Saturday, June 2, 2012

WHAT’S THE BUZZ? TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’

* Congrats to Peter J Reilly of “Passive Activities” at FORBES.COM, “the Dave Barry of tax blogging” (I wonder what they call me), on hitting 300 (posts that is) - which he celebrates in “Go Tell The Spartans -Passive Activities Makes It To 300 - Thanks To Jennifer Aniston Not In The Nude”.

* Kay Bell states the obvious in discussing politicians in her post “No-Tax Lies and Shifts on No-Tax Pledge” at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES – “They're all lying”.

*A press release from PRWEB tells us “UK Tax Freedom Day 2012 to be the 29th May

The 29 May will mark ‘Tax Freedom Day’, a notional time in the year when UK taxpayers will, as a whole, have earned enough income to pay off their tax burden and start earning for their own benefit. Calculated annually by the Adam Smith Institute, it will take the average UK worker 149 days this year to pay off their debt to the state.”

Aren’t you glad to be an American?  The Tax Foundation put the US “Tax Freedom Day” at April 17 this year – coincidently the initial filing deadline for 1040s.

* Jean Murray is correct when she says “’Limited Liability’ Doesn't Mean ‘NO Liability’" at her ABOUT.COM BUSINESS LAW/TAXES blog.

She lists “some measures you and other owners of your business can take to minimize liability:

Keep excellent corporate and LLC records. This includes LLCs too. Record all meetings and actions of the board and LLC membership.

• Don't mix business and personal funds. Mixing funds destroys the "veil" between business and personal finances and can leave owners at liability for other actions.

• Document transactions between owners and the business. A loan to the business by an owner, for example, should be documented just like any other transaction.”

* Joe Kristan talks about a disastrous Tax Court decision (for the taxpayer involved) in “An $18 Million Foot-Fault” at THE ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG.

As usual Joe’s bottom line tells it like it is -

The moral? Cheap tax help is often the most expensive.  By doing a return with an $18 million deduction by himself, the taxpayer saved on tax prep fees altogether, so he has that going for him, anyway.”

While Joe states that the return in question was “self-prepared”, the post does not indicate whether or not the poor soul used tax preparation software to assist in incorrectly preparing the return.

* Howard Gleckman reviews two different strategies for tax reform in “Tax Reform: Going Long v. Going Prudent” at the TAX VOX, the blog of the Tax Policy Center.

And, of course, there is perhaps the most likely option of all: Go home. As they have for decades now, policymakers will talk about tax reform even as they add more targeted tax breaks to the code.”

Howard ends the post by posing a question to readers – “What do you think: Should tax reformers go long, or go prudent?

Go long, Howard.  Go long!

* Bill Bischoff, “The Tax Guy”, lists “3 Tax-Smart Ways to Pay Grandkid's Tuition” at SMARTMONEY.COM.

* Over at TAXABLE TALK Russ Fox reports on “Another Survey, Another Bad Result for California”.

And, of course, another bad result for New Jersey –

Alvarez & Marsal Taxand, a consulting and tax advisory firm, surveyed 800 financial executives (302 responded). Among the questions asked was Which states do you view as most competitive from a tax perspective? The usual suspects finished on the bottom: California, New York, and New Jersey.”

* Trish McIntire critiques a new “Tax Preparer Fraud Bill” at OUR TAXING TIMES.

I guess Congress does not think making preparers sit through 2 hours of ethics preaching each and every year will automatically turn them all honest.

* Jason Dinesen answers the question “What Does Thursday’s DOMA Ruling Mean for Taxes?” at the DINESEN TAX TIMES.

As Jason explains – “For now, nothing changes”.

THE FINAL WORD –


Al Neuharth calls a spade a shovel in his Friday USA TODAY editorial.  Referring to “the Donald” (Trump, that is) Al says, “he’s a clown who loves doing or saying things, no matter how ridiculous they may be”.


The bottom line – “Anyway, he’s a clown.  No politician or voter – or Yankee fan – should take him seriously”.


Trump once again illustrates his level of maturity and intelligence (as he did when, in response to Rosie O’Donnell’s comments about the fact that he screws his investors, said, basically, “she’s fat”) with his response, calling Neuharth “an angry man who likes making up stories – and using me to stay relevant”. 


Few men are less relevant than Tronald Dump!  Hopefully Donald Trump  is the only person who takes Donald Trump seriously.  What a clown! 


{FYI – I am off to LBI to rest and recuperate.  I have scheduled posts here at TWTP while I am away, but there will probably be no Wednesday BUZZ.}


TTFN

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