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What is the definition of “Home-Based Business”?

From IRS Publication 587 (“Business Use of Your Home”) : Qualifying for a Deduction Generally, you cannot deduct items related to your home, such as mortgage interest, real estate taxes, utilities, maintenance, rent, depreciation, or property insurance, as business expenses. However, you may be able to deduct expenses related to the business use of part of your home if you meet specific requirements. Even then, the deductible amount of these types of expenses may be limited. Use this section and Figure A, later, to decide if you can deduct expenses for the business use of your home. To qualify to deduct expenses for business use of your home, you must use part of your home: Exclusively and regularly as your principal place of business, Exclusively and regularly as a place where you meet or deal with patients, clients, or customers in the normal course of your trade or business, In the case of a separate structure which is not attached to your home, in connection with your t

Office for New Americans Opportunity Centers

The Office for New Americans is designed to assist newcomers to New York State who are "eager to contribute to our economy and become part of the family of New York State." It helps newcomers to fully participate in New York State civic and economic life by strengthening New York State’s welcoming environment for New Americans. ONA facilitates success by: Creating a network of neighborhood-based “Opportunity” Centers Increasing access to English-for-Speakers-of-other-Languages (ESOL) training. Preparing New Americans for the naturalization process. Connecting New Americans to business resources to harness their entrepreneurial spirit. Developing and leveraging the professional skills of New Americans. Maximizing the number of young people receiving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Strengthening the connections between New Americans and their communities through civic engagement and other opportunities. Reduce exploitation of New Americans by scammers and con

The Business Case For Facebook, In One Sentence

What is the most-debated question in social media today? One candidate is, “Should my company have a Facebook page?” The tension comes from several angles. It could be due to: •The company is not culturally-ready to deal with comments from real people. •The company has whacked-out expectations about how sales will increase once they have a Facebook page. •Their social media guru, Timmy from Accounting, has set their marketing strategy. •They are doing it because their kids told them it would be cool. So how do you decide if a Facebook page should be a priority for your company? More from SmallBusinessNewz

Campaign for Disability Employment

Empirical and anecdotal data tell us many people with intellectual disabilities do work and contribute enormously, but that, unfortunately, most are denied the opportunity. A recent Special Olympics survey conducted by Gallup and the University of Massachusetts at Boston identified a few startling statistics on this front: Only 44 percent of adults with intellectual disabilities are in the labor force, which is defined as either employed or actively seeking work. In contrast, 83 percent of adults without disabilities are in the labor force. Furthermore, the unemployment rate for adults with intellectual disabilities (21 percent) is more than twice as high as those without disabilities (9 percent). Someone is considered unemployed if he or she is without a job and actively looking for and available for work. Special Olympics’ mission may not be to place people in jobs or force employers to employ people with intellectual disabilities. Its ultimate goal, however, is to enable people

Million Short: A New Innovative Way to Search

Search engines like Google are wonderful for anyone wanting to perform standard searches. Google has an amazing ability to cover the depth and breadth of the internet, which is a major reason why so many people depend upon it. Google also has a real knack for always providing the most popular search results first. What happens, however, if you are looking for something that is not popular like ancestral records or obscure historic documents? Now there is another way to perform searches on the internet for your ancestors. It is called Million Short. The name Million Short derives from the fact that this search engine basically ignores the 1 million most popular websites on the internet. Instead, it focuses on less-common websites. Basically, it specializes in what are known as long-tail searches, which focus on the obscure and the uncommon. Many genealogy records are obscure. The search engine worked well in general when looking for ancestral records. It worked even be

So you want to be a Medicare, Medcaid (NY) provider?

Potential Medicare providers: Start with Medicare Provider-Supplier Enrollment This section is designed to provide Medicare enrollment information for providers, physicians, non-physician practitioners, and other suppliers. Please review the downloadable fact sheets to learn more about Medicare provider and supplier enrollment. CMS has established Internet-based Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) as an alternative to the paper (CMS-855) enrollment process. Internet-based PECOS will allow physicians, non-physician practitioners and provider and supplier organizations to enroll, make a change in their Medicare enrollment, view their Medicare enrollment information on file with Medicare, or check on status of a Medicare enrollment application via the Internet. See also Your Provider Manual to the New York Medicaid Program , which offers a wealth of information about Medicaid, as well as specific instructions on how to submit a claim for rendered services.

Getty Images Makes Its Pictures Free to Use

Getty Images, the premiere collection of professional quality photos on the Internet, has for years charged licensing fees to those who wanted access to its extensive portfolio, but that is changing. In a surprise move,  Getty Images is freeing up around 35 million photos from its collection spanning over a hundred years  so that websites and bloggers can post them without getting smacked in the face by a lawsuit. These images will not contain a watermark, though people who post them will need to use Getty's Embedded Viewer tool and abide by the company's Terms of Use. Acknowledging that its images have been widely pirated on the Web for years by users merely right-clicking on photos, Getty says the purpose of the program is to find new revenue streams for the photographers and the company.                  Because the metadata remains with the image, users can click back to Getty Images for more information on the image or photographer or to license the image for other purpos