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Belief is a strange thing indeed. It can make a millionaire out of a former drug-dealing gang member, and fail millions of students at the same time. It is responsible for the airplanes that just flew above my head plus numerous other inventions, but at the same time the mastermind behind mass genocides and relentless insurgents’ attacks around the globe. It has been expounded upon countless times, with its effects evident wherever you see; but people still ignore its presence and how it can build, or destroy us.

The millionaire mentioned above is Stephen Pierce. He was a gang member whose brush with death and his violent past did not prevent him from achieving roaring success with his online business. The Wright brothers who invented airplanes were just bicycle repairmen, but they had created the flying machine despite negative feedback and setbacks. Your beliefs will always exert an effect on you, whether you believe it or not. So how do beliefs work? Here are four important things to note:

1. Empowering beliefs push us forward and open our perspective, while limiting beliefs hold us back and blind us to available resources.

Your beliefs are what truly limit you in your endeavour. Not your available resources, not your parents’ gene nor is it other people’s comments. It is your beliefs. Your beliefs will determine how far you can go. When you have a certain belief, nothing can stop you from committing yourself to it. Your mind will tap into its potential to prove that you’re right. If you think you ‘can’, your mind and body will utilised every resources available to help you achieve it. Similarly, if you think you ‘can’t’. Your mind will shut off all possibilities of ever achieving it.

2. Your beliefs can affect your body’s functioning.

Your belief is so powerful that it does not just direct your actions, makes your decision, but even alters your body chemistry. Have you heard of the placebo effect? Human test subjects who took what they thought were depressants display effects of the drug, even though the drug is actually a stimulant. Your beliefs can actually cause chemical changes in your body, regardless of prior drug consumption! This means that you can also control your body immunity system to a certain extent, simply by making a conscious effort to live healthily and maintaining the beliefs that ‘I am in control of my own health’.

3. A belief is just a thought supported by evidence.

For example, I used to think that rubik cubes are impossible to solve. But once I realize that the belief is due to one faulty idea and evidences that support it, I went all out to re-examine these evidences. They include: limited knowledge of its structure (the only thing I know is that it is made of plastic) and zero knowledge of how to start. I challenge all these evidences by posing new and stronger evidences. Just to name a few, I dissected a few cubes and started watching diy videos at ‘YouTube’ until I’m convinced that it is possible.

Imagine a truck cruising down the highway. What gives the truck the pushing force? It is the engine. But the engine does not make up the truck. It also requires the wheels, the chassis, fuels and other parts to move the vehicle.

A belief works exactly the same way! If a belief is likened to a truck, the engine will be the thought, and the other parts of the vehicle are evidences that support the thought and help to run your belief. To complicate matters, all these apparels, including the engine, are provided other people or events. As long as it is compatible with the engine, you will take it and never consider other options.

So how do you change the faulty engine and customize every part of the car?
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There are drugs available in the market that offer a shyness cure or social anxiety, or social phobia relief. But some experts do not offer medication but a systematic way of dealing with things with much more courage and positive thinking than you normally have. Shyness is not a disease that requires a drug or a pill to cure it. It is not even a character defect that must be defect that needs some repairing. Trying to cope with shyness will need positive thinking.

Some people say that shy people should immediately mingle with groups of people to overcome their fear of social anxiety. This means exposing yourself in situations that you have feared your whole life. Doing this might produce complications in your psychological fear.

Social anxiety can be a big hindrance and leads to discomfort in children, or even in adults.

Treating social phobia must be gradual or rely on Systematic Desensitization. This means being exposed to your fear, little by little, and conquering it step by step. This system involves the discovery of your fear, and breaking that fear by doing activities one step at a time. This will gradually move you to an easier step, and later to the most difficult.

Listing down situations which cause your shyness or social anxiety is the first step in applying Systematic Desensitization. This list must be arranged from the less difficult on to the most difficult. In that way, you may be able to triumph over your fear little by little. It will give you a better chance of moving towards a solution to your deeper social anxiety. A simple list or an outline may give you a bigger help to progress on social anxiety.

Give yourself a couple of weeks to deal with each situation in your list. Make a deliberate point everyday of getting into a situation in which you may practice a skill in your list. Trying to practice a particular skill that you have little by little everyday in a couple of weeks - this may lead you to the next step on your list and so on.

