* Tax pros – have
you seen the new post at THE TAX PROFESSIONAL yet? And please
tell your fellow tax preparers about THE TAX PROFESSIONAL.
* And check out
this week’s post at BOB’S BABBLINGS for some I LOVE LUCY trivia.
* Kay Bell
celebrated May 29th (5/29) with “Five 529 Plan Facts to Celebrate 529 Day” at DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS.
* Howard Gleckman
explains the truth behind why we have “The Perpetual, Immortal, Eternal, Never-Ending Tax Extenders” at TAX VOX, the blog of the Tax Policy Center
(highlight is mine)
“An indelible image: It is pre-dawn in September,
1986. House and Senate tax writers have just completed their work on the Tax
Reform Act. A lobbyist friend sits
forlornly in the corner of the majestic Ways & Means Committee hearing
room. “What’s wrong,” I naively ask, “Did you lose some stuff?” Oh no, he
replies, he got three client amendments in the bill. And that was the problem.
After years of billable hours, his gravy train had abruptly derailed. The
client got what it wanted. Permanently. And it no longer needed him.
Few make that mistake now. Lawmakers, staffs, and lobbyists have figured out how to keep milking
the cash cow. There are now five dozen temporary provisions, all of which
need to be renewed every few years. To add to the drama, Congress often lets
them expire so it can step in at the last minute to retroactively resurrect the
seemingly lifeless subsidies.”
It would be operatic, if it wasn’t so stupid.”
* Jim Blankenship
of GETTING YOUR FINANCIAL DUCKS IN A ROW agrees with me (click here) in a blast
from the past that it is a good idea to open a “Roth IRA for Youngsters”. However he correctly points out one important
fact –
“The rules for making contributions to Roth
IRAs (actually, any IRA) include the fact that the person who owns the account
must have earned income. This means that
the individual whose account is being contributed to must have earned at least
the amount that is being contributed from some sort of job – which could
include self-employment or any sort of employment.”
Another area of concern
for parents. You may intend the ROTH IRA
to provide retirement income for your kid – but the money in the ROTH IRA
belongs to the kid, and once he/she reaches the “age of majority” he/she can
“take the money and run”.
* Jim is often
asked “Will Work After Retirement Age Increase My Social Security Benefit?”
Can you guess the
answer? What else – it depends. Jim explains in this post.
TTFN
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