Commercial Coffee Makers – What to Look For
There are two reasons to be looking at a commercial coffee maker. One is you want it for your home and want to best dang cup of coffee you can get out of a machine and you want it fast, and two is you own a business and you need to be able to pump out cups of coffee left and right. You also want a machine that’s reliable and easy to clean and one where you wont be telling your customers “sorry, our machine is down again we don’t have any coffee at the moment” and watch them walk away.Let’s break this article down into two parts, with this part being the home owner looking for some top notch coffee. The main feature you’re going to want to investigate is how many cups of coffee the machine can make at one time. The more cups of coffee it can make at a time the more the commercial coffee maker is going to cost. Some machines are capable of making up to 36 cups of coffee at a time, this is massive overkill for the home owner, unless you have 10 or 15 people running around inside. You can save a lot of cash just by picking out the machine that suits your needs. Another feature to look at for a home machine is how fast it can make the coffee, the faster it makes it the more you pay. If you have time in the morning or plan to turn the machine on before your shower you can get away with a machine that makes coffee slower than others. If you need the coffee fast as can be then you may want to pay a little extra for that sort of thing. Look in the product description to find out the rate of production.Now let’s analyze what you’re going to want to have in a business model. Evaluate how many people come in on a daily basis, or even plan to buy the machine that can output enough coffee to satisfy everyone on the busiest days. There’s no need to buy a coffee maker that can make 300 cups and hour if only 20 people come in an hour. Check to see what features you are going to want with the machine. Are there self cleaning features? Is that something you’d want and do you have time to clean it yourself if not? Is the frame and body made out of steel so it is durable and easy to clean? If you’re going to be serving a lot of coffee there is a feature called dual warmers. You can make two pots of coffee and put one on the top of the machine on a “warmer” which is a hot pad that keeps the coffee hot to serve, while the other sits in the normal spot on its own hot plate ready to serve. This way you can have 2 pots of coffee ready to go at all times.There you have it, whether you are looking at a commercial coffee maker for home or for your business with this information you are capable of making a well informed decision.
Captive Insurance Company – Reduce Taxes and Build Wealth
For business owners paying taxes in the United States, captive insurance companies reduce taxes, build wealth and improve insurance protection. A captive insurance company (CIC) is similar in many ways to any other insurance company. It is referred to as “captive” because it generally provides insurance to one or more related operating businesses. With captive insurance, premiums paid by a business are retained in the same “economic family”, instead of being paid to an outsider.Two key tax benefits enable a structure containing a CIC to build wealth efficiently: (1) insurance premiums paid by a business to the CIC are tax deductible; and (2) under IRC § 831(b), the CIC receives up to $1.2 million of premium payments annually income-tax-free. In other words, a business owner can shift taxable income out of an operating business into the low-tax captive insurer. An 831(b) CIC pays taxes only on income from its investments. The “dividends received deduction” under IRC § 243 provides additional tax efficiency for dividends received from its corporate stock investments.Starting about 60 years ago, the first captive insurance companies were formed by large corporations to provide insurance that was either too expensive or unavailable in the conventional insurance market.Over the years, a combination of US tax laws, court cases and IRS rulings has clearly defined the steps and procedures required for the establishment and operation of a CIC by one or more business owners or professionals.To qualify as an insurance company for tax purposes, a captive insurance company must satisfy “risk shifting” and “risk distribution” requirements. This is easily done through routine CIC planning. The insurance provided by a CIC must really be insurance, that is, a genuine risk of loss must be shifted from the premium-paying operating business to the CIC that insures the risk.In addition to tax benefits, principal advantages of a CIC include increased control and increased flexibility, which improve insurance protection and lower cost. With conventional insurance, an outside carrier typically dictates all aspects of a policy. Often, certain risks cannot be insured conventionally, or can only be insured at a prohibitive price. Conventional insurance rates are often volatile and unpredictable, and conventional insurers are prone to deny valid claims by exaggerating petty technicalities. Also, although business insurance premiums are generally deductible, once they are paid to a conventional outside insurer, they are gone forever.A captive insurance company efficiently insures risk in various ways, such as through customized insurance policies, favorable “wholesale” rates from reinsurers, and pooled risk. Captive companies are well suited for insuring risk that would otherwise be uninsurable. Most businesses have conventional “retail” insurance policies for obvious risks, but remain exposed and subject to damages and loss from numerous other risks (i.e., they “self insure” those risks). A captive company can write customized policies for a business’s peculiar insurance needs and negotiate directly with reinsurers. A CIC is particularly well-suited to issue business casualty policies, that is, policies that cover business losses claimed by a business and not involving third-party claimants. For example, a business might insure itself against losses incurred through business interruptions