Though this technique does not work perfectly every time, since life does not place everyone in the same situation and experiences, this technique might still help you out some other time.

Here is another tip: no matter if a situation might seem difficult and more challenging, try to increase the time you have been spending in that particular situation. Increasing the difficulty means requiring more effort for you to overcome social anxiety. Try to challenge yourself and be braver. This may allow you to achieve a very smooth Systematic Desensitization.

Another shyness cure: try practicing your communication skill with your everyday store clerks who are always ready to put up a good conversation. This will help you out in almost any daily activity like buying candy, a magazine, or anything you might pick up. Making conversation does not necessarily mean it has to be a long one. You can always end up having a conversation whenever you like.

Another advantage is, you do not have to see these people again immediately, and there is no reason for you to be upset if you have said anything might be dull. Just do not try this out if there is a long line of other shoppers waiting behind you.
Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available only at: conversation starters

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As you start to repay a student loan there are several crucial steps that you have to follow in order to make sure that this is a quality experience. I personally feel that how you deal with your student loans will be a major factor on how you deal with car payments, mortgage payments, and any other large monthly bill that you have for the rest of your life.

As many of you know when you don’t pay your bills for a loan you could face defaulting on a loan. You need to make sure you are aware of the promissory note that you agreed upon for the loan so you fully understand your loan conditions, responsibilities, and rights.

Some of these tips can make a huge difference in how well you fulfill your side of the bargain. First of all, review and comprehend all of the communication you have between you and your lender, servicer, and/or loan holder. Make sure that you are quick to respond when required to do so by the creditor.

Now life is going to happen and you are going to possibly move, change your name or address, or whatever may happen. If this is the case then contact your lenders immediately. Also contact them if you have questions about your billing statement, have problems making your scheduled payment on time, or want information on or application for deferment or forbearance.

Also understand that sometimes you might have payment issues because of whatever reason that happens in life, make sure that this is always a priority to handle for your credit. Make sure you are knowledgeable about deferment and forbearance and you are able to exercise your options when you need them.

Another option may be for you to understand pros and cons of loan consolidation and how you can lower interest rates and combine payments. This can save a lot of time, and at least save money short term.

The main priority is that you send your student loan payments when due each month, for the full monthly payment amount or more, regardless of whether or not you get a bill. If you don’t do this then this can destroy your credit and as I said this will be a large factor on how you handle bills for the rest of your life. You don’t want to start having bad habits now at this early stage in your life because you will need credit for so many more options down the road such as getting mortgage, furniture, cars, cell phones, etc.

Understand the payment options provided by your lenders to support your situation financially to get ahead. With some options, you can minimize the total cost of the loan by making higher monthly payments to save money down the road after school.

With all of these points remember to keep focusing on ways in your daily expenses to save dollars here and there or to make more money here or there with a small business or a part-time job. Cut your corners and save yourself financially so you can enjoy your future.
Court writes about student loans consolidation program and other business topics including loans, sales, and personal development.

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Is shyness a sign of lack of self-confidence? Maybe. For some people, shyness can be rooted from the fact that they do not have enough faith in themselves to have the ability to face other people. For others, on the times that their insecurities resurface, they feel that they are not good enough to interact or speak with other people and this is when shyness sinks in.

If you have always envied that person in your office that is everyone’s best friend, or if you just wish that you were as good a public speaker as the most admired politician - then you need to get rid of shyness now! Below are some useful tips on how you can get rid of shyness:

1. Go out and mingle.

If you are always cooped up in that lonely apartment of yours, how will you have the chance to mingle and meet other people. If your social life is limited to the friends that you have had since you were kids, then you are not giving yourself the opportunity to broaden your horizons. Going out and mingling is the number one way to get rid of your shyness since it will give you a chance to try and feel as comfortable as possible when in the company of a new set of friends.

2. Mind your posture, smile and try to at least look relaxed in the company of others.

If you look rigid, if you are always staring afar, or if you always keep your arms closed to yourself, these are dead giveaways that you do not want to talk and mingle. Your body language says a lot about the way that you feel at the moment. If you always keep your arms crossed and you hardly smile or glance at the crowd, you may even give out the impression of being rude when in fact, you are just trying to get over your shyness.

