of South Africa was formed in 2000, in accordance of the Competition Act, No 89 of 1998 by the Government of South Africa. Its mission is to investigate, control and evaluate restrictive business practices, abuse of dominant positions and mergers in order to achieve equity and efficiency in the South African economy. The focus of this regulatory body is on the protection of competition within an ecosystem but not on the long-term sustainability of that ecosystem.

WHAT IS THE PREPAID ECOSYSTEM?


Thanks to Wikipedia we know “an ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with non-living components of their environment interacting as a system”. The Prepaid Ecosystem is just a very special case of this definition.

The “community of living organisms” consist of the companies and individuals that produce, distribute, vend and consume the “non-living components”, i.e. virtual products (e.g. prepaid airtime, prepaid electricity, etc.).

In the global Prepaid Ecosystem there is an ever-growing population of consumers that consumes a growing supply of prepaid goods and services. In a study, MasterCard found that the prepaid market would grow more that 22% per annum over the next 5 years. This study also projects a global prepaid opportunity of over $822 billion by 2017.

The producers, supplies goods and services at a relative small direct cost to themselves. The consumer buys these goods and services at a fixed price, but the narrow margin for profit puts pressure on distributors and vendors to run a sustainable business. With commissions ranging from 12% to less than 4% (with an average at about 5.5%), which can be spread over the entire distribution network, there is not much in it for the independent vendors of prepaid products.

WHAT MAKES THE PREPAID ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABLE?


As with natural ecosystems, diversity and balance is the key to a sustainable ecosystem. If the Prepaid Ecosystem is rich in the variety of prepaid goods and services, there will be a higher rate of interaction between the different players in the ecosystem. This inevitably leads to a higher flow of goods and services to the consumer and a higher flow of money to the producer. An ecosystem with a single producer of a limited range of goods and services is very seldom sustainable. Therefor the assumption can be made that there is a critical mass of producers, distributors, vendors and consumers required to create a sustainable ecosystem.

The Ubuntu philosophy of “a person is a person through other people” can be extended to apply to organisations: An organisation’s value can only be affirmed through the recognition of other organisations, the unique needs they address and the symbiotic interaction between these organisations. This is a paradigm shift that needs to happen: rather than viewing other organisations as a threat, they exist to bring variety and balance in the ecosystem – enhancing and stimulating it. I.e. it requires that all the players seek a win-win solution. Plato philosophised that all things will be produced in superior quantity and quality and with greater ease, when each man works at a single occupation, in accordance with his natural gifts, and at the right moment, without meddling with anything else – the same could be said of players in a Prepaid Ecosystem.

Within a Prepaid Ecosystem best practices should be established to protect the relationships and interaction between the different players. Levels within the ecosystem should be managed, with the focus on long-term sustainability, rather than managing the individual players separately.

HOW WILL THE PREPAID ECOSYSTEM LOOK IN THE FUTURE?


Mobile networks (producers) are currently experiencing a very high churn rate, which is combined with lowering Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). Mobile networks are engaged in a tariff war, trying to retain their subscribers. This means that consumers are leaving their Prepaid Ecosystem and those who stays, are consuming less or rather, they are paying less for what they consume. This approach does not seem to be working, networks are only cutting their own profits and the livelihood of their distributors and vendors. This puts even more strain on the long-term sustainability of their ecosystem.

Rather than to drive themselves, their distributors and vendors into the ground, all the players should rather focus on creating a sustainable ecosystem, an ecosystem that could potentially include prepaid electricity products, mobile banking solutions, etc. This ecosystem can be extended to include an extensive distribution network involving distributors, large retailers, independent merchants and traders to serve the ever-growing consumer base. Consumers will stay in a Prepaid Ecosystem as long as it is convenient, not necessarily because it is cheap.

Strategies must be defined and implemented to:



  1. Create a place for every player in the Prepaid Ecosystem, even if it means that a specific level should be conserved (e.g. the vendor level) for social reasons such as job creation or rural upliftment;
  2. Stimulate interaction and encourage diversity within the ecosystem; and
  3. Managing the ecosystem holistically and acknowledging the interdependencies.

