NEWS
BYTES
September 1997
Editor:
Scott Gottlieb, CPA
Assistant editor: Susan A. Maffetone, CPA
Electronic
Records Storage
The
IRS recently issued Revenue Procedure 97-22, in which the IRS
provides guidance on maintaining records by using an electronic
storage system. In summary, the IRS insists the electronic system
supports the taxpayer’s books and records, includes indexing
and retrieval systems and provides an audit trail between the
general ledger and the source documents. The taxpayer is obligated
however, to provide the IRS with the resources necessary to
locate, retrieve, read and reproduce any electronically stored
books and records.
BEWARE
VIRTUAL OFFICES: If the system fails to operate as required
by the IRS the taxpayer may face penalties if it has not maintained
its books and records.
New
Bill in Congress Would Freeze Internet Taxation
The
Internet Tax Freedom Act would impose an indefinite moratorium
on state and local taxes on the Internet. Business conducted
over the Internet – including the sale of software, on
line newspapers and database services – generated $1.1
billion in 1996. According to the Treasury Department, Internet
commerce could grow to $ 70 billion by 2000.Congressman Christopher
Cox (R-Cal.) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who introduced
the bill, believe that due to the Net’s decentralized architecture
every transmission becomes vulnerable to multiple taxation.
The bill would prohibit state and local governments from imposing
taxes on online services and access. Another aspect of the bill
would be to direct the administration to seek an international
agreement making the Internet a duty-free zone. Truly cyberspace
travel!
Accounting
Software tip of the month – Quick Books Pro – Using
Passwords
QB
pro has become the easy choice for small offices and personal
business computing. The program is relatively inexpensive and
simple to use. When it is used for small business applications
by nonaccounting individuals a common Query is "how do
I close a month?" QB does not have a monthly close feature,
so your data could be corrupted in prior months by simply posting
the wrong date. In order to control the integrity of data you
should use the password protection feature. This feature can
be activated as follows:
- From
the file menu, choose passwords.
- Enter
the last date of the period in the "Date through which
books are closed." Field of the password’s window.
- Enter
a password in the "Password to edit transactions on or
before date above." Field.
- Click
OK
Suggestion:
Write down the period closed and the password used and place
in a safe place should you need to refer to it!
September
Words of Wisdom
Never
leave your laptop unattended in a public place even for a moment.
Be
especially cautious about installing any software from unknown
sources; IT MAY CONTAIN A VIRUS.
BACKUP;
BACKUP; BACKUP!
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