When in a party, for example, smile the minute that you walk into the room. Try to look as relaxed as you can on the outside so that others will not feel that you are uncomfortable in their company. Nobody will guess what you are thinking anyway, and they will not feel your shyness or nervousness as long as you maintain a relaxed front.

3. Go to personality development classes.

If you do not have the discipline or the will to try and get rid of your shyness by yourself, a personality development class will be of great assistance to you. Here, you will learn how to walk, talk, dress and behave when in the company of coworkers, superiors and even your friends. By taking classes, you will gain a lot more confidence and you will have professional tips on how to get rid of your shyness and basically learn to feel better about yourself in general.

The investment will surely be worth it in the end because you will gain enough confidence to get over your insecurities and self-doubts and reach your goal of overcoming shyness.

4. Understand that getting over a deep-seated shyness may take some time, but it is workable and there are different solutions for getting over shyness - depending on the personality that you have.

What works for one may not necessarily work for you. Sometimes, no matter how many self-help books you read about overcoming shyness, all these ideas in your head will not necessarily work for you. If one method fails, try another one. Do it one step at a time. If your first ‘public outing’ to overcome shyness is a disaster, try moving one step back by practicing in a more intimate environment. No matter how tiring a trial-and-error process may sound like to you, at the end of the day, reaching your goal of fighting against shyness will be worth all the effort.

With these tips, you can slowly get rid of shyness so that you can have more meaningful social and professional relationships and start feeling better about yourself.
Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available only at: conversation starters

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Do you feel that extreme shyness is taking over your life and you just cannot stand in front of a crowd or even enter a room full of strangers without a feeling of insecurity assailing you? Each person does have some level of shyness within themselves, but it is never healthy when you let the fact that you are shy hinder your social, professional and personal interactions with other people. Therefore, it is vital to go beyond
shyness and overcome your fears and insecurities so that you can have a thriving social life. Here’s how:

1. Think beyond the box.

Most shy people have all these fears and insecurities that is why they are extremely hesitant to speak their mind out, mingle with strangers, or interact with a person whom they do not already know. The reason for this is that once they are assailed with their self-doubts and insecurities, they fail to think outside of the box by thinking that they are the only ones who feel this way.

If you are extremely shy, you need to remember that nobody’s perfect and that other people have insecurities and self-doubts, too. However, the difference lies in the way that we let these feelings affect the way that we deal with other people. Most of the ‘people’ persons actually have a ‘Who cares?” attitude to some extent. So what if you make a mistake or if you commit a blunder in front of other people?

The important thing is for you to keep your composure, to remain polite at all times and make sure not to offend anybody - and finally, have the ability to laugh at yourself and find humor in the situation. If you keep on having these straitlaced ideas that you need to be all prim and proper when in the company of others because you will be embarrassed to death if you do not - it will prevent you from being spontaneous and having a chance to take things lightly and essentially have fun when socializing.

2. A little smile goes a long way.

People are attracted to other people who have a positive way of looking at things. When you enter a room with a smile on your face, you will ooze a confidence and friendliness that people will respond to. Although you may feel all nervous inside, your shyness in front of other people will be diffused once you smile and you see the positive response that your attitude will gain from other people.

3. Arm yourself with knowledge on a wide array of subjects.

You can definitely go beyond that feeling of shyness once you arm yourself with knowledge on a broad area of subjects. Sometimes, shyness is rooted from the simple fear of not having anything ‘intelligent’ to say. To counteract this, you need to read, watch television and basically expose your mind to a wide range of topics - from the latest showbiz or political scandal, to the arts, music, film, books - even mundane subjects like traffic and the weather is good enough to start a conversation with.

4. Feel good about yourself and your positive attitude will ooze out and affect others.

Shyness is stemmed from self-doubts and insecurities. If you get rid of these negative thoughts and feelings and just decide to have a different, more positive outlook in life - then it will show on the outside. This is your key towards going beyond shyness and learning to love people and life in general.

