WHAT’S THE BUZZ? TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’ - WEDNESDAY EDITION

Lots of BUZZ while I was away -
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* Chad Bordeaux has an interesting post that poses the question “Have Computers Destroyed Small Business?” at BEANCOUNTER RAMBLINGS.
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* Marilyn Lawver addresses the myths about "Taxing the Rich" that I mentioned in my last BUZZ. She makes some good points -
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“What I would like to claim definitively is that 'the rich' are not all bad people who exploit those less fortunate to make a buck. Many "rich people" are honest, hard-working, and generous.
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Lest there be any confusion, I can declare without hesitation that I do not fall into the category of rich. But I do know and work with people who are 'rich', and I am continually amazed at their success, which has come from hard work and strength of character.
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A couple years ago, a smart man told me something very simple: 'Successful people make and keep commitments'.
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Let's stop maligning successful people for being successful. Would we rather have a country full of people who never strive for excellence? I hope not.”
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Just so you know, I, also, am by no means rich, monetarily speaking.
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* You should also check out Mary’s response to my comment at her post “Pencil or PC”
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* IRS HITMAN Richard Close provides a good post on deducting job-seeking expenses in “Jobless Rate Falls- But Thousands are Still out of Work. Tax Breaks for the Unemployed”.
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* Sad news! Bruce the taxguy has decided “it is time for me to bring the blog to it’s end”, as reported in the post “I Believe its Time For Me to Fly”. Bruce has been a good friend to TWTP, both the writer and the blog, and has often come to my defense when I have been attacked by another blogger.
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I will certainly miss Bruce’s insights, advice and information. However, I certainly can understand the drain a regular blog can be on one’s time.
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Bruce has promised to guest post on other tax blogs when the spirit moves him, and he is always welcome to do to here at TWTP, as he has done in the past. He has also promised to continue to comment on his favorite blogs, to which I look forward.
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Good luck to friend Bruce. Can I recommend some books?
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* Howard Gleckman reports on an interesting newly proposed tax deduction in “The HAPPY Act” at the Tax Policy Center’s TAX VOX blog. FYI, HAPPY stands for “Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years”.
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My clients have been asking if they could do something similar for years!
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* Kay Bell does her usual good job of covering “Writing Off Job-Related Moving Costs” over at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES.
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* How can we raise revenues? Let me count the ways. TAX PROF Paul Caron does just that in "CBO Releases 66 Tax Options" taken from the Congressional Budget Office’s “Budget Options, Second Volume”.
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* Prof Jim Maule discusses the CBO report in detail in his post “Federal Tax Law Changes Looming?”.
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While the Professor and I disagree on some of the CBO suggestions, we do agree on one – taxing Social Security benefits the same way as any other pension.
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* Joe Kristan correctly tells us that “Perhaps the worst move you can make as a business owner is skip paying your withholding tax liabilities” in his post “High-Risk Loans: The Folly of Stiffing IRS On Payroll Taxes” over at the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG.
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* TAXGIRL Kelly Phillips Erb asks “Looking for Some Extra Cash This Summer?” (summer, winter, fall, spring – I am always looking) as she discusses the recent IRS reminder that “unclaimed refunds for 2005 (the last year for which you could claim a refund as of tax day, 2009) totaled approximately $1.3 billion – yes, with a b”.
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She is referring to IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2009-13 – “Does the IRS Owe You Money?”.

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Forbes.com reports that the "New $1,500 Window Tax Credit Has a Catch".
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TTFN