European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 21, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 stars and stripes saturday april 21 2007 your Money tax audits Are rare but be prepared report agent Field visits jumped 23 percent in 06 by Vicki Lee Parker the Raleigh no news observer Many americans fear the words tax audit an income tax Filer dreads the thought that one Little math error will cause the internal Revenue service to Flag his or her return now after hearing that the irs will scrutinize All suspicious re turns prepared by one Jackson Hewitt franchise a Good Many folks who have yet to file Are Proba Bly double checking their returns the irs has said that Only re turns from the franchisees 125 offices Are being specifically targeted it is not singling out All Jack son Hewitt outlets but that Doest mean every one else can breathe a sigh of re Lief although the Chance of being audited is than 2 per cent of All returns each year according to one Agency is doing More audits according to a recent irs re port it audited 1293681 individual returns in 2006 a More than 6 percent increase Over the Previ Ous year the number of Field audits in which an agent requires a facet face meeting with a tax payer jumped 23 percent during that time new technology has helped the Agency better match income re ported by employers Banks and other institutions with individual returns also More people Are filing re turns online which reduces the amount of time that tax agents spend analysing returns manually freeing up time to conduct More individual audits if you Are worried about being audited someday keep in mind that the Best defense is a Good of sense bring All the documentation relevant to the tax items in ques Tion be sure to gather evidence needed to support your tax Case such As receipts spreadsheets mileage logs Bills and medical records bring documentation Only for tax items specified in the irs tax audit notice to find out which tax records you should keep and for How Long refer to irs Publica Tion 522 if you Haven kept Good records for the tax year in ques Tion try to recreate those coming sunday your Money can earn More in online savings accounts thursdays summary indexes 52week High Low name last net chg Ltd chg chg 52wk chg 1283846 1068332 Dow Jones industrials 1280863 521142 413472 Dow Jones transportation 516559 51844 38097 Dow Jones utilities 51556 198 38 965826 770811 nose composite 960169 3318 34 224247 180065 amex Index 220754 2543 114 253142 201278 Nash a composite 250535 515 21 147657 121929 147073 177 12 87880 71053 87192 337 39 83171 65858 Russell 2000 81932 506 61 1494816 1224990 do Wilshire 5000 1487589 3316 22 most Active is or More name last Active is or last Active or Homo name last chg and 512036 1428 Pfizer 449454 2707 Gerbec 402273 3500 13 Motorola 389693 1803 14 metro pcs 317565 2740 Scherg i 316206 3100 forum 285413 774 03 by foam 249442 5031 91 Kraft 249151 3285 pm cup 248562 1540 340248 14723 04 ishr2knya 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15 1271 01 Putnam funds a gig vap 1232 Seth Illinois department of Revenue office assistant Heather Charlton processes Illinois 1040 forms at the document control and Deposit Center of the Illinois department of Revenue in Springfield records As Well As you can you can request duplicate w2s from your employer or 1099s from your mortgage company if your audit involves medical Bills you can Call your doctors of fice to get copies of Billing state ments you can get in Contact with county officials to get proof of the amount of properly taxes you paid compile the documents making them neat and orderly be prompt and organized treat an irs audit with the same Exchange rates military rates euro costs april Dollar buys april British Pound april japanese yen april South korean won april commercial rates Bahrain British Canada China Denmark Egypt Hong Kong Hungary 40765 11889 seriousness that you would a court Date arrange your papers in the order of the tax items in question to help the meeting flow and remember to make cop ies of you documents do not carry a Shoebox full of receipts to the audit do your Homework re search the audit process to find out what it is like ask coworkers and friends who have gone through the process find out what sorts of questions were asked and which records were required this will help to reduce your stress about the meeting during the audit be professional and polite do not Volun Teer tax information that is not re Quested by the irs it could do More harm than Good if you dont feel comfortable representing yourself find a tax accountant you Trust or an irs enrolled tax agent who is qualified to defend you before the irs Israel Japan yen Kuwait Norway Philippines Poland saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey new lira 13422 military Exchange rates Are those available to customers at military Bank ing facilities in the country of issuance for Japan South Korea Germany the Netherlands and Thea United kingdom for no local currency Exchange rates in purchasing British pounds in Germa Check with your local military Bank ing facility commercial rates Are inter Bank rates provided for reference when buying currency All figures Are foreign currencies to one Dollar except for Trie British Pound which is represented in dollars Pound and the euro which is dollars euro new York merc dose Gold Silver rates prime ratea25 discount rate625 Federal funds Market rate520 3month bill499 30year Bond 484 sources the associated press Bank of America its and sensibility Tiney Fly of the Day not All Home renovations increase the Sale Price by Marshall Loeb Market watch new York these Are Tough times for Home Sellers if youre one of them it can be tempting to launch into a series of Home renovations to make your Home More desirable but be discerning about your choices certain renovations can actually decrease the value of your Home Money Magazine suggests avoiding these four renovations at All costs a swimming Pool if you dont know this already a swimming Pool is a liability not an asset unless you live in a hot climate in the Southwest a Pool can increase a Homes value by 11 but if your Home is in Oregon or Illinois the Cost of insurance and Pool maintenance is a buyer turnoff families with Small children especially avoid Homes with pools Home addition sure an addition to your Home will add inside space but How will it look from the outside Many Home additions can look boxy or unnatural with the rest of the House if you do go for an addition make sure it is Well designed trendy finishes dont fall for the latest style or trend when it comes to renovating As soon As if s out of style it will stick out and look bad one trend that will probably last for a while is custom panelling in Maple or mahogany for Home appliances otherwise stick to timeless classic renovations b a Jacuzzi nothing beats Good soak after a Long Day but not everyone loves a giant tub with multiple jets instead try a rain Shower head if you want to add some luxury to a bathroom