Shyness on any level is something that you need to get over with. Do not let shyness hinder you from having a fruitful social and personal interaction with others. By practicing the aforementioned ways of thinking, you can adapt a positive attitude of going beyond shyness - and enhance your interpersonal skills in the process.
Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available only at: conversation starters

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Is shyness a sign of lack of self-confidence? Maybe. For some people, shyness can be rooted from the fact that they do not have enough faith in themselves to have the ability to face other people. For others, on the times that their insecurities resurface, they feel that they are not good enough to interact or speak with other people and this is when shyness sinks in.

If you have always envied that person in your office that is everyone’s best friend, or if you just wish that you were as good a public speaker as the most admired politician - then you need to get rid of shyness now! Below are some useful tips on how you can turn around shyness:

1. Go out and mingle

If you are always cooped up in that lonely apartment of yours, how will you have the chance to mingle and meet other people? If your social life is limited to the friends that you have had since you were kids, then you are not giving yourself the opportunity to broaden your horizons. Going out and mingling is the number one way to get rid of your shyness since it will give you a chance to try and feel as comfortable as possible when in the company of a new set of friends.

2. Attend to Body Language

Mind your posture, smile and try to at least look relaxed in the company of others.

If you look rigid, if you are always staring afar, or if you always keep your arms closed to yourself, these are dead giveaways that you do not want to talk and mingle. Your body language says a lot about the way that you feel at the moment. If you always keep your arms crossed and you hardly smile or glance at the crowd, you may even give out the impression of being rude when in fact, you are just trying to get over your shyness.

When in a party, for example, smile the minute that you walk into the room. Try to look as relaxed as you can on the outside so that others will not feel that you are uncomfortable in their company. Nobody will guess what you are thinking anyway, and they will not feel your shyness or nervousness as long as you maintain a relaxed front.

3. Go to personality development classes

If you do not have the discipline or the will to try and get rid of your shyness by yourself, a personality development class will be of great assistance to you. Here, you will learn how to walk, talk, dress and behave when in the company of coworkers, superiors and even your friends. By taking classes, you will gain a lot more confidence and you will have professional tips on how to get rid of your shyness and basically learn to feel better about yourself in general.

The investment will surely be worth it in the end because you will gain enough confidence to get over your insecurities and self-doubts and reach your goal of overcoming shyness.

4. Self Help and Personality

Understand that getting over a deep-seated shyness may take some time, but it is workable and there are different solutions for getting over shyness - depending on the personality that you have.

What works for one may not necessarily work for you. Sometimes, no matter how many self-help books you read about overcoming shyness, all these ideas in your head will not necessarily work for you. If one method fails, try another one. Do it one step at a time. If your first ‘public outing’ to overcome shyness is a disaster, try moving one step back by practicing in a more intimate environment. No matter how tiring a trial-and-error process may sound like to you, at the end of the day, reaching your goal of fighting against shyness will be worth all the effort.

With these tips, you can slowly get rid of shyness so that you can have more meaningful social and professional relationships and start feeling better about yourself.
Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available only at: conversation starters

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Do you feel that extreme shyness is taking over your life and you just cannot stand in front of a crowd or even enter a room full of strangers without a feeling of insecurity assailing you? Each person does have some level of shyness within themselves, but it is never healthy when you let the fact that you are shy hinder your social, professional and personal interactions with other people. Therefore, it is vital to go beyond shyness and overcome your fears and insecurities so that you can have a thriving social life. Here’s how:

1. Think beyond the box.

Most shy people have all these fears and insecurities that is why they are extremely hesitant to speak their mind out, mingle with strangers, or interact with a person whom they do not already know. The reason for this is that once they are assailed with their self-doubts and insecurities, they fail to think outside of the box by thinking that they are the only ones who feel this way. If you are extremely shy, you need to remember that nobody’s perfect and that other people have insecurities and self-doubts, too.

However, the difference lies in the way that we let these feelings affect the way that we deal with other people. Most of the ‘people’ persons actually have a ‘Who cares?” attitude to some extent. So what if you make a mistake or if you commit a blunder in front of other people? The important thing is for you to keep your composure, to remain polite at all times and make sure not to offend anybody - and finally, have the ability to laugh at yourself and find humor in the situation.

If you keep on having these straitlaced ideas that you need to be all prim and proper when in the company of others because you will be embarrassed to death if you do not - it will prevent you from being spontaneous and having a chance to take things lightly and essentially have fun when socializing.