Failing to recognise that prepaid ecosystems is the key to long-term survival of producers, distributors and vendors, will inevitably lead to their isolation and downfall.
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iTech Dunya is a technology blog that specializes in tech-related topics.Our GOAL is to produce high-quality content for our millions of readers.
Japanese high-speed train set a new world record
Japan is a modern, myglev'train during his trial at the speed of 600 kilometers per hour journey has taken a new world record.

Seven cars of the train during his trial at a speed of 603 kilometers per hour and the journey continued for more than 11 seconds to 600 km per hour traveled.

Last week, the company train broke its 2003 record of 590 km per hour speed record was traveling.

"Myglev 'train track suspended in air is about four inches above it operates under the principle of electro-magnetism.

2027 Japanese railway officials to train and they are commonly used for the first train between Tokyo and Nagoya will be run.

The train will have a maximum speed 500 km and 286 km, the distance between Tokyo and Nagoya will be fixed in 40 minutes
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iTech Dunya is a technology blog that specializes in tech-related topics.Our GOAL is to produce high-quality content for our millions of readers.

10 Reasons to Outsource your Legal Costs Work

Outsourcing is defined here as
 “a practice used by different companies to reduce costs by transferring portions of work to outside suppliers”
 or as we see it, a practice of creating and sustaining successful partnerships.
 As costs draftsmen, costs lawyers and costs consultants we provide expert outsourced services to the legal profession. Alongside traditional costs drafting roles, outsourcing includes working in house for Solicitors. It’s a great way to cement the working relationship between Solicitor and cost draftsman and has significant added benefits including:
Immediate On-Site Access As a Solicitor you have immediate on site access to the costs draftsman's knowledge and experience of costs drafting law, administration and procedure
Access to Missing Documents As a Costs Draftsman you have immediate on-site access to those fundamental documents that can often be missing from the Solicitor's file (ledgers, disbursements, pleadings,costs orders and correspondence) and that cause delays in progressing costs.
10 Reasons to Outsource your Legal Costs Work

Face-to Face Encounters

Working in-house provides a rare but welcome opportunity to take instructions face to face from our instructing solicitor and a chance to discuss specific issues of importance that a solicitor would wish to bring out in the Bill of Costs and for subsequent negotiations.

Direct Charge

A costs draftsman whether employed internally or externally is a fee-earner. The unequivocal judgment of Lord Justice May in Crane v Canons Leisure [2007] EWCA Civ 1352 is that work done in preparing a bill of costs is “solicitor” work for which solicitors are entitled to make a direct charge.
Profit 
Where still applicable, the success fee is recoverable and paid to the Solicitor not the Costs Draftsman as profit.

Pay Only for Work Done

When outsourcing costing needs, you will  pay the costs draftsman only for the work done: no holiday pay, sick pay, no national insurance contribution nor auto-enrolment payment and no periods of work shortages where you keep staff available but with little to do

Up-to-Date, knowledgeable work-force at no extra cost

The costs of employing costs draftsmen of sufficient calibre and keeping them updated can be prohibitive especially for smaller firms and particularly with the raft of subsequent changes passing through under the guidance of Lord Justice Jackson. It is our job to keep abreast of developments within costs law: a knowledge that we can pass onto client firms through an active in-house training programme.
At John M Hayes we often provide training on maximizing costs recovery and in an age where firms are under pressure financially - we know that every penny counts.

Case management 

Within a specialist legal costs firm, the costs draftsman has the benefit of working alongside experienced colleagues of graduate calibre with the benefit of ongoing broad experience in managing caseloads and training and support. We have the capacity and time to develop detailed costs arguments and negotiation skills which can obscure fee-earning capability for other legal professionals.

Turnaround times

Outsourcing can prevent solicitors from failing to meet turnaround times or tight deadlines at peak times during the financial year. Even firms with their own in-house costing teams call on external assistance particularly at busy times or where costs arguments become complex and a second opinion is sought.

Additional hidden benefits 

Outsourced workers bring additional proven skills to each office visit . Proficient at “hot-desking”, IT on-the-move and adept at blending in with the tea round – we bring hidden benefits to your firm and provide a cost effective way to make a difference to your cash flow and recovery.
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