ALERT - MY GMAIL ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED. DO NOT OPEN ANY ATTACHMENT ALLEGEDLY SENT FROM MY GMAIL ACCOUNT. IN THE FUTURE PLEASE VERIFY WITH ME AT MY YAH00 EMAIL ACCOUNT BEFORE OPENING ANYTHING.
* The Obamacare decision
was not the only one with 1040 preparation consequences handed down by the
Supreme Court last week. Kay Bell
reports “Same-Sex Marriage Now Law of the Land” at her BANKRATE.COM blog –
“In a 5-4 decision, the country's highest
court ruled on Friday that no state can ban same-sex marriages or ignore such
legal ceremonies performed elsewhere.”
Well, not
exactly. Kay points out –
“Technically, the Supreme Court's decision
only applies to the four states where the cases before the court originated,
Adam Romero, senior counsel at UCLA's Williams Institute, told NPR. That's
Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan.
Further court action is necessary for
the Supreme Court ruling to apply to the other states with bans, but most
same-sex marriage advocates expect the judicial system to move relatively
quickly.”
The tax angle –
“But thanks to today's Supreme Court ruling,
now states that collect income taxes must offer federally recognized same-sex
married filers the joint filing option at that level, too.”
Or, as Desmond
Hudson, aka @MrIdotaxes, tweeted –
“Now I don't have to ask what state were you
married in for tax purposes.”
* As if the IRS
wasn’t in enough trouble, over at her DON’T MESS WITH TAXES blog Kay reports “IRS Gave Tax-Owing Companies Contracts Worth $19 Million” -
“. . . according to the Treasury Inspector General for
Tax Administration (TIGTA), the IRS has violated the federal law that prevents
it from doing business with businesses that haven't paid their taxes. The IRS
also ignored the other portion of that law, enacted in 2012, that prohibits
agency contracts with companies that have been convicted of felonies.
In total, during fiscal years 2012 and 2013 the IRS
awarded 57 contracts to 17 corporations that weren't eligible because of their
tax debts or prior legal sanctions.”
* John Koskinen was
appointed as Commissioner of the IRS to fix the agency after the Tea Party
scandal became public. He was described
at the time as “an executive who has
built his reputation on turning around troubled enterprises”. However things have actually gotten worse at the IRS
since his appointment.
Granted the idiots
in Congress bare some responsibility for continually cutting the budget – but Koskinen
has not proven himself to be an effective administrator.
It has gotten so
bad that, according to FOX NEWS, “Republicans Weigh Impeachment for IRS Commissioner”.
My colleague Joe
Kristan, author of THE ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG, gave Koskinen’s
predecessor Doug Shulman the title of “the Worst IRS Commissioner Ever”. The current Commissioner is certainly a close
second, if he has not already taken over the title.
* Kelly Phillips Erb
lists “8 Signs That It's Time To Get A New Tax Professional”.
If you are looking for a new tax professional don't ask me - I no longer accept any new clients (I am actually trying to "thin the herd"). You can start your search at FIND A TAX PROFESSIONAL.
#2 is a
no-brainer. No PTIN – out the door. Without a PTIN this person should have never
been your tax pro in the first place!
* The TAX POLICY
BLOG of the Tax Foundation provides us with “A Quick Primer on Personal Income Taxes (with gifs!)”
THE FINAL WORD –
One of my clients
is on the list of “N.J.'s Best Burger: 3 Great Spots in Jersey City and Hoboken”!
The Park Tavern on
West Side Avenue in Jersey City opened, and became a client of my mentor Jim
Gill, in 1972 – the same year that I began as an “apprentice” tax preparer with
Jim.
TTFN
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