B2B web publisher Zilker Ventures has re-launched its successful tax comparison site, Tax-Compare.com, for the 2009 tax filing season, and we thought you’d like to know.

If you’re a small business owner who wants to save time and money this year, don’t hire an accountant to prepare your tax returns. Use Tax-Compare.com, which now features a short, new, easy-to-fill-out form that calculates the product(s) you should use in a matter of seconds. Also, read the website’s reviews of 2009 tax software and services, and use the features-breakdown grid to see what you get with each service. Also, check the countdown clock to see how many days you’ve got left to file.

Within minutes, you select a tax software service that will save you and your business valuable time and money.

In the immortal words of Foghorn Leghorn, “Some days it don’t pay to get outta bed!” So, use Tax-Compare.com, select the service that’s right for you, and do your tax returns on your laptop from the comfort of your home.

Check it out:

Tax-Compare.com Tax Software Reviews and Resources

Zilker Ventures, LLC
Tax-Compare.com

As a small business owner, you’re trying to save money and trim spending during this time. But it may be wise to purchase while the deals are good and the equipment is low-cost. Thanks to a change in the 2008 Federal Tax Code, tax write-offs for property that directly relates to business activities (such as printers, scanners, projection screens, etc.) are at an all-time high (MarketWatch). It is likely that businesses will save more by purchasing now rather than by waiting until they have extra in their budgets.

If you’re upgrading your equipment from equipment that is used and not malfunctioning, then donate your old equipment to a place like Goodwill. You’ll get a tax receipt, which allows you to write off even more. It’s a good thing.

To keep up with consumers who are now thoroughly discriminating value from price, retailers will have to know exactly what consumers are looking to buy this season and shrewdly price items. The “price-as-product-feature” model is going to have to go away, at least for a while. Not many people are thinking that expensive is necessarily better anymore.

They’re going to have to evaluate the crappy coffee they buy every morning from Starbucks. Maybe people will finally realize that $5 really is way, way, too much for unhealthy additives that make the bland coffee taste better and the rather noisy, energy-wasting “barista ambience.”

For resources that can help save your business time and money spent researching products and services, such as internet fax services and hosted pbx services, please visit ChooseWhat.com

For more information on taxes and tax software, please visit Tax-Compare.com.

Jennifer Silva
Zilker Ventures, LLC

ChooseWhat.com

Democrats, now backed by Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, are calling for a second stimulus package which could cost as much as $300 billion. To clarify, that’s $300 billion on top of the $168 billion stimulus passed last February and the more recent $700 billion economic bailout. I believe we are nearing the point of “enough is enough.”

Even if the stimulus package is consumer-oriented in design, the idea that consumers will get a check and immediately spend it is insane. Let’s give Americans the benefit of the doubt and assume they’re at least aware of the current financial crisis. A reasonable person will get that check and either save the money or use it to pay off existing debt – not go on a shopping spree (unless, of course, you’re Sarah Palin). Christmas might inspire those savers to spend but the likelihood that the Department of the Treasury could get those checks out in time for the holiday shopping season is slim to none.

Dropping gas prices could amount to the equivalent of a $125 billion stimulus (according The Austin American Statesman) yet as individuals are spending less filling their tanks, they’re certainly not taking this opportunity to pick up that new flat screen they’ve been eying. A recent AP-Yahoo News poll shows that one in three Americans fears losing his or her job and half are worried about keeping up with mortgage and credit card payments. I would call that a pretty good indicator that stimulus checks are going straight to the bank and not to the mall.

The truth is, Americans need to accept the fact that the economy won’t turn around until our “years of reckless consumer and government spending are brought under control” (The Dallas Morning News). Another stimulus package will simply make the situation worse.

Shelley Moore
Zilker Ventures, LLC

ChooseWhat.com
Tax-Compare.com

Reviewing the candidates’ original tax plans seems somewhat futile given the current state of the economy. Whether they like it or not, both Obama and McCain will have to adapt their policies with the changing financial circumstances.