2. A little smile goes a long way.

People are attracted to other people who have a positive way of looking at things. When you enter a room with a smile on your face, you will ooze a confidence and friendliness that people will respond to. Although you may feel all nervous inside, your shyness in front of other people will be diffused once you smile and you see the positive response that your attitude will gain from other people.

3. Arm yourself with knowledge on a wide array of subjects.

You can definitely go beyond that feeling of shyness once you arm yourself with knowledge on a broad area of subjects. Sometimes, shyness is rooted from the simple fear of not having anything ‘intelligent’ to say. To counteract this, you need to read, watch television and basically expose your mind to a wide range of topics - from the latest showbiz or political scandal, to the arts, music, film, books - even mundane subjects like traffic and the weather is good enough to start a conversation with.

4. Feel good about yourself and your positive attitude will ooze out and affect others.

Shyness is stemmed from self-doubts and insecurities. If you get rid of these negative thoughts and feelings and just decide to have a different, more positive outlook in life - then it will show on the outside. This is your key towards going beyond shyness and learning to love people and life in general.

Shyness on any level is something that you need to get over with. Do not let shyness hinder you from having a fruitful social and personal interaction with others. By practicing the aforementioned ways of thinking, you can adapt a positive attitude of going beyond shyness - and enhance your interpersonal skills in the process.
Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available only at: conversation starters

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Positive thinking is one of those intangible ideas that doesn’t work for everyone - i.e. not everyone is taking advantage of this powerful tool in their lives. Some people just have to be negative in their lives or they are not happy. Try being in a positive frame of mind, and you must do it everyday, not just once a week. People who do try to be more upbeat and happy tend to lead more productive lives.

The Law of Attraction is often associated with positive thinking. You attract those values and feelings that you send out into the universe. So if you spend your life being negative and mean to other people around you, that is what you will get back. Feelings of depression and isolation usually are good signs of how you live your life. If you don’t make an effort to attract good fortune into your life, and not just money, but good will and love, you won’t ever have the chance to enjoy all that your life has to offer you.

A good example of this is hating your job and thinking your coworkers are all idiots. This leads to a negative though process and now you hate going t work every day. The stress will start to eat away at your subconsciously. You may get sick or feel depressed. Start every day by looking in the mirror and telling yourself that you will have a good day and you will do your best today. Be your most positive self and watch the change all around you. When you are blind because you are so negative, you miss opportunities to better your situation. But because you are too busy wallowing in self pity, you never see that door open that will lead up the ladder of success.

Goal setting weighs heavy on positive thinking. You set a goal to return to school after being out for ten years or more. The more you sit and think that you can’t do it, it costs to much money, or you probably wouldn’t be able to keep up all keep you from attaining your goal. Thinking positively will help you through some of the rough spots. Believing in yourself and your abilities will keep you on the right track. It is tough sometimes to be the oldest one in the college class, but you will shine as a n example to others that it can be done no matter how old you are. You set your goal and you kept plugging away until you achieved it.

Many people don’t like to set goals for a number of reasons. These include lacking to vision to see attaining the goal, fear of attaining the goal, and not being able to forgive other people for the way we are. Make sure you can see the steps involved in attaining your goal. Take small steps if you have to, but know where you will end up. As they say, the journey begins with the first step. If you are fearful of attaining the goal, talk with others in the same position who have attained the success you are after. These can be some of your best resources. Forgive yourself for blaming everyone else for your problems when in reality, you brought them on yourself. This one is the hardest. Give yourself time to work through each of these and bring forth a new meaning to your life.

The subconscious mind is an all powerful stepping stone to positive thinking. There are things in your subconscious mind that you are not even aware of being there. The subconscious mind is usually receptive to the free flowing thoughts from your conscious mind. Keep these thoughts happy, carefree, tranquil, and upbeat to keep your spirit in harmony and in good cheer. Keeping negative thoughts only adds to stress, illness, and the end of some relationships. Even when you are sick and don’t feel well, tell yourself that you are healthy and vibrant. Don’t let dark thoughts invade this time. Erase worries and problems and spend time meditating on feeling better.

