* While I do not
agree with EA Abby Eisenkraft’s view of the 2017 tax-filing season, as
expressed in “Why This Tax Season Was Especially Tough” at ACCOUNTINGWEB.COM –
I found the tax filing season went very smoothly and provided less agita than
past seasons - she does make an excellent statement about the tax preparation
profession that bears repeating and highlighting (mine) –
“Many people think a tax professional’s job
is easy. They think we work two-and-a-half months out of the year, throw some
numbers in boxes, and do something that really anyone could do because their
return is ‘straightforward’. We in the tax trenches know that’s nothing close
to the truth. This is a physically and
mentally demanding job, with punishing hours, dealing with a public that has
been brainwashed by commercials to believe that a refund is something you are
entitled to, and it doesn’t take any training to prepare taxes. Another tax
practitioner said it best when she said that she didn’t think her electrician was a genius, but she still didn’t
want to attempt to wire her own home.”
And another
observation worth repeating -
“As we always do each tax season, my office
fixed many DIY mistakes, as the taxpayers realized they were in over their
heads and needed professional assistance. And most, if not all, of the DIY
returns were done using TurboTax.”
* Some good advice
from Jason Dinesen at DINESEN TAX TIMES – “If Newly Self-Employed, Beware of Self-Employment Tax”.
FYI, I discuss
self-employment tax in my book AN INTRODUCTION TO SELF-EMPLOYMENT: THE BASICS OF SCHEDULE C.
* Kay Bell
celebrated National Bike to Work Day (last Friday) with the post “Workplace tax-free benefits help those who bicycle to work every day, not just on National Bike to Work Day” at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES.
* And Kay also
celebrated Armed Forces Day (Saturday) with “Armed Forces Day thanks to our military via celebrations, military-related tax breaks and tax-rewarded jobs”.
* Kelly Phillips
Erb, FORBES.COM’s TaxGirl, suggests “7 Things To Do Right Now To Save On Taxes This Year”.
Good ideas all!
* Today’s lesson comes
from Jim Blankenship - “Traditional IRA v. Roth IRA – Compare & Contrast” at
GETTING YOUR FINANCIAL DUCKS IN A ROW.
THE FINAL WORD
Please read this
excellent explanation of the idiot in the White House from someone who learned
the truth about delusional egomaniac Trump decades ago - Tony Schwartz, the
ghostwriter of Trump’s “The Art of the Deal” – from the Washington Post –“I wrote ‘The Art of the Deal’ with Trump. His self-sabotage is rooted in his past: The president's behavior, explained”.
Some insightful
excerpts from the piece (highlights are mine) –
· “To me, none of what he has said or done over
the past four months as president comes as a surprise.”
· “Early on, I recognized that Trump’s sense of
self-worth is forever at risk. When he
feels aggrieved, he reacts impulsively and defensively, constructing a
self-justifying story that doesn’t depend on facts and always directs the blame
to others.”
· “Trump was equally clear with me that he didn’t value — nor even necessarily
recognize — the qualities that tend to emerge as people grow more secure, such
as empathy, generosity, reflectiveness, the capacity to delay gratification or,
above all, a conscience, an inner sense of right and wrong. Trump simply
didn’t traffic in emotions or interest in others. The life he lived was all
transactional, all the time. Having never expanded his emotional, intellectual
or moral universe, he has his story down, and he’s sticking to it.”
· “A key part of that story is that facts are whatever Trump deems them to be
on any given day. When he is challenged, he instinctively doubles down —
even when what he has just said is demonstrably false. I saw that countless
times, whether it was as trivial as exaggerating the number of floors at Trump
Tower or as consequential as telling me that his casinos were performing well
when they were actually going bankrupt.”
· “Trump’s need
for unquestioning praise and flattery also helps to explain his hostility
to democracy and to a free press — both of which thrive on open dissent.”
The bottom line –
idiot Trump is obviously mentally unstable and unfit to serve as President of
the United States. This true “nut job”
MUST be removed from office ASAP for mental incompetence via the 25th
Amendment to the Constitution.
For more info on
the 25th Amendment read “What is the 25th Amendment, and could it be used to remove Trump?” from YAHOO.
TTFN
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