Apple’s skilled accounting team may have saved the company billions of dollars in taxes by hiding $44 billion of its enormous profits between 2009 and 2012, according to a new report by Senate investigators, following a probe backed by Sen. John McCain.

Apple CEO Tim Cook made his first appearance to testify on Capitol Hill on March 21 to answer allegations that the company developed a complex system for the purpose of sheltering billions of dollars in international profits from the IRS and international tax collectors.

Apple denies dodging U.S. taxes, and in fact, the investigators don’t say it has actually broken any laws. Nonetheless, the bipartisan panel of Senate investigators scolded Apple for taking advantage of offshore tax loopholes and increasing the tax burden of American citizens.

There has been much controversy surrounding Apple’s accounting tactics and this isn’t the first time the company has been accused of dodging taxes. In 2012, The New York Times reported on Apple’s elaborate system of hanging on to its profits while escaping taxes. The company has $100 billion stashed in Ireland, where it has negotiated a low corporate income tax rate with the government. However, to bring money back into the U.S. from Ireland would cost 35 percent in U.S. taxes. Thus, Apple’s decision to sell $17 billion in bonds and buy back stock makes sense.

Investigators found that since Apple is able to operate within the law and still make out like a bandit by taking advantage of multiple tax loopholes, tax laws must be reformed. But for now, Apple may continue to operate one step ahead of the law and reap the benefits — possibly even becoming the first trillion dollar company in the world before tax laws catch up with it.

There is a new movement afoot in the world of small business financing. The concept of crowdfunding has its roots in earlier efforts to assist artists get their music and art projects funded in an organized way.

Early experiments with the process have created a number of successful crowdfunding platforms, such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter. In 2011 over $1.5 billion was raised through these methods and 2012 saw this number double to just under $3 billion. The process is quite simple. An idea or concept is put into a story format. The idea is put on the crowdfunding site and the applicant communicates with their network. With enough work and interest, a project is funded within 60 to 90 days.

With the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012, Congress made it possible for the revolutionary concept to be used for equity funding of small businesses and startups. While the process is waiting on final changes by the Securities and Exchange Commission, some crowdfunding platforms are working already with accredited investors.

In these cases, the system is gearing up to be ready when the process is approved for smaller, non-accredited investors. A potential company will prepare a memorandum in compliance with Regulation D of the securities laws. This allows the sale of a company’s securities through an exemption from registration. The really significant changes in the process will allow a company to accept small amounts from hundreds of small investors and permits it to advertise the offering through the crowdfunding site.

The prospects for crowdfunding to change the way small businesses are funded are significant. Venture Capital is much more structured and limited than the amounts and form of capital needed in the marketplace. For example, a formal Initial Public Offering can cost $250,000 or more in a very rigorous legal and administrative process. A small company can go through an entire $1,000,000 funding in less than 90 days for a total cost of $30,000 to $50,000.

Once the programs are underway, many startups will get a chance at life that wouldn’t have been possible under the old SEC rules and regulations. The SBA supports this exciting development as a new stream of equity for small business.

Image compliments of Best Accounting Degrees

While we Americans are still trying to understand our online gamer brethren, the MMORPG industry has reached national pastime status in the East. In Korea, League of Legends and Starcraft competitions are broadcast on the same networks as NFL, NHL and MLB events. Viewership during the 2012 championship games broke the 8 million mark, which is more than twice the number of viewers who watched the season premiere of Mad Men.

All of that advertising revenue leaves plenty of cash left over for the competitors. On top of commercial endorsements, professional gamers on a top 8 team make about $85,000 during the season. Professional online gaming is by no means a life of leisure; between prep time and competing, pros often work over 60 hours every week. Like all good sports, e-Sports have bred a booming betting industry. The League of Legends championship prize pool exceeded $5 million last year.

Just because MMORPGs have yet to grace ESPN in the U.S. doesn’t mean that the industry isn’t enormous. In 2012, League of Legends’ 32,000,000 users spent a collective 1.3 billion hours, or nearly 150,000 years, playing the online game. Considering that the total number of high school athletes in America across all sports is just shy of 8 million puts those numbers into perspective. However, stiffer competition means that going pro in the world of MMORPGs is much harder than making your school hockey team.

