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With tax filing in full swing, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa spent his morning helping Angelenos learn how to put money back into their pockets with the help of the Earned Income Tax Credit Program. For millions of low-income working families, the struggle to make ends meet is harder than it has to be. That is the message the Los Angeles mayor brought to the Watts Labor Community Action Committee on Thursday. He encouraged families to file for the federal earned income tax credit.
“Our message today is that there’s help that’s on the way,” said Villaraigosa. ” There are opportunities for you to cash in on your own hard work, to qualify and reap the benefits of the earned income tax credit.”
The United Way of Greater Los Angeles is helping spread awareness about organizations that provide families with free tax assistance. Families with three children who earn less than $48,362 a year can qualify for up to $5,666.
Elise Buik, the President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles said, 15 to 20 percent of families are not accessing money that they’re entitled to.
“We’re leaving that money on the table in Washington,” Buik said. “So $250 million dollars, families are eligible for that. So lets get that money back to Los Angeles and in the pockets of our families and in our local economy. It will make a huge boost.”
For more information and to find one of over 100 free tax preparation sites, visit the partnership’s website at www.EITC-LA.com
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“Good leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion”
What makes a good leader?
These 10 core competencies comprise good leadership
Visionary.
Good leaders create a vision, a picture of the future, of where they want to take their organizations. Leaders can improve both the quality and acceptance of the vision by partnering with their peers, executive team, and key employees throughout the organization or outside consultants. To get the best vision you need lots of ideas, and people support what they help to create.
Inspirational.
Once a vision is established, great leaders can inspire everyone in the company to get onboard. Employees in great organizations are passionate about what they do. This inspiration extends to customers, investors, suppliers, boards of directors and all other stakeholders.
This doesn’t mean good leaders have to be charismatic or great public speakers, though some are. Leaders may inspire by example or in low-key ways. Every word and action demonstrates their passion for the vision.
Strategic.
Strategic leaders are clear and directly face the strengths and weaknesses of their own organizations, as well as their external opportunities and threats. They think in terms of leverage, fishing where the big fish are and partnering to gain market advantage. While interested in one sale, they would rather create pipelines and strategic alliances that generate thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of sales.
Tactical.
Wired like businesspeople, good leaders are bottom-line oriented and extraordinarily committed to results. They thrive on facts, figures, numbers and data. They’re interested in ROI, ROE and EBIDTA. If not numbers-oriented themselves, they surround themselves with strong financial talent.
Focused.
Once vision and mission (a brief, clear statement of the reasons for an organization’s existence) are established, good leaders achieve what they set out to do before launching new initiatives. By contrast, poor leaders may have dozens of conflicting programs and priorities. Leaders with 20 priorities essentially have no priorities.
Persuasive.
Not necessarily salespeople, good leaders can bring others to their point of view using logic, reason, emotion and the force of their personalities. They motivate by persuasion rather than intimidation. The key here is the leader speaking from his or her heart.
Likeable.
Good leaders are people-centric. They may be scientists, engineers or technical experts by background, but they recognize interpersonal skills are paramount. They display high degrees of emotional intelligence, and thrive on finesse and likeability.
They want to be liked — and they are. Again, the key is what’s inside the leader. Likeability comes from the inside out.
Decisive.
Sometimes shooting from the hip, good leaders can make decisions quickly — often with incomplete data. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
Rarely is a leader able to get 100 percent of the information needed for a decision. Typically it is “60 percent and go” or “80 percent and go.”
Ethical.
Good leaders are direct and straightforward. They set clear performance expectations and hold people accountable. This requires being direct and truthful, which can be difficult but — more often than not — is natural for the principle-based leader. Good leaders know it’s hard to beat the truth.
Open to feedback.
Good leaders are open and dedicated to lifelong learning. They seek feedback about their performance through direct conversations and objective tools such as 360-degree reviews. Seeking continuous improvement in their companies, they also seek it for themselves.
Anyone who has ever taken on a home improvement project knows that costs can add up quickly. Every detail that you acquire for your home comes with a price tag. Even if you shoot for a low-cost remodeling effort, you can easily go beyond the budget you allotted for your efforts. Fortunately, if you want to remodel your home the green way, you can get a bit of a financial break. There are federal tax incentives for those that base their home remodeling efforts on maximizing energy efficiency.
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File for the tax credit when preparing your 2009 federal tax documents by using Form 5405. You may also be eligible to claim your 2009 purchase on your 2008 tax filing. Participating in the tax credit program is easy. You claim the tax credit on your federal income tax return. Partial credits of less than $8,000 are available for some taxpayers whose MAGI exceed the phase-out limits.
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