Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (78046)	9/4/2006 5:53:26 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 363037

New legislation makes it easier to donate money to charity from IRAs Posted 8/21/2006 10:05 PM ET Leaving money to charity when you die is a noble and selfless act. But giving money away while you're still alive is a lot more satisfying. A provision in the pension reform legislation President Bush signed last week will make it easier for older people to donate money in their individual retirement accounts to charity. The provision, which is effective only for 2006 and 2007, allows individuals who are 70½ or older to take tax-free withdrawals from their IRAs as long as that money goes directly to charity. Ordinarily, when you withdraw money from your IRA, it becomes part of your taxable income for the year. If you donate the money to charity, you can deduct the contribution — but only if you itemize on your tax return. Many retirees who no longer pay a lot of mortgage interest don't have large enough deductions to itemize. Older people who itemize may also benefit, says Mark Joseph, a financial planner for Sentinel Wealth Management in Reston, Va. Even if you claim a charitable deduction for your IRA withdrawal, the rise in your income from your withdrawal can trigger a host of unintended consequences, from a phaseout of your personal exemption to taxes on your Social Security benefits. Under the new provision, though, an IRA withdrawal that's donated directly to charity is excluded from your income. You can't claim the deduction. But you don't have to worry about unintended consequences, either. "It truly is simple, which is so unusual for the tax code," Joseph says. And there's another benefit: The withdrawal counts against your required minimum distributions for the year. IRA owners who are 70½ or older are required to withdraw a minimum amount every year and pay taxes on the money, even if they don't need it. By donating the money to charity, you can meet that requirement without incurring a tax bill. The provision is limited to withdrawals from IRAs. If you have money in a former employer's 401(k) or similar plan, you'll need to roll it into an IRA before you can make a direct contribution to charity, Joseph says. There are, of course, some rules you must follow to take advantage of this tax break. Among them: • The IRA distribution must go directly to the charity. Ask your IRA administrator to send a check to the organization. If the check is made out to you, you'll owe taxes on the withdrawal, Joseph says. • Private foundations and donor-advised funds are not eligible for tax-free IRA distributions. (Donor-advised funds allow you to contribute to an investment pool, usually managed by a mutual fund company, and decide later which charities will receive your money.) • The maximum tax-free distribution you can make is $100,000 a year, and again, the provision is limited to 2006 and 2007. To take full advantage of the tax break, you'll need to make your first withdrawal by the end of this year. "I think that the burden, or the challenge, is going to be for charities across the U.S. to reach out to those who potentially could give and let them know there's this quick window," says Diana Aviv, president of Independent Sector, a trade group for charities, foundations and corporate giving programs. Limits on cash and ... socks Other provisions in the pension bill aimed at preventing abuses in charitable giving could affect much smaller donors. Those provisions include: • Record-keeping requirements for cash donations. Taxpayers who want to deduct cash contributions will have to substantiate all their donations, even if they're for small amounts. In the past, the IRS didn't require a receipt for cash contributions of less than $250. A written log showing you had made the donations was acceptable. Starting next year, though, you'll need to be able to substantiate all cash contributions with a receipt from the charity or a bank record, such as a canceled check, in case you're audited. So if you're accustomed to tossing a few dollars in the collection plate every Sunday, you might want to start writing a check to your church instead. • New standards for donations of used clothing and household goods. In 2003, Americans reported more than $9 billion in donations of clothing and household goods on their tax returns (see chart). Under the new law, you can't deduct donations of these items unless they're in good condition or better. This provision, which took effect when Bush signed the bill last week, doesn't define "good condition," so the IRS will need to issue guidelines, says Mark Luscombe, tax analyst for CCH, a tax information publisher. The legislative history of the bill does, however, refer to used undergarments and socks as items that have minimal monetary value. In other words, they belong in the rag bag, not on your tax return. Sandra Block covers personal finance for USA TODAY. Her Your Money column appears Tuesdays. Click here for an index of Your Money columns. E-mail her at: sblock@usatoday.com. usatoday.com

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (78046)	9/5/2006 4:54:59 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 363037