The rise of e-Sports in America could spark some productive dialogue about the misconceptions surrounding gamer subculture. Statistics show that the average gamer is about who you’d expect: a single male in his mid-twenties with no children. Though the stigma persists that MMO players are unemployed and confined to their parents’ basements, you may be surprised to know that 50 percent of gamers work full-time. The 21 hours a week they spend playing games may seem excessive until you consider that the average American spends 28 hours a week on the couch watching television. In a few years, your whole family could be watching the Starcraft playoffs after Thanksgiving dinner.

The space tourism industry may be offering people the chance to travel miles above the Earth, but if you’d prefer to be beneath our planet’s surface, you’re in luck, as subterranean hotels are also appealing to the public to spend their holidays underground. Presenting the opportunity to try something new and exciting, their novelty factor could also make them stand out in a crowded marketplace.

From repurposed secret military bases and nuclear bunkers to reclaimed caves and converted mines, these 13 amazing subterranean hotels may give the term “underground economy” a whole new meaning.

We are perpetually fascinated with achievement at a young age. The magazine Granta periodically names 20 British writers under the age of 40 it considers significant. Many people aspire to become millionaires or retire by the age of 40. Young inventors and entrepreneurs and prodigies all fascinate us. In certain fields including music and mathematics, conventional wisdom tells us that success comes during youth or not at all.

The wisdom of age notwithstanding, when younger people make their way into professional arenas, they can bring a great deal of value as well. Their fresh perspectives and insights can be valuable in fields as diverse as business, politics and the arts.

Today, the Internet has created a whole new playing field for the young and ambitious. High school students invent apps that end up selling for millions of dollars while savvy college students launch start-ups from their dorm rooms. Still, this level of success tends to be the exception rather than the rule. It takes a remarkable idea and a good bit of luck to rise above the ranks of would-be entrepreneurs.

Currently in the United States, a number of highly influential people are under the age of 40. Many of them rose to prominence through their tech expertise, but they come from other fields as well. One can’t help wondering that if they are this accomplished so early in their professional lives, what even greater achievements must lie ahead of them?

One new development among the ranks of the young and influential is that increasingly these youthful successes are far more diverse than ever before. More women and more people from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds are stepping into the spotlight. The sight of young women seizing power is not one we are accustomed to seeing, but it’s becoming commonplace.

So who are these young and wildly successful people? What are their achievements, how did they get where they are and exactly what kind of influence do they wield?

An infographic by the team at College Degree Search

With the absence of a winner, as of Saturday, May 11, 2013 the Powerball jackpot climbed ever closer to a historic payday. The jackpot for the May 15, 2013 drawing is up to $350 million — and if nobody chooses the winning numbers for that drawing the rollover could bring one of the biggest jackpots ever. If the jackpot rolls over two more times because no one chooses the winning numbers, history could be made with one lucky ticket worth near a billion dollars. That’s never happened before.

Only two lottery jackpots worth over $325 million have ever rolled over. Both winners won jackpots worth more than half a billion dollars. However, that was before the California Lottery joined in on the Powerball craze last month. Thanks to California, the current Powerball jackpot is growing faster than ever and has the potential to make the lucky ticket holder (or holders) filthy rich overnight.

Buying one Powerball ticket costs $1, with the option to choose Power Play for an additional dollar. The jackpot amount is incredible, but the odds of winning with one single ticket are minuscule. Still, for a dollar or two, you could grab one chance in 175 million at hitting it big.

The history of the lottery goes all the way back to ancient times. Click here to see a visual timeline of how lotteries have evolved over time.

Bacon is a much-loved food. Whether it’s eaten in a sandwich or put on a burger, nothing quite beats the flavor. In fact, “bacon mania” has long since taken over the USA and Canada. The popularity of bacon has been steadily increasing since the 1980s and has been further boosted by popular high-protein diets and the rise of the Internet – where people love to share information on meaty marvels. The bacon mania phenomenon has influenced food and novelties industries to branch out and try new things – but it has also inspired a variety of hoax products, such as the fictional J&D’s Bacon Baby formula, which caused a stir online in 2010.

