Mind the Estate Tax Gap

The article "Mind the Estate Tax Gap", discusses how much of a mess an estate tax break law has become and the consequences many will face due to it not being fixed by Congress. Although estate taxes will return to their normal 55% in 2011, 2010 will be a year where there will not be an estate tax. This may seem like a lucky break for wealthy heirs of the ultra-rich, however many will end up paying high capital-gains taxes on these inheritances. This is so because of the disappearance of the "step-up" in basis, which allowed assets to be revalued for tax purposes at the time of death. For heirs who inherited homes or family businesses that have grown in value, the "step-up" rule allowed them to start with a clean slate, owing no capital-gains when they sold the assets. Now, an executor can assign a "step-up" basis of up to $1.3 million to assets in the estate, and an additional $3 million for assets left to a surviving spouse. Things get even more complicated when there are multiple heirs receiving multiple assets, a task which requires the executor choosing how to allocate the $1.3 million in tax basis among the assets. This task has led to many executors facing lawsuits from unhappy heirs. According to Clay Stevens, Director of strategic planning at Aspirant, "Many people are going to be worse off than before". Regardless of whether or not Congress fixes the problem before the end of the year, it may be too little too late for some families as we are already well into the year 2010.

USEC shares climb on DOE grant for Ohio

Our company must market our flow restriction device to a company in southern Ohio after the United States Department of Energy recently awarded the plant a grant of $45 million for further development and demonstration of centrifuge technology. The article, found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses how USEC is the world's leading supplier of enriched uranium for commercial nuclear power plants. USEC also looks to increase production of enriched uranium after gaining this grant.

Recently the U.S. Department of Energy announced it will provide $45 million to fund an on-going centrifuge project at the USEC plant in Ohio. The project was developed to further research and develop centrifuge technology. Over the course of this testing program, the company has logged over 338,000 hours on centrifuges. This would be a great market for our company to tap as USEC is the world's leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for use in commercial nuclear power plants. According to the USEC, using centrifugal force to extract uranium is much more efficient than the Cold-War era gaseous diffusion method. Enriched uranium from the plant 65 miles south of Columbus would be used in generating electricity by nuclear power plants.

Want To Bank Your Own Stem Cells?

The article, "Want To Bank Your Own Stem Cells?", found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses a market that may be viable for our flow restriction device. The article states the potential power for stem cells is limitless and people should be ready to bank their own stem cells in order to be ready when regenerative therapies hit the market. A recently founded company, NeoStem, may have a need for our device. The main question surrounding the flow restriction device is whether it will sell or not.

Denis Rodgerson is the CEO for NeoStem, a company that allows people to bank their own stem cells, in case they are needed someday. Studies have shown that stem cells can later be grown into heart cells, brain cells or even used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The process of banking one's own stem cells involves the separation of the cells from bone marrow using a centrifuge. Rodgerson believes the company has potential and believes the evidence found in research is good enough to make stem cell banking a profitable proposition. This is just one of many opportunities where our company feels as though it can make an impact with our flow restricitor device.

Why a VAT Tax Is Where It's At

The article "Why a VAT Tax Is Where It's At", found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses how a VAT would help stop the United States national debt from skyrocketing even further. As Baby Boomers are set to retire, the United States government is faced with the arduous task of supporting many programs, such as MediCare and Social Security. The author truly believes a VAT can help solve some of the current financial problems in the United States. A VAT, which stands for value added tax, is collected at each stage of the production process and distribution rather than just from retailers. Not only is this type of tax highly efficient, but the way it is collected also minimizes compliance problems. However, there is opposition to the idea of enforcing a VAT tax. Some believe this tax would make the government even bigger than it already is. According to Americans For Tax Reform member Grover Norquist, "VAT is French for big government." The author points out that nobody really defends the current income system anymore because it is far too complicated and contains too many loopholes and special interest favors. It is time for the VAT to be embraced and long term fiscal discipline in the United States to be back on track.

Postal Service Seeks Five-Day Delivery by Early 2011

The article "Postal Service Seeks Five Day Delivery By Early 2011", found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses how USPS plans on cutting a sizable portion of their budget by eliminating delivery on a certain day of the week. By eliminating deliveries on Saturdays, the article mentions that USPS would save about $3.3 billion the first year and as much as $5.1 billion by the year 2020. However, the plan will get rid of around 40,000 jobs. There are both advocates and naysayers of this plan, including the National Association of Letter Carriers and small business customers. The National Association of Letter Carriers calls the plan "risky and counterproductive", while residential and small business customers believe Saturday delivery is "unimportant". The Postal Commission has 90 days to review the proposal and make a non-binding agreement.

A Matchmaker For Inventors

The article "A Matchmaker For Inventors" describes a company which could possibly help bring our centrifuge project into the mainstream. UTEK Corporation can commercialize the separation device used in our company's centrifuge project. UTEK would be able to pay the research labs for the licensing rights to the idea. UTEK has had more hits than misses and could pay huge benefits to our company.

UTEK, a technolgy matchmaker with an unusual business model, gives researchers an outlet for their ideas. It also provides companies with access to a database of more than 35,000 discoveries that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. When researchers at the University of North Carolina A&T discovered a way to find microscopic cracks in an airplane fuselage, they turned to UTEK due to the fact they were finding their product nearly impossible to sell. UTEK found Materials Technology Inc., which soon signed a contract to commercialize the technology.

Unlike other tech-transfer companies, UTEK will pay the research labs for licensing rights to the discovery. It then agrees to sell those rights to the client company for shares of stock, which UTEK agrees to hold for one year. It's possible that UTEK would pay around $500,000 for a discovery and receive $2.5 million worth of a company's stock.

Over the years, UTEK has had more success than failure. The company's successes involve technologies ranging from fertilzing production to pollution monitoring. UTEK, which went public in 2003, now holds equity stakes in 55 companies with a portfolio valued at over $60 million. It shows no signs of slowing down either, adding several thousand discoveries to it's database each year. UTEK would definitely help our company get the word out about our separation device. The company has a proven record and will be able to provide our technology with the light of day it needs to become successful.

There's More to Innovation Than Good Ideas

The article "There's more to Innovation Than Good Ideas", found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses the Air Sandwich and the negative effect it has on an organization. The Air Sandwich occurs when leadership within an organization gives orders to employees far down the chain of command, without the benefit of feedback or questions. The author, Nilofer Merchant, first encountered the problem of the Air Sandwich while she worked for AutoDesk. The CEO at AutoDesk had a plan that would propel the company into the future. This plan included introducing six new product lines into the market within the next 18 months. Merchant had her doubts about the project, but kept her mouth shut, believing the "leaders" would make sure everything went as planned. However, things did not go smoothly as the new products didn't make it to the market for many more years. Many will blame the people within the organization for failures such as this, but there is more to be blamed than just the people. Much of the blame can be placed on the system being used. Merchant has seen the same problem many times over the years while working for several different companies. She says, "We limit participation in strategy creation based on title and rank rather than relevant insight." Merchant believes that companies need to create a shared understanding of what matters and why and also stop rewarding individual accomplishment because it is easier than rewarding co-ownership of the ultimate outcomes. In the long run, failures like this can be very helpful to a company in that it will help them understand the problems involved with their system. After the problems have been addressed, the company can move forward by understanding and correcting these problems.