The Utah House of Representatives voted on March 4 to make gold and silver coins issued by the federal government into legal tender within state borders, prompting praise from sound-money advocates across the nation. The legislation will now be taken up by the state Senate. In addition to possibly making precious-metal coin lawful money for intrastate and government transactions, the bill would exempt gold and silver from state sales, income, and capital-gains taxes. The legislation also states that individuals cannot be compelled to accept precious metals instead of Federal Reserve Notes. It was approved in the House with a vote of 47 to 26.

According to the bill’s summary, it “recognizes gold and silver coins that are issued by the federal government as legal tender in the state and exempts the exchange of the coins from certain types of state tax liability.” Under the measure, Utah citizens would be able to pay their taxes with precious metals at market value, as opposed to the face value used by the federal government, which is far less than the price of the actual gold or silver in the coins.

The legislation would also mandate that the Revenue and Taxation Committee “study the possibility of establishing an alternative form of legal tender” and “recommend whether an alternative form of legal tender should be established.” Those recommendations would be considered in the 2012 legislative session.

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Dollar Loan Center, headquartered in Sioux Falls, has immediate openings for loan processors.

Qualifications:

• Friendly and Enthusiastic personality
• Outstanding communication skills
• Ability to understand numbers/math
• Professional appearance and work ethic
• Cash handling/lending experience preferred
• Bilingual (Spanish) a plus, but not mandatory
• Collection experience preferred

If you think you have what it takes and would like to apply please email your resume to the Human Resource department at humanresources@dontbebroke.com

You may also stop in and apply at any of the Sioux Falls Dollar Loan Center locations listed below…

921 W. 10th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57104

3320 E. 10th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57103

1901 W. 41st Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57105

5219 W. 26th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57106

Dollar Loan Center is a premier provider of short term signature loans in 49 locations throughout South Dakota, Nevada and Utah. Dollar Loan Center is the largest provider of short term credit services in South Dakota and Clark County (Las Vegas) Nevada. In 2007, Entrepreneur Magazine listed the company among its “Hot 500” Fastest Growing Businesses and Entrepreneurs.” For more information, visit http://dontbebroke.com.

In regards to lowering your tax load, itemizing deductions often is the best option. The standard deduction is obviously simpler, and may be a much better choice for those who have a straightforward tax situation or don’t own a residence, however , if a person decides that itemizing is correct for you, it may bring about considerable cost savings.

What exactly is the difference between itemizing and the standard deduction?

The standard deduction is really what it sounds like-a flat amount of money you can subtract out of your taxable income. The total amount you may deduct will depend on ones filing status, number of dependents, as well as what calendar year you’re filing the required taxes for. For more info on the standard deduction, check out IRS Publication 501.

Whenever you itemize deductions, you have the opportunity to subtract the specific amount of money of individual deductions. Most of these breaks appear in the form of home loan interest, property taxes, healthcare expenditures, and much more. If you feel that you totaled all of your current permitted deductions and it is more than the standard deduction, it’d probably be a good idea to itemize.

Just what Expenditures Are usually Itemized?

The most typical expenses include things like:

* Mortgage loan interest.
* Charity donations.
* Property taxes.
* State and local taxes.
* Health care costs which exceed 7.5% of one’s adjusted gross income.
* A variety of assorted costs which went beyond 2% of your earnings including: union fees, equipment as well as materials required for work, income tax preparation costs, a few attorney’s fees, and much more.

So, should you itemize?

There’s no wrong or right answer, also it ultimately will depend on your circumstances. To find out if itemizing could be advantageous, you need to check out Schedule A of Form 1040. Within this page, you are able to record your own itemized expenditures, then total all of them up to compare the total amount to the standard deduction. When the itemized sum is higher, you would then want to itemize. When the overall itemized sum is actually lower than the standard deduction, you wouldn’t want to itemize.

The greatest deductions for many people can be found in the form of mortgage loan interest and also property taxes, and in these kinds of scenarios, just a small loan can put you over the standard deduction limitation. Because this may total in the thousands of dollars over the standard deduction, the actual income tax cost savings could be substantial.

Getting your hands on a loan, or even some quick cash, can be difficult in a down economy. But that’s where a growing South Dakota company says its business plan is hitting right on the money.

“We’re in the business of lending money and money is tight right now. Banks aren’t lending money, credit card companies aren’t lending as much money,” Chuck Brennan said.

Brennan, a South Dakota native who now lives in Las Vegas, started the Dollar Loan Center, which is one of the fastest growing companies in the country. And with dozens of stores in South Dakota, Utah and Nevada, his payday loan company will soon go nationwide.

“Our original goal was to expand Dollar Loan Center across the country, but there’s just so many hours in the day and it’s hard opening up a lot of locations and with the online market, it’s instantaneous. We get licensed in a state and automatically we can do the loans in that state immediately,” Brennan said.

Ten years after opening the first Dollar Loan Center, Brennan and his team are ready to roll out another company. The Loan Shack is exclusively online and gives them access to every state where payday lending is legal. And they say the demand for quick cash is picking up.

“We are seeing quite a few applicants now, but I think that has a little bit to do with the economy and has a little bit to do with the tightening of credit,” Brennan said.

Which is why Brennan plans to offer even more features for the Dollar Loan Center and Loan Shack this spring, including a prepaid debit card.

“People are smart and they are finally figuring out that there’s not this evil payday lender out there. That it’s a good deal,” Brennan said.

But some are still skeptical about the quick loans. Andy Traub is a family financial coach.

“To compare credit cards to Dollar Loan Centers is really to compare one drug with a worse drug. They’re both not good for you. They are both, in the long term, not ways to get wealthy, but they are both options,” Traub said.

Traub says while credit card interest rates rise because of tighter regulations, they still don’t compare to the high rates on payday loans.

“There is only one person who wins in a payday loan center situation and it’s the person who owns it, and I don’t think we’re very far away at all from them being the next one’s who are regulated just like the credit card companies being regulated,” Traub said.

But Brennan says his companies provide a service for a group of people that credit card companies and banks have a tough time handling.

“That loan is for a couple of weeks, so you know what your fee is going to be. If you are borrowing $500 for a week, it’s going to cost you about $30. If you borrow $500 on a credit card, you might keep paying the interest and paying the interest and all of a sudden, you are a year down the road and you still owe the $500 and you’ve paid a bunch of interest on the account,” Brennan said.

But Traub says the same scenario can be applied to payday loans, which is where people get into trouble.

“From what I’ve read and what I know of payday loan centers, people comeback multiple times throughout the year. They don’t pay on time,” Traub said.

But with more customers coming through his doors, Brennan will continue to expand his business online and on the ground because he says it’s an option that works.

“If you use the product properly, the Dollar Loan Center or payday transaction isn’t the worst thing to do,” Brennan said.

Because in a slow economy, quick cash can be hard to bank on.

The headquarters of Dollar Loan Center and Brennan’s collection agency are both located near downtown Sioux Falls. He also has opened his Loan Shack headquarters in Sioux Falls, which he says will bring dozens of financial services jobs to the area over the next two years.

Ben Dunsmoor
© 2010 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.

Originally aired on February 3, 2010