In a financially tough time, however, Obama might be able to cut small business owners some slack. Obama plans to increase taxes, it’s true, but only for those making over $200,000 (or $250,000 per family). Most small business owners don’t earn enough to be effected by this increase and may, in fact, see their taxes go down. McCain claimed 23 million small businesses would face higher taxes. In reality, several hundred thousand small business owners are making over $200,000 and while still a large number, these individuals are only 2% of taxpayers with small businesses (according to the Tax Policy Center).

McCain also argues that Obama’s planned tax increase is a “job-killer” and while it’s somewhat true – increasing taxes for those at the top leaves them less money for investments and employees – we are again talking about a small percentage of business owners.

Shelley Moore

Zilker Ventures LLC

Can’t Make Up Your Mind? ChooseWhat.com.
Tax Software Choices Overwhelming? Tax-Compare.com.

Zilker Ventures, the parent web publisher behind brain child ChooseWhat.com, celebrated its first birthday this past Friday, October 3, 2008. In celebration of the fact that Zilker Ventures is now old enough to nibble and swallow solid foods, the office received an assorted box of Austin, Texas’s favorite delivered cookies from Tiff’s Treats.

We weren’t sure if Zilker Ventures was entirely ready for solid foods, especially after a mid-week scare that involved much beloved office manager April Coburn having choked a little bit on an unusually dense piece of pita bread and having had to be saved via Heimlich Maneuver from Zilker Ventures CEO Gaines Kilpatrick.

By Friday, however, April was happily munching on a chocolate chip cookie, as were the rest of the Zilker Ventures team. The carousing continued with Zilker Ventures watching the ingenious video from “misheardlyricsguy” who has splendidly synched the lyrics of Pearl Jam’s classic song “Yellow Ledbetter” with hilarious images of Bill Clinton and Mr. Potato head, among others. Check it out.

“Yellow Ledbetter”

It wouldn’t have been much of a fiesta without some TexMex food from Matt’s El Rancho, another Austin standard, which fully satiated the hungry mouths of all the ZV babies, more eager than ever to get the word out about fax services, email marketing, tax software reviews and hosted pbx.

“I can’t believe that we’ve been around for one year and are still going strong,” said ZV staff member Koby Wong, his eyes shining with childlike glee.

In an apropos manner, the birthday celebrations gave everyone a chance to marvel about Zilker Ventures and ChooseWhat.com. And perhaps more importantly, it has given everyone a renewed sense of pride in the service that the company provides to small businesses and entrepreneurs looking to optimize their online efforts.

One year ago, co-founders Leo Welder and Gaines Kilpatrick started a website for online fax reviews, simply prompted by their own frustrations experienced in researching internet fax services and choosing the wrong one. That website has since grown into the nationally successful review website FaxCompare.com, which boasts over 10,000 monthly visitors. The success of the website has allowed the company to branch out into other entrepreneurial web resources for businesses, which can be found on ChooseWhat.com and which are still expanding.

What’s going on with Zilker Ventures this week?

“Not much,” says Gaines Kilpatrick, “just living the dream.”

Jennifer Silva
Zilker Ventures, LLC

FaxCompare.com
PBXCompare.com
Email-Marketing-Options.com
Tax-Compare.com

Great news for those who have been worried about the “Amazon tax,” a state of New York tax on items bought on Amazon, Overstock and other e-commerce sites and shipped to New York. The tax has been repealed in the New York state Senate and is awaiting approval from the state Assembly.

There is speculation as to whether or not the Assembly is going to approve the repeal. If they do approve it, it would send a message to all other states who are considering following the tax model that New York has implemented. Following the inception of New York’s tax on e-commerce, other states have considered applying a tax to online transactions. There has been some talk in California, in particular, about a possible “iTunes tax” that would tax downloads of music files.

The tax has been controversial for several reasons. For one, Amazon and Overstock had dropped all of their New York affiliates in order to not be affected by the law, which considers NY affiliates as a taxable part of the e-company. Since then, dropped affiliates have been responding in force to the new legislation that has left them in the hole. Another effect of the tax is that it leaves New Yorkers little choice in purchasing online. Facing a new internet tax, people are ditching e-com in favor of traditional brick and mortar stores, leaving online affiliates hurting. Another objection to the law is that it complicates the tax code which is supposed to be getting simpler.

