Latest news with #2015
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Lucky Cement says ‘unidentified flying object' hit Iraq plant
Lucky Cement Limited issued on Friday a clarification to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to address what it called rumours arising from a video circulating on social media. The company reported 'negligible damage' to some electrical wiring at its cement plant in Iraq, adding the plant was full operational despite the incident. 'In accordance with Regulation 5.6.2 of the PSX Regulations read with Section 96 of the Securities Act, 2015, the following disclosure is being made to address the rumors arising from a video circulating on social media since yesterday and a clarification purported to be issued by the Company: 'In this regard, it is hereby informed that the cement plant, of the Company, under joint venture arrangement at Samawah, Iraq remains fully operational and no significant or material damage has been caused to the plant,' the company notice read. Lucky Cement further said the incident occurred due to an unidentified flying object colliding with the top part of the pre-heater installed at Samawah, Iraq which caused 'negligible damage to some electrical wiring'. Last month, Lucky Cement announced its new clinker line had started operations at Najmat Al-Samawah (NAS), located in Samawah. In May, 2023, Lucky and the Al-Shumookh group of Iraq resolved to enhance their clinker production capacity by adding a new line of 1.82 million tons per annum (MTPA) in Samawah.
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Sex-obsessed Jessica Hayes was the first Love Island winner. Now she reveals she's celibate... for a VERY surprising reason
, the first ever winner of Love Island in 2015, is reflecting on an extraordinary decade. Over the years the iconic ITV dating show has been running, more than 300 contestants have taken part – professing to be searching for love, only to find themselves caught up in public splits, scandals and shockers.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Doctors turned real estate investors share the strategy they used to 'zero out' income taxes for 7 years
Letizia Alto and Kenji Asakura started investing in real estate in 2015 to hit financial freedom. The physician couple leveraged Real Estate Professional Status to offset their clinical income. There are specific REPS qualifications, such as spending 750+ hours a year on real-estate activities. Letizia Alto and Kenji Asakura started buying real estate to supplement, and eventually fully replace, their incomes as doctors. They wanted to reduce their hospital shifts so they could spend more time together and with their kids. Since buying their first investment property in 2015, they've expanded to more than 100 units that bring in six-figure rental cash flow. They both scaled back in the hospital and consider themselves "semi-retired," as they still work on their real estate portfolio and financial literary company, Semi-Retired MD. Over the last decade of investing, the couple has learned that "there are six ways you make money in real estate," Alto told Business Insider, one of which is often overlooked: the tax benefits. "The tax code is essentially a series of incentives to encourage certain behavior that the government wants," said Asakura. They've spent years understanding how to use it to their advantage and, thanks to one strategy in particular, said they managed to "zero out" their income taxes for seven years. The couple's main real estate-specific tax strategy is one that allows qualifying individuals to shelter their income using an IRS designation known as "real estate professional status," or REPS. Typically, rental real estate losses are considered passive and can only offset passive income. For example, if you're working as an accountant and invest in real estate on the side, then the losses from your real estate business offset your rental income, but you can't take that loss and offset your accountant income. That's because they're two unrelated activities. However, if you're considered a real estate professional, it all becomes one big activity, and you can fully deduct rental losses against active forms of income, including W2 and 1099 earnings. In Alto and Asakura's case, they've used the status to offset their physician incomes. The couple provides an example on their blog: Say you earn $250,000 as a doctor, and you and your spouse run a real estate business that generates $150,000 in losses. If neither of you qualifies for REPS, you're taxed on all $250,000. However, if one spouse claims REPS, you can deduct $150,000 from your $250,0000 income, meaning you'll only be taxed on $100,000, which can result in a significant difference in tax liability. Note that you must generate a loss to get the tax benefit. It's fairly common in real estate to generate positive cash flow while showing a loss on your tax returns, they explained. That's because of deductions like depreciation — the IRS assumes buildings wear out over time and allows you to deduct a portion of your property's value each year as an expense — and expenses like renovations. In 2015, the first year Asakura qualified for REPS, "we did a lot of rehabbing to create our losses," explained Alto. "When we rehabbed, we would be increasing the value of the property and increasing cash flow of the property, but the rehab was a write-off, which was insane. I hope people understand that rehabbing is such an incredible thing to do because it is tax beneficial, but you get to keep all the upside of it." To qualify, real estate has to be your primary job. Being a real-estate agent automatically deems you a professional, but if you don't have that license, you may qualify if you meet certain requirements. The two main stipulations are: 1. You must spend more than 750 hours a year on real-estate activities. 