tax preparers, “falling”, and your clothes dryer
By John Campanola
Its tax time so beware of the phony tax preparers…
This fraud generally involves the preparation and filing of false income tax returns by tax preparers who claim inflated personal or business expenses, false deductions, and/or unallowable exemptions on returns. These tax preparers may manipulate income figures to obtain tax credits, such as earned income tax credits. While the taxpayer may not be aware of this fraudulent activity, the IRS will hold them (you) accountable.
When the IRS detects a false return the taxpayer will be required to pay the additional taxes and interest and may be subject to penalties and criminal prosecution. While most preparers provide excellent service to their clients, the IRS urges taxpayers to be very careful when choosing a preparer. The IRS offers the following hints when choosing a return preparer:
- Avoid tax preparers who claim they can obtain larger refunds than other preparers.
- Avoid preparers who base their fee on a percentage of the amount of the refund.
- Use a reputable tax professional who signs your tax return and provides you with a copy for your records.
- Review your return before you sign it and ask questions on entries you don’t understand.
- Never sign a blank tax form.
- Ask questions. Do you know anyone who has used the tax professional? Were they satisfied with the service they received?
What to do if you fall?
The quote; “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” has been used countless times by comedians and has been used both in the movies and television. Falling and not being to get up, however, is a real issue for many.
If you fall at home remember to stay quiet for a moment and don’t panic. Decide whether or not to try to get up.
If you decide to try to get up use strong, stable furniture for support as you try to get up. Take some time to recover from your fall by sitting in a chair and then tell someone that you had a fall. As necessary, you should also get medical advice.
If you cannot get up, or if you decide not to try, you should: press your Medical Alert pendant (if you subscribe to this service) and lie comfortably until help arrives. Otherwise, you should slide or crawl to get help if you can. You might be able to reach the telephone, door to the outside, personal alarm device (other than Medical Alert), or something to make a loud noise – like pots and pans. Once you reach someone tell them that you have fallen and need help. After calling for help, lie quietly until help arrives. Keep as warm and comfortable as you can.
Prevent fires caused by clothes dryers…
This is an issue which I raised in last month’s article. So many people were surprised to hear about this issue that I thought I would expound upon it in this article.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates that clothes dryers are associated with more than 15,000 fires each year that result in property damage, personal injuries and in some cases death. Dryers rank third among appliances in our homes that start fires, with only stoves and fixed heating systems ranking higher. Please keep in mind the following precautions from the Leviton Institute when operating your dryer.
- Never leave the house while your dryer is running. A malfunction can occur at anytime.
- Dryers should only be plugged into outlets equipped to handle the electrical load.
- Make sure your dryer is vented to an outside wall and check to see that its exhaust vent is unobstructed and its outdoor vent flap opens frequently.
- Keep the area in which your dryer is located free from clutter. Make sure there are no combustible materials such as boxes near the dryer.
- Remove the lint filter, thoroughly clean it after each use and reinstall it. Never operate the dryer without the filter. Doing so can cause lint, threads, fibers and dust to get entrapped in its internal mechanical parts where they can combust or cause other problems.
- Protect children and pets by keeping the dryer door in the closed position.
One last item on clothes drying: while good old fashion ‘line drying’ may also do the job, it would definitely detract from the beauty of your community. Therefore, don’t start throwing away your clothes dryers. They like many of our modern day conveniences normally operate without problem as long as we follow the listed safety precautions.
This article appeared in The Chatterbox of Lexington Lakes in February of 2010 and Viewpointe of Boca Pointe in February of 2005.