Guest Blogs
Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!
To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.
We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!
by Patrick Hoza, US Tax & Financial Services
While the Streamline Program has been around for quite a few years, it’s worth mentioning again for those US persons that have still not filed their returns or corrected past mistakes but were not aware of the program. The IRS accepts that taxpayers should not be exposed to extremely harsh penalties for a non-wilful failure to comply with all the various tax reporting requirements. The IRS Streamlined Voluntary Disclosure program is specifically for taxpayers who can certify that their failure to file all information, report all income and pay tax was due to ‘non-wilful conduct’ – that is, due to negligence, inadvertence and mistake, or good faith misunderstanding of these legal obligations.
The program is applied differently for US Persons that can qualify under the offshore version of the program, and those that must use the US resident program. We speak to the offshore version below.
Are you eligible?
To be eligible for the Offshore Procedure the taxpayer must meet a non-residency requirement. This requirement is met if:
- in any one or more of the most recent three years for which the US tax return due date, or properly applied for extended due date, has passed (the ‘covered tax period’)
- the individual did not have a US abode and was physically outside the United States for at least 330 full days
File the returns, pay the tax
For each of the most recent three years for which the US tax return due date (or properly applied for extended due date) has passed, the procedure requires that the taxpayer:
- file delinquent or amended tax returns, together with all required information returns
- file any delinquent FBARs (for each of the most recent 6 years for which the FBAR* due date has passed)
- pay the full amount of tax and interest due with the delinquent or amended returns
By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com
Are you suffering from Zoom fatigue as you rush from one online meeting to another? I am using Zoom as shorthand for all the different platforms that are jostling to sign you up as a customer. In my opinion, Zoom is by far the most interactive and participatory platform, although MS Teams and Webex are catching up.
But the platform is not the biggest challenge to facilitating an online meeting. According to participants in my eWorkshops it is the passive audience, made even worse when people turn off their cameras! Number two, by the way, is lack of non-verbal cues and number three technical glitches.
As a meeting facilitator you have to work hard to get and keep people’s attention. And even harder if you want to break through the virtual divide and get people to engage and participate. In the real world, our brain switches off every 10 minutes if it is not stimulated, so imagine how quickly it tunes out in the virtual world.
The solution is to view facilitating a meeting like running a training session. You have to borrow tools and techniques from training to build engagement and participation.
Here are some of my most effective tools to boost your meeting.
Video link to recipe here: https://youtu.be/fr0ffjn7CMM
Christmas in July: If you think turkey and stuffing are just for the holidays, think again!
Summertime is also a "holiday time" and I love using the Weber Ranch Kettle barbecue to cook large meals. This succulent and moist roasted turkey breast with casserole stuffing is just the thing!
At the end of the video, I just show you a glimpse of an alternate recipe.
TURKEY
1kg turkey breast
1 onion
mustard
white wine
preserved lemons (fresh lemons can be substitued)
fresh cranberries (dried cranberries can be substitued)
By Aurea Fagel, text and photos
Here comes the proverbial question everyone is begging to ask you now: ‘What are your summer plans?’
And this is no ordinary summer where we can just blurt out and say you are going to fly out to some exotic country or to your top beach destination.
This year, probably the best and more prudent answer would be: local and sustainable.
Yes, go Switzerland. And why not? You would be amazed at how much you have "under-discovered" this amazing country. For sure, there must be some place where you have not trekked, visited or eaten! And by not flying, you are also reducing your carbon footprints and perhaps even saving a bit of money. If there is a time to help our local business, producers and economy, it is now!
So here is a tip: challenge yourself to find that Swiss spot to conquer and claim. Your humble guide is here with a few ideas. In each of my articles, I will highlight one possible destination - either a charming village, a nature trek, a culinary fancy or anything Swiss under the sun. Have a great trip!
By Anna Lascols, Organizing Geneva
I recently discovered the beautiful world of Interior Redesign. Another whole new area of opportunities. An area that is so close to home organizing that exploring it seems obvious. I had the great opportunity to learn about this topic by leading the Manor Home Days Special VIP Event in Geneva, presenting the new spring collection to selected clients and explaining them how organizing and redesigning your home can be a life-changer. I am not an expert (yet 😊), but I wanted to share my first learnings with you.
If you follow me, you should know by now why getting organized has lots of benefits. You declutter, you sort, you let go of the superfluous, you surround yourself with objects that spark joy, you simplify, you find a place for every item you own. Sounds easier than it is, but let’s suppose you have managed to organize your space (during Covid quarantine?) or that you are organized by nature. Well, then nothing should hold you back to go the extra mile, add the cherry on the cake and redesign your place!
Redesign is a way to get some fresh air into your home. To rediscover your own space, to unleash this exciting and new touch you have been looking for and boost your energy. We tend to believe this only occurs when we move, we change our entire furniture or tear down some walls. But it’s not! You do not need much time, money, effort or architects to do this, you can do it yourself and you can do it now! How great would it be to move without moving after all this time being confined at home and looking at the same walls and the same objects?
Practically, sit down and take a second look at the objects you have chosen to keep. The idea is to work with what you already have at home, and make a few little changes. Take advantage of summer sales, change some textiles (e.g. pillow cases), decor items, combine materials in a new way, rearrange or paint your furniture, add some colors and play around with your lightening.