Ford to name Mulally new CEO; Bill Ford to remain chairman ______________________________________________________________ By Katie Merx Detroit Free Press Business Writer September 5, 2006 Ford Motor Co. is holding a press conference at 5 p.m. today to announce that its board of directors has elected former Boeing executive Alan Mulally as president and CEO of the Dearborn-based automaker. Bill Ford will continue his duties as executive chairman of the company. "One of the three strategic priorities that I've focused on this year is company leadership,” Ford wrote in an email to Ford employees today. “While I knew that we were fortunate to have outstanding leaders driving our operations around the world, I also determined that our turnaround effort required the additional skills of an executive who has led a major manufacturing enterprise through such challenges before. “That's why I'm very pleased to announce that Alan Mulally, who turned around the Commercial Airplanes division of The Boeing Company, will become our president and CEO, effective immediately.” Ford Motor has suffered seven consecutive months of sales declines and is in the midst of retooling its North American restructuring plan, unveiled in January, in response to weak sales of moneymaking pickups and SUVs. Mulally has deep experience in customer satisfaction, manufacturing, supplier relations and labor relations, all of which have applications to the challenges of Ford, Ford said in his e-mail on Tuesday. “He also has the personality and team-building skills that will help guide our company in the right direction," Ford said. Bill Ford, who said he would remain "extremely active" in the business, praised Mulally as "an outstanding leader and a man of great character." He noted that Mulally had applied many of the lessons from Ford's success in developing the Taurus to Boeing's creation of the revolutionary Boeing 777 airliner. That experience, chronicled in the book, "Working Together," by James P. Lewis, tells how the leadership principles Mulally learned from Ford and developed at Boeing may be applied to other businesses. “Clearly, the challenges Boeing faced in recent years have many parallels to our own," Ford said. Mulally, 61, has spent 37 years at The Boeing Company, most recently as executive vice president. In addition, he has also been president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes since 2001. In that position he was responsible for all of the company's commercial airplane programs and related services, which in 2005 generated record orders for new business and sales of more than $22.6 billion. Mulally was named president of Commercial Airplanes in September 1998. The responsibility of chief executive officer for the business unit was added in March 2001. "I think the opportunity to work with Bill Ford and Ford Motor Company is the only thing that could have attracted me to a job other than Boeing, where I have so many great friends and memories," Mulally said. "I'm looking forward to working closely with Bill in the ongoing turnaround of this great Company. I'm also eager to begin engagement with the leadership team. I believe strongly in teamwork and I fully expect that our efforts will be a productive collaboration." Mulally said in a statement that many of the challenges he encountered in commercial airplane manufacturing are analogous to the issues at Ford. "Just as I thought it was appropriate to apply lessons learned from Ford to Boeing, I believe the reverse is true as well," Mulally said. "I also recognize that Ford has a strong foundation upon which we can build. The Company's long tradition of innovation, developing new markets, and creating iconic vehicles that represent customer values is a great advantage that we can leverage for our future." Bill Ford said he expected Mulally would assist Mark Fields and the Way Forward team as they accelerate their business plan. "After dealing with the troubles at Boeing in the post-9/11 world, Alan knows what it's like to have your back to the wall – and fight your way out with a well-conceived plan and great execution," Bill Ford said in his note to employees. "He also knows how to deal with long product cycles, changing fuel prices and difficult decisions in a turnaround." Prior to his current position, Mulally served as president of Boeing Information, Space & Defense Systems and senior vice president of The Boeing Company. Appointed to that role in February 1997, he was responsible for Boeing’s defense, space and government business. Beginning in 1994, he was senior vice president of Airplane Development for Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group, responsible for all airplane development activities, flight test operations, certification and government technical liaison. Mulally serves as co-chair of the Washington Competitiveness Council, and sits on the advisory boards of NASA, the University of Washington, the University of Kansas, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. He is a member of the United States National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of England’s Royal Academy of Engineering. Mulally holds bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Kansas, and earned a master’s in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a 1982 Alfred P. Sloan fellow. A member of the board since 1988, Bill Ford, 49, was elected chairman in September 1998, and took office on Jan. 1, 1999. He also serves as chairman of the board's Environmental and Public Policy Committee and as a member of the Finance Committee. He was named Chief Executive Officer on Oct. 30, 2001. Bill Ford told employees in his email that he looked forward to an excellent working partnership with Mulally on global strategic issues. "Let me assure you: I'm not going anywhere," Bill Ford wrote to Ford workers. "As executive chairman, I intend to remain extremely active in the direction of this Company. I'll be here every day and I will not rest until a prosperous future for this Company is secured." Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.