2. More than half your working hours must be in real estate. Asakura transitioned to a part-time hospitalist in 2015 so he could qualify for the status. Only one spouse needs to qualify, meaning Alto could continue working and deduct the real estate losses from her clinical income. CPA Kristel Espinosa told BI that REPS is often abused and emphasized the importance of documenting everything, from how you spend your working hours to the mileage you drove to visit properties. "You can have other jobs, but you just have to be able to show that to the IRS if ever audited that the real-estate business really is your main thing," she said. If you meet the requirements, "Then, of course, designate yourself as a real-estate professional. It obviously has huge benefits. But then also be aware that this is a highly scrutinized area by the IRS, too, so that's why you want to have your documentation in place." Asakura keeps track of his hours in a Google calendar and includes detailed notes. If you spend a substantial amount of time on your portfolio, REPS is worth looking into — and don't assume your CPA knows about the status. "We'll run into people who have large real estate portfolios and they've never claimed it," said Alto. "They have all these losses that are just sitting there as passive losses because their CPA didn't know they were active, and they could have saved so much in taxes." Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Odisha beach gangrape: 4 accused minors undergo test to ascertain exact age
Bhubaneswar, Four minor boys, who were among the 10 people arrested for their alleged involvement in the gangrape of a college student at Odisha's Gopalpur sea beach, on Thursday underwent a medical test to ascertain their exact age, police said. The ossification test was conducted after the police urged the Juvenile Justice Board to treat the four minors – who claim to be 17 years old – as 'adults' for the trial. The police took them to the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at the MHCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur for the test. 'We have conducted the ossification test, a medical procedure that uses X-rays to assess the age of a person,' said Prof Sudeepa Das, the head of the FMT department. Das said they have also collected blood samples of all the 10 accused and the 20-year-old woman for the DNA test. "Considering the gravity and heinous nature of the crime, the police prayed to the JJB to prosecute the four minors as adults under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015," Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M had said after the arrest of all the accused on Tuesday. While the six other accused were forwarded to jail after their bail plea was rejected by the JMFC , Berhampur, the four minors were sent to correctional homes as per law, police said. 'The woman was brought for medical and FMT tests on June 16 within hours of the incident, and all the required samples could be collected,' Das added. The June 15 gangrape case, which sparked nationwide outrage, is currently being investigated by the CID. The police had earlier said that all 10 arrested accused were between 17 to 24 years of age, and the prime accused is a dropout having criminal records.
Iraq Business
2 days ago
- Business
- Iraq Business
CBI holds Workshop on Money Laundering
By John Lee. The Erbil branch of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) held a training workshop on " National and Sectoral Risk Assessment Procedures " in collaboration with the CBI's Banking Studies Centre and the Office of the Compliance Monitor. The event brought together representatives from private banks, non-banking financial institutions, and electronic payment companies operating in the Kurdistan Region. Key topics included Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Law No. 39 of 2015, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, and the national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorism financing based on international standards. The workshop emphasised practical applications, operational risk assessment, and real-world case studies aimed at enhancing participants' analytical capabilities. Lecturers highlighted the importance of updated compliance policies and effective inter-unit cooperation to foster a resilient banking environment aligned with global standards and the CBI's strategic vision. The workshop is part of the Banking Studies Centre's and Compliance Office's joint effort to develop a skilled generation of banking professionals capable of navigating modern regulatory challenges and embedding a culture of compliance as a cornerstone of sound banking governance. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