We have yet to see how the tax legislation, repealed or not, will further affect the future of e-commerce.

For more information on taxes and tax software, please visit Tax-Compare.com.

Contact:

Jennifer Silva

Zilker Ventures

(512) 448-9031

The irony of Intuit’s, the maker of TurboTax and QuickBooks, new Connected Services proposal is that it really isn’t about the services. QuickBooks Online has been around for quite some time, and TurboTax has always provided community and information-sharing features.

But the fact that Intuit felt the need to call attention to their new strategy speaks of a need to get tax software users on their side in a bid to stay relevant in a “changing landscape.” That landscape is really the battleground between government and commerce, where Presidential candidates’ calls for a simpler tax code are threatening to render the tax software industry unnecessary.

What is Intuit’s response? “Small business network,” “connecting customers to solutions,” “communities,” “support,” “help,” “forum.” They are really trying to hammer into consumers minds the notion that government doesn’t take care of business like business does, which has been and always will be quite true.

To the average American filing simple returns, the distinction may not make much of a difference. Or does it? I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

Contact:

Jennifer Silva

Zilker Ventures, LLC

Zilker Ventures, LLC announces the launch of Tax-Compare.com, a comparison and review website for online tax services.

Online tax services and electronic tax filing (e-filing) have tremendously revolutionized the way we do our taxes.Gone are the days of hunkering down in a pile of file folders and paper receipts, of scrambling to the post office late and frustrated.

According to the IRS, in 2007 a record-breaking 76.7 million individual tax filers—22.5 million filing from home—delivered their forms electronically. Numbering 2.5 million more than last year, these tax e-filers have virtually eclipsed the few of those still dwelling in the old world of taxes.

We have tax preparation software to thank. The Urban Institute states that about 87% of self-prepared tax returns were prepared with the aid of tax software. Since 2003, more and more people have discovered tax software products, which simplify and accelerate the process of preparing taxes. Convenient and easy to use, tax software products provide step-by-step navigation through the often daunting tax preparation process.

Offering plans ranging from standard to premium, tax software providers can address a range of consumer incomes and needs. And yet, 13% of individual taxpayers have not used tax software, according to the IRS. Perhaps this group consists of CPAs, number-munching whizzes of the old school or those simply unaware of the benefits and specifications of the differing tax software services.

This last group, the perhaps not-so-blissfully ignorant, will no longer have to seek out information on tax software and its advantages. Tax-compare.com is a site that affords them no excuses A self-proclaimed “apples to apples” comparison of tax software, the website offers a detailed list of different software plans and advantages, along with reviews that will help buyers in choosing the product that is right for them.

The reviews are based on key characteristics of tax preparation software, which include:

• Accuracy: All tax software products should check for errors. Accuracy is important because mistakes cost time (require an audit) and are expensive money (IRS fee) and generally withhold the tax payer’s refund.
• Help with deductions: Tax software provides tax payers with knowledge of maximizing deductions. More deductions equal more savings.
• Affordability: Standard plans can be as low as $15-$20 for the most basic services.

These key characteristics are immediately apparent in software plans of market leaders such as TurboTax, TaxCut, TaxBrain, and TaxAct—which are all IRS authorized e-file providers. They also collectively boast free trial versions and free e-filing and compatibility with other personal accounting software

Even with new resources like Tax-compare.com and tax software tools some people will choose to hire an accountant But hiring an accountant can often be more expensive than self-preparation and is generally not recommended.

For the rest of us, however, using tax software and E-file is an easy choice. We will save time, money, and even trees by doing it ourselves.

For additional information regarding online tax services, visit
www.Tax-Compare.com.

Zilker Ventures, LLC is a web publisher that consolidates information and reviews various business and financial products.

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Contact:

Jen Udan
Zilker Ventures, LLC
pr@zilkerventures.com
http://www.zilkerventures.com

Gaines Kilpatrick, CEO
Zilker Ventures, LLC
(512) 448-9031

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