Once you teach yourself to be optimistic, it will take over all by itself. You will get up every morning and be ready to face the day with a new vigor. You will attract good fortune and people who want good fortune as well. Your subconscious mind will be sending happy thoughts to your conscious mind and you will feel refreshed and ready to hit the floor running. Any goals you are trying to attain will seem a little closer each day and not as hard to accomplish or reach.
Stephen C Campbell (Master NLP Practitioner) has published more information on using the Subconscious as a Goal Setting tool at http://www.rightandwrongthinking.com/

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This article examines the impact on taxpayers and appraisers as well as their advisors of the new Federal provisions of the Pension Protection Act. For appraisers performing valuations for federal tax purposes in accordance with the Pension Protection Act (PPA), signed into law in August 2006, stipulates new penalties and stiff sanctions if the appraisers or appraisals fail to meet the new qualifications.

New Appraiser Penalty

The new regulations have started to have a unsettling effect on the appraisers, primarily because it raises many questions, including what kind of tax (gift and estate tax, income tax, or both) is affected, and who may be hit by penalties.

Further, PPA added the new Section 6695A to the Internal Revenue Code. Section 6695A includes new penalties, which are pertinent to appraisers of property for income and transfer tax purposes.

New penalties are applicable to appraisals provided in connection with returns or claims for refunds filed after August 17, 2006. Penalties are applied when the appraised value of property deviates from the correct value by certain set percentages as follows:

“Substantial Misvaluation” (income tax environment): 150 percent or more off of actual value.
“Gross Misvaluation” (income or transfer tax environment): 200 percent or more off of actual value in an income tax case or 40 percent or less in a transfer tax case.

Appraiser penalty applies for appraisals prepared for returns or submissions filed after the date of enactment.

Amount of Penalty
Rather than the aiding and abetting penalty under section 6701 (generally limited to $1,000), appraisers are now subject to a penalty equal to over $1,000 or 10 percent of the underpayment attributable to the valuation misstatement, up to a maximum of 125 percent of the appraisal preparation fee (gross income) received by the appraiser.

Levying new penalties requires certain criteria to be fulfilled, including:

1. Appraiser must prepare an appraisal only in connection with a return or a claim for a refund.
2. Appraiser needs to know that the appraisal will be used for the above mentioned purpose.
3. Appraisal must result in a substantial valuation misstatement or gross valuation misstatement.

Misvaluation thresholds have been lowered, and also apply to estate and gift tax appraisals.

A substantial valuation misstatement arises if the value is 150 percent of the correct value. For example, if an income tax charitable deduction of $90,000 is claimed by a tax payee, based on an appraisal of a painting that the payee donates to a museum, and the correct value of the painting is later determined to be only $30,000, penalties would be enacted upon the appraiser section 6695A. In the case of estate or gift tax, a substantial misstatement occurs if the value exceeds the correct value by 65 percent or more. For example, if an appraiser applies a 45 percent discount for a going business with an underlying value of $100,000 for a value of $55,000. If the IRS and court determine that the discount should have only been 15 percent, the correct value would be $85,000. The appraised value is only 64.7 percent (i.e., less than 65 percent) of the “correct” value. As a result, a 20 percent substantial-understatement penalty would be levied on the appraiser’s fee.

A gross valuation misstatement occurs if the value exceeds the correct value by 200 percent or more. In the case of gift or estate tax, a gross valuation misstatement occurs if the value used is 40 percent or more of the correct value.

As penalties under section 6695A are far more severe than prior to PPA, appraisers may be more conservative and might be forced to choose to restructure or raise their fees; although as described above, the more gross income an appraiser derives from an appraisal, the larger the potential penalty. For example, an appraiser prepares an appraisal which he knows will be used to support an income tax deduction for a charitable contribution of the subject property. He charges $6,000 as the appraisal preparation fee. He values the property at $1 million, resulting in an income tax benefit from the deduction of $300,000. The correct value is $600,000, resulting in an income tax benefit from the deduction of $180,000. The appraiser is subject to penalty in this case as the claimed value of $1 million is more than 150 percent of the correct value of $600,000 (i.e., $900,000). According to PPA guidelines, appraiser’s penalty in this case is $7,500 (125 percent of the $6,000 fee), because this is less than 10 percent of the tax underpayment (10 percent of 120,000, or $12,000).