Using prize money from America’s Funniest Home Videos, bacon-loving entrepreneurs Justin Esch and David Lefkow started J&D’s Foods from a Seattle garage in 2007. J&D’s Foods’ motto is “Everything should taste like bacon,” and it seems like people agree. Between 2007 and 2008, the company’s revenue quadrupled from $350,000 to $1.4 million. Read on for 15 of the weirdest bacon-flavored products on the market.

In a world full of tech giants like Google and Apple, it can be difficult for small startups to get noticed. Some only aim to get big enough to be bought by an established company, while others try to compete on their own. Out of the many startups that are created, the ones that do well really stand out. Often they are fueled by the genius of one or more dedicated individuals.

Take Daniel Gross, for example. He’s programmed since age 10, and is currently the CEO of Greplin, his company he founded at age 18. He moved to the US from Israel to receive venture capital before he had even started college. His service, Greplin, aggregates data from social media and other online accounts and makes it easily searchable.

Amazingly, Daniel isn’t one of a kind. Busy entrepreneurs like Keith Rabois might get their start a little later in life, but once they get rolling they’re hard to stop. Rabois is currently the CEO at Square, a company that processes $2 billion in digital payments. In addition to this demanding job, he serves on the board of directors at Yelp and Xoom. He got his start from investing in YouTube in its early days, as well as a handful of other Internet companies.

The stories of amazing Silicon Valley minds don’t stop with these two. Clara Shih founded Hearsay Social, another social media aggregate product. Her startup had a positive cash flow by the end of its first year. Cameron Robertson invented a door unlocking mechanism that connects to smartphones. Despite being initially rejected by Kickstarter, his company began preorders and received 10x their funding goal within 5 days. His company has received positive reviews for their brilliance in engineering.

Awe-inspiring stories like these will continue to fuel the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs, and we will continue to see rapid technological advances. The brilliant minds that create these products and run these companies keep Silicon Valley competing and innovating, and the rest of us are able to enjoy the rewards.

Source: Best Accounting Degrees

Marketwatch.com ran a commentary on August 25, 2011 discussing the long arm of the IRS reaching into Canada. The IRS is using its power and influence to track down American citizens in foreign locations to collect taxes. This is a continuing trend.

Some European binary options sites will not accept American investors for fear of the IRS. The IRS can shut down a business in seconds. A company could be stuck in litigation for years. Foreign banks would rather reduce their customer base than deal with IRS laws.

Hiding From the IRS

According to USA Today on April 9, 2013, the IRS employed 90,820 employees. More than 2 million companies are registered in tax havens. The government cannot keep up with all of the wealthy finding ways to hide their wealth.

The estimates for money hidden offshore is amazing. Estimates range from $21 to $32 trillion. This figure is equal to one-third of world GDP. The IRS is losing a lot of revenue due to tax havens.

The same USA Today article noted that tax audits are declining. As the United States government makes cuts, the IRS also suffers. This reduces the amount of money raised in taxes. It is a vicious cycle.

Feed the Poor

American municipalities are suffering from lower budgets. They are being forced to cut services, including welfare and the police. If they had access to the money hidden in tax havens, they could easily feed all of the poor.

Every American tax payer could get a nice big $1,000 check by the proceeds from taxing tax havens. The fiscal cliff could be easily paid for by the revenue lost in tax havens. The American government will turn up its efforts to collect these taxes.

The IRS is a powerful institution. It is involving itself in more countries. But the momentum is on the side of the tax havens. Humans are clever. The wealthy have the means and intelligence to find interesting ways to hide their assets.

Source: Tax Havens of the Wealthy and Powerful

If you’re part of a business that prizes creativity and innovation, inspiring surroundings might not go amiss. Luckily, some companies are moving away from the sterile-looking cubicles, bland layout and generally humdrum designs that can still be seen in many workplaces. The following 15 workspaces take a non-traditional approach to office design, and we love the results, whether they feature orchards or cupcakes. Check out some of these incredible places that people get to work in – although you might get a little green with envy.