Small Business Growth Narrows Loss for Intuit

Intuit Inc.’s INTU’s fiscal first quarter loss narrowed to a margin of 1.23% as it acquired Demandforce and recently sold assets, while posting improvements in its small business area.

In this current quarter, predictions showed an adjusted profit of 43 cents up from 40 cents. The revenue was projected to increase from $1.02 billion to $1.04 billion. According to Thomson Reuters, the profits were expected to be an estimated 59 cents and revenue, $1.1 billion.

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Intuit, the maker of TurboTax and QuickBooks, has changed the services it provides to small business and plans to create other higher-margin online services including managing customer relations.

Intuit also plans to expand globally and is widening its scope to create online tools for QuickBooks which would give customers social media access to improve customer service. Demandforce was acquired for $423.5 million for the purpose of providing mobile, social tools and email to assist small businesses with automating their communications and marketing.

When the quarter ended on October 31, Intuit’s loss was listed at $19 million or six cents per share. The previous year’s loss at the same date was around $64 million or just about 21 cents per share. The latest period shows income of 11 cents per share which comes from operations that were discontinued; whereas there was a loss of two cents per share one year ago. After stock-based compensation and other payouts are calculated, the loss from the continued operations was three cents per share. The previous year’s loss was eight cents per share. Revenue climbed 13% to $647 million.

In August, Intuit had forecasted a loss adjusted from six to seven cents per share and revenue adjusted from $630 million to $640 million.

The small business segment showed revenue increase from 18% to 21% in Intuit’s payments area. Demandforce show growth of 60% in its subscriptions and subscribers for QuickBooks Online increased 29%. Overall, these growths contributed to a 20% increase in Intuit’s financial management solutions business.

The TurboTax earnings showed a revenue drop of $36 million down from $41 million one year ago, since customers filed less extended returns during the 2011 tax year compared to one year ago.

The shares closed at $58.77 on Thursday and dropped by 17 cents after a few hours. For this year, the stock has increased by 12%.

Tips on Reducing Property Taxes

It’s bad enough when you have to pay taxes at the department store, grocery store or on your personal income, but it can be extremely frustrating having to pay taxes on a property that you own, and not only that, but having to do it each and every year. Those taxes can easily reach into the thousands of dollars or more and can put a severe strain on your personal finances. However, there may be several ways to lower the property tax amount that you are paying; ways that if aren’t taken advantage of, could cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year.

If you’re looking for ways to reduce property taxes each year, here are a few tips that could gain you substantial savings.

Exemptions

Property tax exemptions may be one of the easiest and most significant ways in which to save money on your property taxes. By way of senior, homestead or homeowner, or military exemptions, you could realize extensive reductions upon your property tax bill.

In order to find out what exemptions you might be eligible for, as well as their terms and conditions, you will likely need to visit your country assessor’s office either online or in person since the ways in which exemptions are determined and applied will likely vary from state to state and even county to county. Your eligibility may also depend upon how long you’ve lived in the property for which you are applying for exemption status.

Reassessment

Depending upon when your property was last assessed and the potential change in value it has experienced since that time, it could be worth your while to request a reassessment from your assessor’s office. If you feel that your property has seen a significant decrease in value, a reassessment might substantially lower your property tax bill. However, it is important to bear in mind that a reassessment can be a double-edged sword. If an assessor finds that the value of your property has actually increased, such a move could backfire and result in higher taxes, so it is important to do your research and conduct your due diligence before requesting such a re-evaluation.

Tax Deduction

Another way to realize significant savings on your property taxes is by ensuring that you are taking advantage of your of tax deduction on your federal taxes. Since mortgage interest and property tax payments may be eligible as a deduction on federal income taxes each year, this is yet another way in which to get at least a portion of your tax money back. Similar to property tax exemptions, the amount for which you are eligible for a tax deduction for a particular tax year may depend upon how many days you have actually resided at the property. This could be an important consideration for those who have just moved into or away from a property.

Conclusion

Ways to save on property taxes and the amounts involved can range significantly depending upon your geographic location as well as your personal situation. It may therefore be important to consult your particular county assessor’s office or a tax professional to learn exactly what savings you may be eligible to receive.

Anastacio Mindiola is an accomplished attorney and business owner. His company helps home and business owners protest property taxes in Houston and the surrounding counties. For more information on how you can lower your property taxes visit https://republicpropertytax.com/.

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