The new penalties imposed under section 6695A create a non-uniform field for appraisers engaged by taxpayers and appraisers engaged by the IRS. Taxpayer appraisers are likely to be under the scanner of PPA and face penalties if their appraisals are later rejected. On the other hand, IRS appraisers face no similar penalties no matter how far their appraisals are from the values finally determined for tax purposes.

The penalty will not apply if the appraiser establishes to the satisfaction of the IRS that the value established in the appraisal was more likely than not the proper value. However, given the magnitude of the trigger point percentages, it would be unlikely to prove a “more likely than not” standard when the magnitude of difference is 40 percent or 200 percent.

Prevention is better than cure. By adhering to norms and being organized and cautious about the whole process would ensure that you have nothing to fear. Educating yourself about the new law and its implications will further minimize your chances of getting in the way of PPA radar and getting penalized heavily.
Mel Abraham CPA, CVA, ABV, ASA, CSP - author & Adjunct Professor (USD Law School. Further, for access to an audio presentation on IRS penalties and the PPA visit http://www.valuationeducation.com/penalties.html. He can be reached at mel@melabraham.com.

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When I was 19 I got my start on the radio in Creston Iowa, they didn’t have a full time opening, but I desperately wanted to work on the radio, so I was a part time salesperson and part time on air personality.

What I really wanted, was to be a sportscaster; one day I overheard two guys talking about this radio station that had broadcast high school wrestling. Sounded interesting, so I decided that our radio station should broadcast an upcoming high school wrestling tournament. I convinced my boss that this was a great idea and we sold every available commercial in less than a week. Advertisers loved the idea, I made a little money on the advertising sales and what was more important to me, I got to broadcast the event.

About 2 weeks before the tournament I called the guy that had already broadcast high school wrestling and asked him how he did it. That makes sense doesn’t it? You don’t have to know how to do everything that you want to do in life, just find somebody who has already done it, and do what they did!

When he told me what he did, I started to panic. What I didn’t know was that he didn’t really broadcast the entire two-day event! He just did a few reports, live from the tournament. Well that may have worked for him but we sold so many commercials the only way we could get them all in was to broadcast live for about 18 hours! I told the guy what I had to do, since we had sold so many ads - I asked this guy, that had been in the radio business for years what he would do and he said, - look for another job!

I was in a pickle and I knew it. If I went to the station manager and told her that I couldn’t do it, I knew I was toast, my incredible broadcasting career would end right there in Creston Iowa. So I did the only thing I could think of, I started to figure out how to do something, that to my knowledge, had never been done before. I was going to broadcast high school wrestling on the radio for 18 hours.

The funny thing is, we did it, and it was awesome. I needed help and believe me I asked for it. I didn’t know that many people in Creston, but I asked for help from everybody, I had to, if this thing didn’t happen I could lose my job.

Some people, actually ALMOST EVERYBODY that I talked to said it couldn’t be done, that I was crazy for even thinking about doing it and that nobody has ever done such a thing before. Who did I think I was?

Looking back almost 30 years later it still blows me away that when faced with what most people would consider insurmountable odds, I didn’t beg for my job, I figured out how to do my job to the best of my ability. Some would say that because of ignorance, I overheard something and didn’t really have the whole story, because of that ignorance on fire, I’m a young guy and I can do it attitude, I attempted to do something that had never been done.

What would have happened if I had all the facts? If I had talked to those guys and said who did it and how did they do it, - I wouldn’t have even tried.

When faced with those same circumstances what would you have done? What would you do if faced with those circumstances right now? What seems impossible in your life right now? Have you been told that you couldn’t do something? Did you accept what somebody else told you?

Sometimes we have too much information from too many sources and sometimes those sources don’t know what they’re talking about.

If I had gotten all the information before I went to my boss we would probably have done a few reports and nothing groundbreaking would have occurred. It really is amazing what you can do, when you don’t know, you can’t do it.

There are things that you would like to do in your life right now that you probably won’t even think about doing because somebody has already told you that it can’t be done! Why do we listen to those people?

Make it a habit to surround yourself with people who lift you up. Don’t concern yourself with what negative people have to say. Believe! Have faith. It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t know you can’t do it.
Scott Miller has made it a habit of not listening to negative people and would love to help you do the same. To download 5 FREE CD’s that will change your life no matter what you choose to do go to http://www.getoutnow.com

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