It Figures

5,500

The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported that the Social Security numbers of more than 5,500 people are on a flash memory drive that was lost by an employee who put the information on it after his laptop was infected with a virus. The employee then accidentally took the flashdrive to a conference in Dallas where he lost it.

A commission spokesman said there have been no reports of identity theft because of the lost information. A letter from the OESC informed all the workers to contact the Federal Trade Commission to report the incident, and state Attorney General Drew Edmondson said those whose Social Security numbers were compromised by the data breach should take immediate steps to protect their credit.

$1 Million

If Texas State Representative Brandon Creighton has his way, all businesses in the state that have a gross revenue of $1 million or less would be provided tax relief through exemptions from the state franchise tax. Currently, any business with total revenue of $300,000 or less does not pay any tax.

Last session, Rep. Creighton spearheaded an effort that led to a sliding scale of discounts for businesses with revenue between $300,000 and $900,000. The comptroller has estimated that the new measure raising the limit to $1 million would protect an additional 130,000 businesses from the franchise tax. HB 720 has the support of more than 35 co-authors.

1,700

The number of tornadoes that occurred in the United States in 2008, the second most active year for tornadoes on record. They accounted for 25 percent of about $10.5 billion in insured losses, according to Risk Management Solutions.

60%

The percentage of average annual property loss in the United States attributable to hail storms. Why so high? Primarily because hail storms cover a large area plus they occur more frequently and in coordination with tornadoes rather than straight wind storms, according to Risk Management Solutions.