Category: Tools and Information

Can I file my taxes now? IRS gives guidance on state refunds, payments| Fast company

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Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) abruptly advised millions of taxpayers to hold off on filing their 2022 tax return. The reason? A number of states had issued one-time tax rebates, refunds, and other special payments last year, but the IRS was not sure if some or any of these payments were taxable at the federal level.

Now the agency has clarified the situation by issuing updated guidance on the matter, stating that “taxpayers in many states will not need to report these payments on their 2022 tax returns.”

This will no doubt come as a relief to millions of taxpayers, especially those who had filed their returns before the IRS said to hold off. At the same time, the IRS guidance contains some caveats. If you received one of these state-level payments in 2022, here’s what to know:

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Estimated Tax Payments: What to Pay and When | Small Biz Trends

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Estimated tax payments can be confusing, but they don’t have to be. Understanding the basics of estimated taxes and what you need to pay is key to making sure you stay in compliance with the IRS. Keeping up with estimated taxes throughout the year will help you avoid paying too much (or too little) come tax day. In this article, we’ll discuss when estimated taxes are due as well as how much you’re required to pay.

What are estimated tax payments?

Estimated tax payments are periodic payments made to the government by individuals or businesses during the year, in order to pay their expected tax liability. These payments are typically made quarterly in four equal installments and are estimated based on an individual’s or business’s expected income not subject to federal tax withholding minus deductions for the current year. The purpose of estimated tax payments is to ensure that the tax owed is paid in a timely manner, rather than as a lump sum at the end of the year, avoiding underpayment penalties.

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Why Limit Team Decisions to One Vote Per Person? | Business.com

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Conducting a straw poll prior to a group decision can be a useful way of seeing where attendees stand. Data from the poll focuses conversations around solutions with the most support.

The most common poll is something called plurality voting: each attendee has one vote, and they assign it to one potential solution they find most compelling. However, another option called multivoting is showing better results, according to new research published in the Academy of Management Discoveries.

Multivoting Allows for Greater Nuance

In such a poll, each attendee gets, say, 10 votes — depending on the number of options being evaluated — that they can allocate across potential solutions. They can assign their votes any way they like. For example, they can allocate all 10 votes to one solution or perhaps five votes to a couple solutions they see as viable.

As noted, groups using multivoting outperformed groups using other approaches. This could be the case for several reasons:

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Best Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus screen protectors: top 10 picks | Digital Trends

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Now the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus has officially launched, fans of Samsung’s flagship smartphones are looking to get their hands on it. While it’s all well and good to buy the phone itself, plenty of accessories are needed to go with it — such as screen protectors.

No one likes having to make additional purchases, especially after spending over $1,000 on a phone, but investing in a good screen protector will keep your screen safe from chips, smashes, and any other possible danger that can otherwise make for a pricey repair. Here are the best screen protectors for the Galaxy S23 Plus you can buy right now.

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How to Use ChatGPT to Save Time and Make Work Easier | Entrepreneur

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OpenAI’s ChatGPT and similar AI tools may not replace jobs anytime soon. But they can help workers across many industries – from tech to media – do their jobs better and more quickly.

“It’s almost like a bit of a productivity boost that some of these occupations might get,” Anu Madgavkar, a partner at economic research firm McKinsey Global Institute, told Insider.

The buzzy conversational chatbot – which attracted one million users soon after its launch last November – has been used to generate real estate advice, provide tips on how to start a business, and even write music in the style of individual artists, all with varying levels of success.

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Ultra Thin Coating For Solar Panels | Cool Business Ideas 

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Solar panels can’t operate efficiently if they’re caked in dirt, but cleaning them regularly can become a time-consuming process. Engineers in Germany have now developed an ultra-thin coating that can make solar panels and other surfaces self-cleaning.

Solar is the biggest source of renewable energy, and it’s growing quickly. But as you could imagine, it’s not feasible to send someone out with a squeegee to clean millions of solar panels in each park. Having them clean themselves would be ideal – and now researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have made strides towards that concept.

The team created a coating that changes its response to water based on the time of day, allowing it to shed any buildup of dust and dirt fairly quickly. The key ingredient is titanium oxide, which in its normal state repels water, forming drops that easily roll off. When the titanium oxide is exposed to UV light, however, it changes state to become highly water-attracting, which keeps the surface wet with a thin layer of water.

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What You Should Know About Leasing an Office | Business News Daily

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If you’re ready to rent a commercial space, here are tips for getting started with the leasing process.

  • When leasing a commercial space for the first time, the process can be complicated and confusing.
  • To successfully rent a commercial space, take your time and review the lease agreement in full before signing.
  • It’s also worth consulting with an expert who can guide you through the leasing process.
  • This article is for business owners who are considering leasing commercial office space.

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8 Misconceptions of Time That Make You Less Productive | Lifehack

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“Time is money,” as we have all heard. While time is valuable, it does not appear to be something we can grasp. And, despite the fact that we are all aware of the importance of cherishing our time, we unconsciously waste it at the tip of our fingers all the time! It’s as if we’re still grappling with the concept of time and how it works. Time management, on the other hand, has become a cultural obsession, and it, like any cultural phenomenon, is surrounded by myths.

With a limited understanding of time and these myths, it becomes increasingly difficult to use our time wisely and be truly productive. These misconceptions cause us to have a distorted view of productivity, causing us to become less efficient, less motivated, more prone to burnout, and more prone to making poor decisions.

To overcome some of these false beliefs, we must first understand what “time” means in terms of productivity.

In this article, I’ll debunk 8 misconceptions of time that are probably causing you to be less productive.

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How Super Bowl ad teasers manipulate you—in the best possible way | Fast Company

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You have no idea what Squarespace’s Super Bowl ad is going to be all about. But you do know it probably involves Adam Driver. To be specific, it probably involves up to 27 different versions of the award-winning actor.

We all know this because the brand released an almost two-minute teaser ad this week, featuring a surreal commercial shoot, populated entirely by Adam Drivers.

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