July 18, 2008

Credit Repair is More Than a Right, It's Your Responsibility

The majority of Americans have errors and other unverifiable information on their credit reports that could be dragging down their credit score. Odds are good that your credit score is lower than it should be. The unfortunate thing is that odds are you will be yet another one of the millions of Americans who will continue to suffer with an unfair credit score because you will do nothing to repair your credit.


Most Americans want to believe the credit reporting system works; that people earn their bad credit and there is nothing they can do about it but wait for seven years. But study after study shows the credit reporting system frequently does not work. This is why the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other consumer protection legislation give you the right to do something about it - the right to make sure your credit score is as good as it can be.


So why is it that, though everyone has the right to dispute the negative items in their credit reports, very few people do? It certainly can't be because they don't understand the importance of a high credit score. After all, it doesn't take a genius to figure out the benefits of a good credit score when it can be the difference between paying $2,500/month and $2,000/month for the exact same house.


More likely, the reason people do not repair their credit is a mix of apathy and lack of understanding of the credit reporting system. Too many people assume the credit reporting system is some official government bureaucracy with an extensive system of checks and balances designed to ensure the safekeeping of their credit history. This couldn't be further from the truth.


The credit bureaus at the center of the credit reporting system are not official organizations. Instead, they are massive, for-profit corporations that collect personal information from your creditors and make money by selling this information in the form of your credit reports.


So now you are asking yourself, how do they ensure this information is correct? If a creditor reports something that is wrong, how do the credit bureaus make sure it doesn't end up on your credit reports?


The answer to both of these questions is: they don't. Your creditors report information, the credit bureaus record it, and for most people, the story ends there.
Nobody at the credit bureaus or in the government is going to make sure your credit reports are accurate. The way the credit reporting system is set up, there is only one person who will ever bother to check up on your credit reports - and that person is you. You are the missing, and ultimately the most important, piece of the credit reporting puzzle.


Making sure your credit score is where it should be is your responsibility and repairing your credit reports is a task you will have to initiate because no one out there will do it for you.


It is your right and your responsibility to dispute the questionable negative items in your credit reports and the sooner you start, the better. You can work to repair your credit on your own or you can enlist the help of a credit repair law firm like Lexington Law.


Whether you attempt to repair your credit on your own or with the help of a credit repair expert, by taking an active role in the credit reporting system, you can ensure your credit score is as good as it can be and that you have the advantage over the millions of people out there with bad credit who haven't taken action to do anything about it.


About the Author
Lexington Law is a consumer advocacy law for that focuses on credit report repair. In practice since 1991, Lexington Law has helped over 400,000 clients take control of their credit.

July 04, 2008

Captial Gains Tax Explained

Capital Gains tax is a federal tax penalty that is imposed on capital accumulation, investment and productivity. Some of the income that is subject to capital gains tax includes the sale of an investment, a home, a family business, a farm or ranch or even a work of art. The capital gains tax is applied on the difference between the price paid for an item and the money received from selling it, or the capital gain. The most common form of capital gain for people is the sale of their corporate stock. The capital gains tax rate for individuals is currently at one of its highest rates ever and is at 28% while the corporate rate is at its greatest level in history, namely 35%. There is an inequality with capital gains tax in the fact that people must pay taxes on all of their gains but are only able to deduct a portion of their losses.

This particularly applies to investments that fluctuate between gains and losses over time.In many states taxpayers are liable, not only for the federal capital gains tax but also the state's own form of capital gains tax. This can actually take the combined rate to almost 40%. California, Montana and Rhode Island are amongst the highest in the country.For the government, the capital gains tax payment represent 6% of personal and corporate income tax receipts and 3% of total federal revenues. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the capital gains tax that individuals and corporations have to pay but it actually brings in much less revenue for the federal government than most people would think. In fact, the total collections during the 1990s were between $25 billion and $30 billion a year.

In the USA, capital gains are not indexed for inflation which means that the seller pays capital gains tax on the real gain and also on the gain attributable to inflation. This is one reason that the capital gains tax is lower than regular income tax rates. In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the capital gains tax rate is much higher (over 40%) but there it is actually indexed to inflation. The difference between capital gains tax and all other forms of federal tax is that it is basically a voluntary tax. People can avoid paying any of the tax by simply not selling their assets. This is becoming increasingly common, especially with the uncertainty of the stock market, and the government estimates that there is $7.5 trillion of unrealized capital gains which would all be subject to capital gains tax if it was sold.

More informaiton
Tax Returns



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