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

This will be the last BUZZ until after the end of the tax filing season.   

* Over at the MainStreet.com TAX CENTER I tell you “What to Do If You Do Not Receive a W-2”, “Why You May Not Have to File A Tax Return This Year”, and “These Are the Most Important Numbers on Your Tax Return”.

* Kay Bell mentions a certain veteran tax pro some might consider eccentric in her post "Are You Ready to e-file Your Federal Return? Here's How" at DON'T MESS WITH TAXES.

Wait - it's me!

* ACCOUNTING DEGREE has a new infographic on “Obamacare and Your Taxes”.

* Joe Kristan tells us “IRS Gives Mulligan to Elect Portability for $5 Million Estate Exclusion” at the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG.

While I am on “hiatus” you can get some BUZZ from Joe’s daily “Tax Roundup”.

* The FISCAL TIMES lists “The 10 Worst States for Taxes in 2014”.  It is no surprise that New Jersey is number two (NJ is often referred to as “Number Two”) – the second worst state behind New York.

“New Jersey’s per capita property tax is the most onerous in the country.”

The picture “identifying” NJ has absolutely nothing to do with NJ – it is the brain dead sluts and skanks of THE JERSEY SHORE, who are from NY.

* The TAX RESOLUTION BLOG explains the “Nuts and Bolts of an Offer in Compromise”.

* A client just emailed me to say that he could not afford health coverage in 2013 and to ask how much would he be penalized.  My answer was “nothing” – the penalty does not apply to 2013.  It begins this year – 2014.

Tax Guy Bill Bischoff discusses the Obamacare penalty in “Owe the IRS Money? Good News - The Obamacare penalty only applies to those who get a tax refund” at MARKET WATCH.  

* Here is a legislative proposal reported by ACCOUNTING TODAY that is along the lines of something I had thought about a while back – “Congressman Introduces Bill to End Tax Write-off for Lavish Executive Bonuses”.

My proposal would have also included the requirement that any such excessive bonus must come from current earnings and profits – so CEOs of companies with current losses could not give themselves eventually deductible ridiculous and unjustified salary payments.

* Barbara Weltman’s thoughts on the “State of the Union Address and Small Businesses” at BARBARA’S BLOG are similar to mine.  Like -

“My problem with a corporate tax rate reduction is the need to simultaneously reduce tax rates on small businesses in which owners of pass-through entities pay tax on their share of business profits on their personal returns. It makes no sense to me to lower the top corporate rate from 35% to say 25% or so while retaining the top individual income tax rate paid by some small business owners of 39.6%.”

And -

“The proposals on automatic retirement savings for the middle-class sound fine. By making savings easy it likely will help this group increase retirement savings (something I thought was intentioned by the retirement savers credit). Paying for this by taking away retirement savings tax breaks for wealthy individuals doesn’t make sense to me.”

And –

“Overall, the old expressions—the devil is in the details—makes all the difference on whether or not the proposals are worthy of support. We’ll all just have to see!”

Some of the details of the “myRA” account are provided in a White House issued “Fact Sheet”.

ü  It would be a ROTH account – no deduction going in but no tax coming out. 

ü  “Initial investments could be as low as $25 and contributions that are as low as $5 could be made through easy-to-use payroll deductions.  Savers have the option of keeping the same account when they change jobs and can roll the balance into a private-sector retirement account at any time.

ü  “Savers will earn interest at the same variable interest rate as the federal employees’ Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Government Securities Investment Fund.”  This rate is nothing to write home about.

 

ü  “This saving opportunity would be available to the millions of low- and middle-income households earning up to $191,000 a year.  These accounts will be offered through an initial pilot program to employees of employers who choose to participate by the end of 2014.  The accounts are little to no cost and easy for employers to use, since employers will neither administer the accounts nor contribute to them.

Any retirement savings is better than no retirement savings.  It would be good as a starting point, with the account balance being transferred to a “regular” ROTH account and invested in a mutual fund once it reaches perhaps $2,000.

* “Hate Doing your Taxes? Blame Congress, Not the IRS”!  Right on, Allison Linn of CNBC.

The item quotes the spot on assessment of Michael Graetz, a professor of tax law at Columbia Law School and a proponent of major tax reform -

"We have come to use the tax system as if it is a cure for every social and economic problem the country faces.”

But -

“That's not necessarily what the federal tax system was intended for when it was introduced about 100 years ago.”

* Let’s end with what bloggers love most – another list.  This one, from Shana Norris at MODEST MONEY, is “10 Things A Parent Should Know About 529 Plans”.

TTFN