New Year, New Opportunities

Business Plans are your road map to success

"Out with the old and in with the new..." is a popular saying and one many REALTORS® are hoping means improved business opportunities in 2007. As independent business owners you don't need to wait for the end of a calendar year to revamp your business plan, but it is often an easy time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future.

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Do Not Call Alert

NAR and MNAR have become aware of an individual threatening to bring claims against real estate brokerages for violating the federal "Do Not Call" laws. The caller contacts a real estate brokerage and requests that his phone number be placed on their internal "do not call" lists and he also requests that a copy of the company's policy for maintaining it's call list within five days. If the caller does not receive the brokerage's policy within 5 days, he will threaten to file a lawsuit in MN state court. To avoid a lawsuit, the caller offers the brokerage to settle the matter for around $5000.

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Minnesota Legislature Called to Order

In 2006, the 85th Session of the Minnesota Legislature was called to order with a new Speaker of the House, Margaret Kelliher (DFL, Mpls.) and a new Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (DFL, Mpls.). The only remaining leader from the 84th Session is Governor Pawlenty (Rep.) who began his second term on Tuesday, January 2nd.

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Calls for Action are an important part of the Legislative Process

During each and every session there comes a time when our lobbyists need for you to contact your elected officials over an issue that the Association opposes. Some of you respond quickly knowing that the positions of the Association are based on a Committees review, debate and agreement on what is best for all involved. Others believe they should remain on the sidelines without comment to let the process work as it may.

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Education offerings available through the MNREALTOR.com web site

If you are looking for unique learning experiences on topics such as negotiations, resort property sales, demographic change, industry issues and ethics training, your Minnesota Association of REALTORS® staff have 4 to 5 offerings every month. To access information about available CE offerings go to www.mnrealtor.com and click EDUCATION and REGISTER FOR A CLASS to find out the CE topic, location, time, date and how to register for the offerings.

Businesses and Tax-Exempts Can Use Formula for Telephone Tax Refund

In May 2006, the IRS announced that individuals, businesses and tax-exempt organizations who paid the long-distance telephone excise tax can request the refund on their 2006 federal income tax returns.

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IRS Stakeholder Liason Presents

Telephone Excise Tax Refund

PHONE FORUM: (A FREE event where you stay at your Office to attend)

January 17, 2007

Who Should Attend? Attorneys, CPAs, Enrolled Agents and other Tax Practitioners. Small Business Organizations and Small Businesses.

Note: Enrolled agents may be entitled to 1 CPE credit; other tax professionals may qualify depending on the requirements of their organizations. You must register individually and use your PIN to receive CPE credit. Each person must call in on a separate line so attendance can be verified.

Why Attend? Hear from David Williams, Director EITC/HCTC. As Director, Earned Income and Health Coverage Tax Credits, David Williams is leading the effort to redefine the IRS's entire approach to administering refundable tax credits. Get tips on computing TETR for your business clients to make your filing season easier.

The presentation will be followed by a Question and Answer period. This is your opportunity to have your questions answered, however, due to the public nature of this call; we will not be able to help you with specific client issues.

We are offering 4 different sessions for this class. Shown below are the scheduled times for the classes, with the time zones indicated.

CONFERENCE ACCESS CODE	EASTERN	CENTRAL	MOUNTAIN	PACIFIC
694494	10:00 a.m.	9:00 a.m.	8:00 a.m.	7:00 a.m.
574679	11:30 a.m.	10:30 a.m.	9:30 a.m.	8:30 a.m.
519466	1:30 p.m.	12:30 p.m.	11:30 a.m.	10:30 a.m.
332864	3:30 p.m.	2:30 p.m.	1:30 p.m.	12:30 p.m.

The number of phone lines is limited and reservations are on a first come, first served basis. Please register early to be sure you don't miss out! Please let us know if you registered and will not be able to attend as a fee is charged to the IRS for each unused line.

Register at:
https://www.attevent.com/rsvpreg.asp

You will be assigned a Personal Identification Number (PIN) that must be used to join the conference. If you have not registered with AT&T, you will need to click on "create a profile" first.

Conference dial-in numbers:
Toll free: 1-866-216-6835
Toll: 1-913-227-1220
Conference access code: See above for the time zone you are selecting.

Participant information:

• Please dial in 10 minutes prior to conference start time.
• Enter your access code, followed by the pound (#) sign.
• Enter your Personal Identification Number (PIN), followed by the pound (#) sign.
• Your line will be placed on hold with music until the conference starts.

Should you have any questions or problems you can e-mail us at: nationalphoneforum@irs.gov

Please register by January 14th, 2006 (Sunday). This is important as we will be sending out the materials for the class, by e-mail, on Monday, January 15th.

If you do not receive the class information by noon on January 16th, please e-mail us at: nationalphoneforum@irs.gov so that we may forward the presentation materials to you.

Please don't miss this imporant phone forum.