arising from weather, labor problems or computer failure.As noted above, an 831(b) CIC is exempt from taxes on up to $1.2 million of premium income annually. As a practical matter, a CIC makes economic sense when its annual receipt of premiums is about $300,000 or more. Also, a business’s total payments of insurance premiums should not exceed 10 percent of its annual revenues. A group of businesses or professionals having similar or homogeneous risks can form a multiple-parent captive (or group captive) insurance company and/or join a risk retention group (RRG) to pool resources and risks.A captive insurance company is a separate entity with its own identity, management, finances and capitalization requirements. It is organized as an insurance company, having procedures and personnel to administer insurance policies and claims. An initial feasibility study of a business, its finances and its risks determines if a CIC is appropriate for a particular economic family. An actuarial study identifies appropriate insurance policies, corresponding premium amounts and capitalization requirements. After selection of a suitable jurisdiction, application for an insurance license may proceed. Fortunately, competent service providers have developed “turnkey” solutions for conducting the initial evaluation, licensing, and ongoing management of captive insurance companies. The annual cost for such turnkey services is typically about $50,000 to $150,000, which is high but readily offset by reduced taxes and enhanced investment growth.A captive insurance company may be organized under the laws of one of several offshore jurisdictions or in a domestic jurisdiction (i.e., in one of 39 US states). Some captives, such as a risk retention group (RRG), must be licensed domestically. Generally, offshore jurisdictions are more accommodating than domestic insurance regulators. As a practical matter, most offshore CICs owned by a US taxpayer elect to be treated under IRC § 953(d) as a domestic company for federal taxation. An offshore CIC, however, avoids state income taxes. The costs of licensing and managing an offshore CIC are comparable to or less than doing so domestically. More importantly, an offshore company offers better asset protection opportunities than a domestic company. For example, an offshore irrevocable trust owning an offshore captive insurance company provides asset protection against creditors of the business, grantor and other beneficiaries while allowing the grantor to enjoy benefits of the trust.For US business owners paying substantial insurance premiums every year, a captive insurance company efficiently reduces taxes and builds wealth and can be easily integrated into asset protection and estate planning structures. Up to $1.2 million of taxable income can be shifted as deductible insurance premiums from an operating business to a low-tax CIC.Warning & Disclaimer: This is not legal or tax advice.Internal Revenue Service Circular 230 Disclosure: As provided for in Treasury regulations, advice (if any) relating to federal taxes that is contained in this communication is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.Copyright 2011 – Thomas Swenson
Getting Your Automobile Insurance Quotes
As with all other vehicles you don’t just rush into getting your insurance. You would first have to get your quotes from various companies and then choose which is best for you. As stunning as this may seem, motorcycle insurance rates are rapidly increasing and this is so because, the costs of repairs are rising, parts are also rising, and there is an increase in claims made. To meet with this demanding need, many insurance companies have been established as a result and discounts and deals are even offered. Because of the increase different insurance companies will vary in their rates and also coverage, hence the reason for getting your automobile insurance quotes before making a decision.The insurance company is trying to determine both how much you will be riding your motorcycle and how much experience you have riding motorcycles. This is very important to the insurance companies because they realize that your chances of having an accident will increase based on how often you ride your motorcycle. The years you have been riding your motorcycle will also be contributing to the determination of your rates. It makes no sense in getting a plan which is not only over your budget but also does not cover accidents which are more likely to happen in your specific case as compared to someone else. Very often people get confused on this topic but it can be simple once some research is done or an insurance agent is consulted on the matter. There is always help out there waiting for you to ask, whether it be online or in person, you have the chance to learn and educate yourself on the variable that make a significant change in your insurance rate.There are also certain restrictions which will apply for persons who deliberately engage themselves in hazardous situations with their motorcycle. For example if you use your bike to race, you will find it difficult to find an insurance policy that will cater to your lifestyle especially since you are more prone to an accident occurring. However, if you own a motorcycle just for the enjoyment of riding it, you will need to obtain a personal disability insurance policy which will protect your income as discussed earlier in the event you become disabled.By knowing exactly what you will be using it for and for what reasons will help dramatically. It is a good idea that before going to any insurance company you sit and make a list of everything concerning your motorcycle, that way when the insurance company looks at it they can efficiently determine what type of coverage you would need and what type of rates you would get. Of course if you have some bad riding habits it is best to rectify them before actually going to your insurance, that way your record looks good which will also help with the price you will be charged. At the end of the day the most important thing is to have you and your motorbike covered for any possible damages that may occur.