IRS unveils energy efficiency deduction procedure

Colorado Springs Business Journal, Jun 30, 2006 by Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice about how commercial building owners or leaseholders can qualify for a tax deduction for making their building energy efficient. The notice establishes a process to certify the required energy savings in order to claim the deduction.

The commercial building deduction, which was enacted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, allows taxpayers to deduct the cost of energy-efficient property installed in commercial buildings.

The amount deductible may be as much as $1.80 per square foot of building floor area for buildings that achieve a 50 percent energy savings target. The notice provides that buildings below the 50 percent threshold may qualify for a deduction of up to 60 cents per square foot of building floor area if they meet a 16.66 percent energy savings target.

Before claiming the deduction, the taxpayer must obtain a certification that the required energy savings will be achieved.

For more information, see Notice 2006-52 at www.irs.gov.

BBB issues warning about employment scam

The Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado has received reports about a company called Job Quest based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

According to consumers, Job Quest sends an envelope containing information with a job assignment to be completed within 48 hours. The supposed objective of the assignment is to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of a payment system called MoneyGram, available at all Wal-Mart stores. The consumer is told to pose as a potential customer to familiarize themselves with the practice of being a secret shopper. The catch is that the consumer never applied for the assignment.

As payment for completing the job assignment, and before ever agreeing to participate in the project, the consumer also receives a check for a large amount of money stating they have been chosen as Job Quest's local customer service representative.

The check, drawn on a bank in Florida, is counterfeit, and once deposited, will bounce. The depositor is then accountable for the money.

Consumers should call the BBB at 636-1155 before accepting or doing business with a company. Reliability reports about businesses are available at www.bbbsc.org.

State successfully prosecutes 16 fraud cases

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment obtained 16 criminal convictions for unemployment insurance fraud during the first quarter of 2006. The convictions represent a restitution of $217,600 awarded by the courts.

Disposition was received on three cases in January, with a recovery of $48,366.51. In El Paso County, Roberto Asencio pled guilty to felony criminal impersonation and was sentenced to a four- year unsupervised deferred sentence and ordered to make restitution of $13,119.51.

Disposition was received on six cases in February, with a recovery of $70,612. In Pueblo County, Gwen DeHerrera pled guilty to theft and was sentenced to one year of supervised probation and 75 hours of community service. She also pled guilty to computer crime and received a four-year deferred sentence. DeHerrera was ordered to pay $19,356 restitution.

Disposition was received on seven cases in March, with a recovery of $98,622.14. In El Paso County, Troy L. VanCleave pled guilty to felony theft and received a four-year unsupervised deferred sentence and 60 hours of community service. He also was ordered to make restitution of $14,054.

Vital record fees

to increase

The fee for a single copy of a vital record - birth or death certificates - will increase from $15 to $17 on July 1. The cost of additional copies of the same vial record will increase from $6 to $10 each.

The fee increase applies at the State Vital Records Office and at all county registrar offices. For more information about vital record fees or services of the State Vital Records Office, call (303) 456-4464 or visit www.cdphe.state.co.us.

T. Rowe Price to add 650 Springs jobs

T. Rowe Price has announced that it plans to add a three-story, $55 million, 145,000-square-foot building to its existing campus, making room for about 650 additional workers.

The company has about 500 Springs employees.

Construction of the second building is expected to begin this fall and be completed by the end of 2007. The 31-acre campus at 2260 Briargate Parkway has enough room for three more buildings.

Employees in Colorado Springs include shareholder service representatives who manage accounts for and provide investment guidance to individual investors, service associates who handle transactions for and take calls from retirement plan participants, information technology professionals, 401(k) plan administrators and support staff.

Ernst & Young selects top entrepreneurs

Ernst & Young LLP has announced the winners of its 2006 Rocky Mountain region Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

Karl Friedman, president and founder of Next Action received the business services award.

I. Ben Joseph, chairman and CEO of Wireless Communications received the emerging award.

The healthcare and life science award was given to Dr. Joel R. Montbriand, president of Gastroenterology of the Rockies/Medamorph.