Flood Damaged Businesses Get Relief From R.I. Dept. Labor and Training

Rhode Island employers forced to lay off workers temporarily as a direct result of recent flooding may be able to help their employees connect to unemployment insurance benefits sooner if the employers apply for a waiver with the Department of Labor and Training.

Rhode Island Law § 28-44-14 waives the usual one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance if a worker's unemployment is caused by a natural disaster or state of emergency.

Who Owns This Pot of Gold?

If you own a business, I’m sure you’ve noticed that sometimes an employee or a vendor doesn’t cash a check. Or maybe you’ve noticed that a bank account hasn’t been used in years. Who owns that property? Those funds are still the property of the employee, the vendor or the account holder. Most states have laws designed to gather and return lost or forgotten property to its rightful owners.

In Rhode Island, unclaimed property is turned over to the RI General Treasury if there has been no activity for three years. For wages and utility deposits the time period is only one year.

Are You Getting the Most From Your Auto Expenses?

If you use a car for business, you have two choices for claiming deductions:

1. Deduct the actual business-related costs of gas, oil, lubrication, repairs, tires, supplies, parking, tolls, drivers' salaries, and depreciation.

2. Use the standard mileage deduction and simply multiply 55.0 cents for 2009 travel. (2008's rate was 50.5 cents for first six months and 58.5 cents for the last six months of 2008) by the number of business miles traveled during the year. Your actual parking fees and tolls are separately deductible under this method.
Which method is better?

For some taxpayers, the standard mileage rate produces a larger deduction. Others fare better tax-wise by deducting actual expenses.