Week 52
How convenient that the final week of the year ends on Friday, just like a week should. A perfect way for the last week of the year to end. Saturday is even a holiday. Personally, I always felt like it could have been redubbed “National Hangover Day.” But of course, that was back when I […]
Another Layer under the Hard Outer IRS Shell
The agency we love to hate. The Internal Revenue Service. Complicating the system of taxation for the common man for 108 straight years. God bless America. Never, ever, say out loud it can’t get any worse. It can. It has, in fact. Here’s what’s wrong now, in my humble professional opinion. The exercise of the […]
Fear and Loathing of the IRS Telephone System
Yeah, it’s like that. Fear and loathing. Let’s all give a nod and a moment of silence for the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, by the way. I borrowed/flagrantly stole the opening of my title, if you’re familiar with his work. God rest his troubled, twisted soul. So, anyway…the bloody double-damned IRS phone problem. I […]
Shorter Days – Longer Memories
I love this time of year, for many reasons. Christmas is a time that people are reminded about the joy of giving, and simple kindness towards others. That’s one thing. But there have been celebrations of the shortest day of the year and the steadily growing length of the days afterward since the dawn of […]
Advent
What does that word associate for you when you’ve heard it in December, in years past? Did your parents ever have one of those advent calendars that you opened the little paper door on each day until Christmas? If you’ve ever seen Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo (and come on, who hasn’t?) […]
The Unfortunate State of Middle-American Tax Deductions
What comes to mind when you hear the words, “Tax deduction?” It covers a cornucopia of definitions in my experience. Personal filers use it as a catch-all phrase for itemized deductions. Business-folk tend to equate “deductions” with “expenses” quite often, and I can dig it. People also interchange deductions with credits, which is completely wrong […]
Emancipation Day
Did you see this, and the first thing you thought was, “It’d be nice to be emancipated from taxes!” No such luck, so sorry. Unless of course your income falls below the threshold for paying taxes. That amount isn’t enough to live on decently, though, so let’s assume you’re paying. As am I. As are […]
Simple Gratitude for…Taxes?
I like to think of November as “Gratitude Month.” It is kind of a short leap of logic, with a holiday called Thanksgiving located conveniently before the most insane shopping day of the year before the month ends. Have you ever heard that phrase, “What we think about and thank about, we bring about?” I […]
The Middle-Class Pays a Wealth Tax
It’s true. Think about this: For Mr. and Mrs. Middle-America, what is the single most valuable asset they own? Their home. Ah, the joys and pride of home-ownership. Nobody to whine to but your spouse when something stops working. The upside? In my little slice of the country, and I’d venture to say most of […]
The Power of Positive (Tax) Planning
Tax preparation is a necessary evil of American life. I wish that at least a simple Form 1040 class, with a few weeks on business income Schedule C, was taught in high school as a core curriculum. But it isn’t. So many folks are so confused about what we pros feel are relatively simple matters. […]